Dear readers,
Well, the weather had other ideas. With a yellow weather warning in place and a worrying forecast, we made the difficult decision to postpone Castle Classics. We had 115 vehicles booked in and it was shaping up to be a fantastic gathering, but the storm would have hit both exhibitor and visitor numbers, and nobody wants to polish their pride and joy for a week only to watch it get sandblasted by sideways rain.
The good news is we have a new date! Castle Classics is now on Sunday 15 November 2026, when we'll be joining Castle Artisan Market, alongside 6 Towns Radio and Backyard Burgers, for a brilliant Sunday in Newcastle. Pop it in the diary, and thank you to everyone who sent such kind messages. Fingers crossed November is kinder to us, although this is Staffordshire, so I'm packing a brolly either way.
There's plenty on in the meantime. Today the Made in Staffordshire market takes over the Stones in Newcastle-under-Lyme from 9am to 3pm, with 15 makers from across the county selling art, pottery, jewellery, food and drink, plus a free Halloween craft workshop for the little ones. It's half term, so consider it your official excuse to get out of the house.
This is also your last chance to enter our photography competition. The theme is Winter in Staffordshire, and the winning shot will take pride of place on the front cover of our Winter Edition, with a £25 gift card for the photographer to spend in Stoke-on-Trent city centre. Frosty fields, misty moorlands, a robin looking pretty on a fence post, show us what you've got.
Elsewhere in this week's paper, Martin Murray has stepped down as leader of the county council, there's a £40m plan for a 202-year-old bridge, Adam Jogee's crime survey in MP's Voice, and a Sunday lunch in Uttoxeter that apparently gives London a run for its money.
Until next Wednesday.
Jenna