A slice of Simnel Cake on Mothering Sunday

Last May, my mother went ‘home to glory’, as my dad described her passing. Hers was a good death. She died following a couple of years of deteriorating health and wellbeing, as her Alzheimer’s tightened its grip. She is buried in a beautiful location, on a hillside in a natural burial ground, just outside of Cardiff. I have not been back to visit the grave since the funeral. It’s not how I want to remember her. I have her held in my mind, a private place of my memories of her life. Today we are in Rochdale, and Jane will take flowers to her mother’s memorial spot. She often leaves flowers there, but today is Mothering Sunday, and so the gift has even more special meaning.

I have been surprised at the emotional response I’ve experienced in the lead up to today. It is the first time that I can remember where I have not sent a card, flowers, or chocolates (or all three) or met up for a meal somewhere. It feels strange. Mothering Sunday originally saw folk returning to their ‘mother’ church – the one they perhaps attended as children, or where their family continued to live and worship. Mothering Sunday also falls between Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. In the Christian religion, this is a period referred to as Lent. Whilst today, people who observe Lent usually give up something they normally enjoy, traditionally it was a time for fasting. Even if folk didn’t fast, they ate more simply, cutting out sweet, rich food and meat. 

On Mothering Sunday, however, such restrictions were lifted for the day, and the highlight of the day was often enjoying a Simnel cake. My mother would sometimes bake these wonderful fruitcakes, covered in yellow marzipan. The cake would be decorated with 11 or 12 marzipan balls representing Jesus and his disciples.

My mother lived to be 91 years old. That was her chronological age. I suspect her biological age was different; a little older I should think. Chronological age is age that is based upon how long someone has lived for. Biological age reflects the state of the body. Therefore, despite someone’s chronological age, if we could slow down the rate of biological ageing, it might be possible to reduce the risk of developing age-related illnesses.

Last week, I read that taking a multivitamin every day, could slow some of the markers of biological ageing. These are changes that occur at a cellular level, but the study could not determine how these changes translated into more general health improvement. What we do know is that there are no known risks in taking a daily multivitamin. The study was trying to find out if there were any benefits to taking the vitamins.

The study found that those participants who formed part of the control group, and received daily multivitamins did not eventually live any longer. Over the two years of the study, researchers simply found there was about four months less ageing of the biological markers. They did, however, find that there was an association with taking daily vitamins and improved cognition, and possible reductions in the risk of lung cancer and cataracts.

I’m a long-time vegetarian, and I have been taking multivitamins (with iron) for many years now, so the question is, am I wasting my money? The answer is almost certainly YES. Why certainly? Well, I have never given much thought to taking vitamins, but when I looked at that study it did make me stop and consider my motivation. Was it because I’m a vegetarian and wanted to keep healthy? No, not really. I eat a great diet, so maybe it was just out of habit. When writing this blog, I took a look at the NHS guide to vegetarianism. I was reassured that I am getting all the vitamins (and iron) from my diet. So as from today, I’m stopping taking the vitamins.

With the money I will save I might buy all the ingredients for a Simnel cake and have a baking session when I return home later – then again, I might just pop into M&S and buy one of theirs. Wishing mums everywhere a wonderful Mothering Sunday.

Pineapple, Yorkshire pudding and baked beans for breakfast? You couldn’t make it up!

I have been fortunate to travel to many places around the world. However, one of the places I have never been to is Cyprus. As of now, I’m not sure I will go there any time soon. That said, last week, Cyprus featured in my thinking for a couple of reasons.

The first reason, and the more serious one, was because of the dreadful war in the Middle East started by Israel and the US. Now I try and steer clear of politics in this blog, but what is going on in the war against Iran makes it difficult to stay silent. It appears there is no legal basis for what Israel and the US are doing. The regime in Iran have proved themselves a potential threat to the free world. However, I cannot see how this war will lead to world peace. Indeed, it feels as if we are on the brink of a third world war.

Although the UK is not yet taking an active role in the conflict, we are slowly being drawn into it in many ways. We are intending to send a Destroyer (HMS Dragon) to protect our military base in Cyprus. I say intend, as work on preparing the ship has stopped because the dock yard only operates 9-5, Monday to Friday. You really couldn’t make this stuff up.

The second reason, and a much less serious one, was the news that the European Union last week agreed to ban meaty names such as bacon and steak for all vegetarian and vegan food. That said, ‘veggie burgers’ and ‘meat free sausages’ can still be used. Predictably, there was a large amount of outrage to be seen on social media about the ruling. Cyprus currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, and it was Maria Panayiotou, Cyprus’s Agriculture Minister, who defended the change. She said the ruling improved support for farmers and would help them secure a more predictable and sustainable future. As I said, you really couldn’t make this stuff up.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, Gen-Z folk, famous for adding avocados and chia seeds to their breakfast menu, have now decided to add Yorkshire puddings to the traditional Full English Breakfast. Now I like a Full English Breakfast from time to time, usually when I’m away somewhere. A recent survey, strangely conducted by the energy company EDF, found that 49% of people in England see it as the best way to start their day.

Traditionally, a Full English Breakfast, as defined by The English Breakfast Society (I kid you not), has at its core – eggs, bacon, sausages, pudding (black up here in the North, white pudding, down South) or fried bread. The survey revealed that Gen-Z folk were not content with the traditional basic offering, and as well as Yorkshire puddings, were happy to add smoked salmon, haggis, chorizo, halloumi, chips, and my favourite, yesterday’s left over curry. And I’m not making this stuff up!

Now Guise Bule de Missenden, who describes himself as a ‘curious third-culture operator’ and possibly the world greatest authority on a Full English Breakfast, is both the Chairman of The English Breakfast Society and the founder of Roch. The latter is an organisation that has created the first formal dog friendly hotel certification standard. No comment, but do take a look at the English Breakfast Society website – it’s absolutely fascinating!

Back to Guise Bule de Missenden. He has welcomed the Gen-Z new ways of conceptualising what a Full English Breakfast could look, and taste like. Not surprising really as he once championed the notion of including fresh pineapple as an appropriate addition to the traditional breakfast. I liked how he recognised and described these changes – he said such additions ‘reflect experimentation rather than redefinition’. What he found encouraging is that core elements of what constitutes a Full English Breakfast are not being ignored or rejected by Gen-Z but instead are being ‘debated, adapted and enjoyed across the generations’.

Which is just as well as far as I’m concerned. My ideal Full English Breakfast includes two fried eggs, two vegetarian sausages, mushrooms, wholemeal toast (not fried) and crucially, a good portion of baked beans! These days we don’t have Heinz beans in the house. It’s a small protest against what the US President has and continues to do, but I believe if we all do something similar, we can make a difference – and for all those innocent people caught up in a conflict not of their making, that might be really important.

I’m as happy as a pig in poo!

James Cromwell is the actor, who played the farmer in the film Babe. It was a film that fundamentally changed his view of the world. During the preparation for the film and the actual filming itself, Cromwell had the opportunity to better understand and appreciate the intelligence and personalities of pigs. As a consequence, he decided to adopt a lifestyle free from animal cruelty. He became an activist for animal rights and a vegan.

He believed that pigs should live a life that allowed them to forage, have fun and decide how to spend their time as they wished – in a sense, all animals, should be as happy as pigs in poo (there are ways of repeating this idiomatic saying, but for the sake of younger readers, lets stick with the word poo).

Indeed, just the other week, I found that poo is the word being used by the NHS. It was used in a letter inviting me to have another poo test – the so called FIT (faecal immunochemical test). This is a bowel cancer screening test that replaced the original faecal occult blood test, way back in 2019. I have been doing both tests now for many a year. The current test is much easier to do than the previous ones for sure.

In the UK, bowel cancer screening is offered to all folk aged between 50 and 74. The test is offered every two years. This is because the risk of getting bowel cancer rises as people get older. Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK. If cancer is detected early, and often before some of the symptoms appear, it can be easier to treat. This screening programme does just that.

However, whilst the screening programme has resulted in falling rates of deaths from bowel cancer in those over the age of 50, there has been a rise in bowel cancer in those under 50 years of age. Trying to understand why this might be is ongoing, but last week the results of a major, longitudinal research study into the relationship of diet to bowel cancer risk, was published.

It found that, surprisingly, meat free diets were seen to raise the risk of bowel cancer, and in particular, vegan diets. I say surprising as it’s been more than 10 years since that the World Health Organisation suggested that some processed meats, such as bacon and sausages were Group 1 carcinogens. This is the same group as cigarettes, alcohol and asbestos!

However, (he says with a ‘phew!’) vegetarians are much less likely to develop pancreatic, breast, prostate, blood (myeloma) and kidney cancers. Strangely, vegetarians were found to be almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. I say strangely, (and possibly also surprisingly) as a diet that contains a majority of fruit, vegetables and fibre containing foods, and which avoids processed food has long been recommended as a way to reduce the risk of cancer.

The study suggested that the higher risk of bowel cancer seen with those folk adopting a vegan diet may be due to a lack of calcium in their diet. It’s a known risk factor. This is an area for future research. Vegan folk typically have a higher fibre diet and consume less alcohol than other groups. It’s clear that whilst vegetarians and vegans should take comfort from the research, it’s clear that both groups need to think about how they might replace any missing nutrients in their diet through taking supplements.

For example, as a long-time vegetarian, I know I cannot get enough vitamin B in my everyday diet. So, I take a vitamin B tablet every day. I have done so for over 50 years. However, I’m not worried about having a calcium deficiency, as cheese is one of my favourite foods, and something I eat every day. I’m a cheese addict, a turophile in fact (but that’s probably the subject of a different blog).

So being a vegetarian might bring many benefits, but I have to say, it’s not risk free. Nothing really ever is. That said, my poo test results came back on Friday. It appears I’m okay for another two years. So, this weekend we are celebrating in Italian style. Yesterday it was pizza, tonight meat-not meat balls and pasta, and tomorrow, minestrone and the best crusty bread I can find. There will also be some gorgeous Crumbly Lancashire and crackers. All of which have been and will be vegetarian. It’s a shame I can’t invite James Cromwell to join me.