Having been the kind of person that have always enjoyed sharing what I know, feeling flattered when asked for a recipe or recommendations of any kind, was chaffed to be asked to write a feature about places I enjoy eating at for Cumbria Life. My approach to this is to not only sing the praises of the many award holding restaurants that reviewers much more skilled than me have already written about but the many eateries that we tend to take for granted like the smaller restaurants that deserve to be known, the tea rooms and cafes that provide us a place to meet our friends and enjoy affordable food in the form of smaller yet delicious plates or even the take aways that offer an invaluable last minute solution to a meal when time has run away from us. One such feature on the Pedlar in Whitehaven led me to visit the Rum Story museum and then create a number of recipes for festive desserts for the Christmas issue of the magazine. Seeing the house decorated for Christmas in early September was strange but the Floralistas did such a wonderful job that I wished Christmas had come early!