My aunt died recently and in typical Celtic fashion the family sat round telling stories about her – some funny, some sad. I was reminded of a time about 20 years ago when I was a strict vegetarian and we dropped in on Aunty Peggy unexpectedly.

We’d just had lunch but it didn’t matter, Aunty Peggy insisted we eat. The scene played out like one of those in Father Ted “Go on, go on, go on – just a bite” repeated till we crumbled. Well Aunty Peggy didn’t understand vegetarianism and ‘just a bite’ turned into half a cow on a plate with some lettuce and tomato. My dilemma – to tell her I was veggie, or to shut up and eat up.

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