THE food fest is back. You simply can't escape it.

Even I am hard pressed top think of anything negative to say about this sprawling mass of stalls which have invaded the town centre — other than it's taking me a lot longer than usual to navigate my way through the crowds in Victoria Square to get to WH Smiths to buy my Beano.

The festival is in its 10th year and has grown massively, from being just a very small event in 2006, to what it is today.

There are other food festivals up and down the country — and I've been to a fair few — but none are quite like Bolton's.

It is free for a start. Yes you have to pay to see the 'slebs' — but you can see James Martin on the telly every Saturday so why not just go and see one of the many free demonstrations by equally talented chefs?

You could spend a fortune — but equally, you could easily get around all the 180-plus stalls enjoying all the sights and smells, and picking up free samples here and there (not that I'm a cheapskate, you understand).

I spent yesterday stuck in the office while outside the crowds were enjoying day one of the festival. I did manage to nip out and get some tasty lunch — but I plan to make up for lost time this weekend — I just hope the weather is okay.

When the dust settles on the food festival Bolton Council will no doubt be turning its attentions to the winter season. I have already seen posters with dates for the big lights switch-on and the 'winter wonderland' — which should see the return of the ice rink and potentially the big wheel and the snow slide.

But I'd like to see an expanded and more permanent Christmas markets to rival Manchester.

If the food festival shows us anything, it is that this is the sort of thing we do well. We have had smaller Christmas markets over a couple of days but why not try to get the traders to stick around for a full week or even two?

Because while you can't guarantee the weather will be great in summer — it will definitely be cold in December and there is nothing better than a warming mulled wine to brighten your spirits.

The winter offering in Bolton seems to grow year on year in a similar vein to the food fest — so maybe in a few years' time the Christmas markets could be as big as the food festival is now.