Rae Duke

It is truth universally acknowledged that things often have a tendency to go wrong on big, important days. And there’s no bigger a day than a wedding day. A story that has been retold to me many-a-time is that of the zip on my Mum’s wedding dress breaking as she stepped out of the car to head into the church.

At my Dad’s retirement service last year, he’s a Methodist Minister, he chose to use the words of Bob Dylan to tie the ends of his working years together. You might take a guess at The Time’s are a-Changing; “If your time to you Is worth savin', Then you better start swimmin' Or you'll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin'.” Or perhaps Blowing in the Wind; “Yes, 'n' how many years can a mountain exist Before it's washed to the sea?

Eating and drinking with friends has taken on a whole new meaning for me lately. Something that used to be, yes – lovely, but still rather ordinary now has a smattering of the heavenly in it. And that’s all thanks to my great friend, Ellie. She’s started a new initiative that revolves around food as a vehicle to get us talking about, and hopefully soothing one of the greatest struggles of our time - mental health. It’s called Mind-full Supper.