Happy New Year – 2020 in photos

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2021

2020, wow, where to start? When I look back to the beginning, I suppose it was with the usual optimism of New Year, and good intentions. But 2020 turned into a crazy year which I am sure many of us would prefer to forget.

As always (and as my waistband will attest), we used food as our crutch: whether it was a Friday night takeaway to signal the end of a working week (through something more than just the closing of a laptop, and moving into another room); or buying from new suppliers who previously supplied the restaurant trade, and were now relying on Joe Public to buy their stock.

So I’d like to celebrate the pleasure we took in food during this horrible year, whilst we remain so thankful that none of us – or close family and friends – were seriously ill from Covid; that we still have jobs and a roof over our head; and that whilst we haven’t always been able to be together, we have still remained connected as much as we can be.

And when I look towards 2021 I will do so with optimism: mostly for the vaccination which I hope will bring an end to the pandemic, but also for the reunions, the holidays, the experiences to come: all of which I will no longer take for granted.

A (crazy) year in food

If you didn’t make bread (sourdough for preference), were you even IN lockdown?

Where my dining table became my home office …

Mr Whippy ice cream delivered straight to our door certainly brought us some pleasure, and who doesn’t want a tray of ice cream covered with chocolate bars!

Eating locally, but from the comfort of our own home

Supporting local businesses, such as Hot Milk Cafe:

Cobble Lane Cured:

A local breakfast al desko from The Leafy Bean:

Local cheesemongers such as The microcheesemonger:

Bake Off makes everything okay again …

Finding sanity through the Bake Off:

Treats at home to make life feel better

Getting treats in the post (thanks to Suzanne from It’s All About The Cake):

Hawksmoor at home for our first restaurant style treat:

And then onto Northcote Manor for an even fancier meal at home box:

Restaurant style but cooked and plated by me:

And although we didn’t fancy going into restaurants, we did enjoy some al fresco eating:

Booze, booze, and more booze

And plenty of drinking:

And a bit more drinking:

And a little bit more drinking:

And always thinking of the NHS heroes who have got us through this terrible time … and please do wear a mask.

So I take this chance to wish you all a very Happy New Year, with health and happiness in 2021. And I also take the chance to thank all of my family, friends and colleagues for making this awful year a bit more bearable. I could not have got through this without you, and I look forward to seeing you in person in 2021, and sharing a hug, a drink, a cake, and a chat.

HAPPY NEW YEAR …