TODAY sees the publication of my hundredth column in the Keighley News and what a milestone it has been!

I really thought after the first year I would run out of recipes. It’s been a great honour and privilege to share with you some of my favourite recipes over the last six years.

Some of these were passed down through the family, some I had learned to make as an apprentice at W Day’s confectioners where all the magic of baking begun for me in the early Seventies, and some simply passed on to me at work through customers’ shopping.

Looking back at all those old and forgotten Yorkshire recipes in my columns, the Scotch pasty, Yorkshire tea loaf and Parkin recipes stands out the most for me.

I’ve had some lovely letters, emails and comments sent to me over the last six years thanking me, and of forgotten happy family memories growing up in Keighley.

It’s true to say, baking does bring people together. I know not everyone can bake to high standards, but I do realise people smile while baking and bake to their best ability.

Compliments through my passion has fuelled my long career and will continue to do so, especially because I know people read the Keighley News, and have a laptop and an oven at home.

Baking can be the best anti-depressant, as people take comfort in knowing it really can get better. Take the word ‘inspire’ – everyone has an inner baker in them and longs to bake. Most learn the hard way, skipping an egg, forgetting the baking powder in a cake recipe... we’ve all done it.

Baking is a science but also an art, where imagination can produce remarkable results, magically transferring you to heaven. Therapeutic or not, baking is good to unwind, a relaxing hobby: bake up a storm for the family.

Let’s face it, baking can be pretty messy at times, and sometimes it’s hard to get motivated, but the effort that goes into baking pales in comparison with the cleaning and washing up, and the happiness derived from biting into the finished product.

Maybe it’s all the care and love we put into baking; sharing, and expressing a part of you through your creation? It is for me, that’s the joy of baking. Here’s to the next hundred.

Oh, I nearly forgot I’ve a fantastic simple apple loaf cake recipe to share with you all th is week which will appeal to everyone - and a new updated profile pic of a younger version of me!