There are many ways to be a good friend. Sometimes it’s about knowing what to say and when, or how to keep quiet and listen.
Sometimes it comes down to actions; doing the right thing to help somebody out. At other times friendship can be enshrined in giving a gift which truly makes someone’s life better.
Since I set off – quite literally in some ways – on my path to recovery, there have been lots of people who have helped me along the way.
I’m lucky to be able to say I’ve received encouragement and support in many forms. But one person who has been there in word and deed is my friend Ryan.
I have Ryan to thank for taking me on my first breathless, heart-racing hike up Blencathra, where I vowed to turn my life around and replace alcohol and cigarettes with a much healthier addiction to fresh air and the outdoors.
What’s more, it was Ryan who bought me my first pair of walking boots, enabling me to take my initial steps towards the life I live now. I’m glad to say that we still head out into the fells together whenever we get the chance.
In the spring I was lucky enough to tell this story to food writer, chef, baker extraordinaire and general national treasure Mary Berry, as we stood on the flanks of Gowbarrow, near Ullswater, filming for episode four of her BBC programme Mary Berry – Love to Cook.
Being on camera isn’t always an easy experience, especially when you’re asked to make engaging conversation with someone you’ve only just met.
Luckily Mary was great at putting me at ease. They told me that I should just treat her like my gran and that’s pretty much how it went in the end, with me whipping up sea bass fillet, braised courgette, beans and pancetta by the beckside.
It’s not been easy keeping news of the programme under my hat for the past six months, but its airing last Thursday tops off what has been a great year for me.
I’ve travelled up and down the country to cookery and outdoor shows and appeared in a number of national magazines and there are yet more exciting plans and opportunities on the horizon for the Fell Foodie in 2022.
Life is so different now that the old overweight me, who drank too much and smoked, really seems like a different person.
However, I wouldn’t have left him behind if it hadn’t been for the group effort of friends and family who were there for me; people who offer a kind word, a shoulder to cry on, an invite on a walk or the gift of a pair of boots.
There will be many gifts given in the coming weeks, but perhaps the best present is actually to be present; to be there and care, offering a helping hand and a kind gesture, letting people know you’re rooting for them and you’ve got their back. You might not be able to put it under a tree, but this is something that can truly change a life for the better
