After a two-day storm, the winds relented a little for my first ever venture as a stall holder at the farmers market, in Kirkwall, Orkney.

The market is normally held on the last Saturday of the month, but in the run up to Christmas, there are also two in December - on the 10th and 17th.

I had decided to sell three types of chutney, cakes and biscuits - this was very much a case of dipping a toe into the water to see what it was like.

Although the weather had relented, it was still a typical winter's day - frequent showers blown in on a stiff northerly breeze.

Would anyone come - or would I be left with a big pile of goods to take home?

My more experienced fellow stall holders said it was one of the quietest days of the year - but I needn't have worried. 

In less than three hours I was sold out! The Guinness cakes I had made proved particularly popular, as did the chocolate chip cookies. The small fruit cakes went quickly, and even the large fruit cake found a willing taker as lunchtime approached.

I had made a batch of scones for an advance order - as it turned out, I should probably have made a lot more as they would have been popular, judging by the number of requests I received.

I also found time to do a bit of shopping of my own - a nice joint of lamb and some fresh vegetables from other stall at the market will make for a nice Sunday dinner.

All in all, an excellent morning's work - apart from having to get up at 6.15am to make the fresh scones!

To all those who came along and bought my produce - thanks a million, I hope you really enjoyed it.

If anyone is interested, I will be back at the next farmers market on Saturday December 10.

See you there!

Naila