Hundreds of Country Markets members meet in Stafford for 100th anniversary
More than 400 members of an organisation which brings home-cooked goods to markets have joined in Stafford to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Country Markets has 250 groups throughout the UK and more than 7,000 members.
The members met at Stafford County Showground on April 30 and were visited by special guest Rosemary Conley CBE, and Frazer Doherty, a young businessman.
Chairwoman of Country Markets, Joyce Gerrard, said people travelled from all over the country to come to the event.
She said: "Most markets meet once a week, all the cooks are registered and they all hold hygiene certificates.
"Country Markets is a cooperative social enterprise, we are all volunteers and we're a not-for-profit organisation.
"It's about local cooking and using local ingredients, crafting handmade crafts etc.
"We chose Stafford Country Showground as it's in the centre of the country and we've got people in Cumbria, Somerset, in the Midlands, it was easy to get to.
"We were hosted by Staffordshire Country Markets and had 400 people who came from all over. Some had come the day before and others had been travelling since 4.30am."
Joyce added: "It went very well, we had two speakers, Rosemary Conley and Frazer Doherty who started a jam making business when he was 15 and now is stocked in all the big supermarkets.
"Rosemary was absolutely fantastic, she looks fantastic, she is a fitness guru.
"The event took months and months to organise, a lot of planning went into it.
"We had features on the older members, competitions, and competition for the markets, along with the history of Country Markets."
