The other day I met two women working in a kitchen on Oldham Street in Manchester. I was greeted by the warmth of steam coming from a huge pan of chopped up meat and vegetables and  the warmth of two women who had a genuine love for what they were doing. On the menu that day was shepherd’s pie and pasta. The women were volunteers, preparing lunch for 60 people on a budget of just £16.  The kitchen, located in an old converted warehouse, is the home of The Mustard Tree.

I also met a guy called Graham. A gentle guy with a far from gentle past. A man who had caused harm and misery as a member of a notorious family at the heart of Manchester’s gangland, had been in and out of prison, struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, and battled with depression. And who, through an opportunity presented by The Mustard Tree,  has found a new passion for life through art – a passion that he now passes on to the students in his classes as he teaches them to draw, paint and sculpt.

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Comic Relief is arguably the highlight of charitable TV marathons in the UK, and has been since its inception in 1985. Originally, fundraising for the event was focused around buying red noses and getting sponsored for sitting in a bath of beans.  But that was then and now things are done a little differently. Despite the financial pressures of a recovering economy affecting everyone, this year’s total broke all previous records. Were the British public particularly eager to part with their cash? Or could social media have played a part in helping them reach such a grand total?

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Monday at the Red C began like any other. Employees were pulling themselves into the office for yet another busy week, priority for most of course being a beverage before the start of their working day.

This particular morning was different though. The kitchen was brimming with a variety of delicious cakes that staff at Red C had spent their weekend baking. This change in morning ritual came about in support of ‘Time for a Cuppa’, an event that raises awareness for those affected by dementia which was organised by ‘for dementia’.

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