Organised by la Maison de la Normandie et de la Manche and Jason Maindonald, the Norman market is a Christmas staple for some islanders, who "always welcome this event with the same enthusiasm and kindness." 

While the artisans were meant to arrive on Wednesday they were left stranded in St Malo due to the ongoing strike by French stevedores. They had hoped to travel on Thursday but Condor Ferries had to cancel their services due to adverse weather. The scenario repeated itself for today service's with the early morning saling cancelled as well as wind gusts were predicted to be more than 40 knots with wave heights outside of Condor's safe operating limits. Luckily, weather conditions are forecast to improve towards the end of the afternoon which means that the traders will be able to open their stalls at the Weighbridge on Saturday at 09:00.

One retailer decided he couldn't wait this long and he will be selling his cheese from today after he traveling to the UK and then to Jersey.

Pictured: One cheese retailer made other travel arrangements to arrive early in Jersey.

All traders will be staying until 12:00 on 20 December after the market was granted an extension by the Bailiff.

Christine Bonhomme, who is in charge of the organisation of the market at the Maison de la Normandie, explained that without this extension, the market would probably not have happened. One of them actually chose to commit to another market due to the difficulties posed by the cancelled ferry and the change of trading dates.

Ms Bonhomme explained: "Retailers need at least four days to make their trip worth it. It is a huge investment which include the ferry travel which is becoming more and more expensive, custom fees as well as a renting fee for their space. They spend at least two days paying those fees back so having lost two days due to the cancellation, their presence was compromised.

"We are very lucky because we have a group of faithful traders, some of them have been coming to Jersey for 10 years, who are willing to make that investment in spite of the uncertainty. We are also very lucky that Jason Maindonald was very reactive and sought an extension from the Bailiff's Chambers who in turn responded quickly to make sure the market could go ahead."

Taking part in the Fête Dé Noué celebrations, the traders are coming with numerous specialties giving islanders the opportunity to prepare Christmas or seasonal dishes with Norman products. Beverages such as hot cider, poiré, pommeau, calvados, apple juice and wine will be on the stalls as well as Norman biscuits, saucisson, cheese and dried ham. For anyone looking for a snack or lunch tasting just like France, homemade croque-monsieur, sausage baguettes or waffles will also be available. And for those who still haven't ticked all the items on their Christmas shopping lists, traders will also bring a variety of cashmere jumpers, bags and jewels.