Woman raises funds with late mother's recipe

A North Wales fundraiser, Cath Jones, is using her late mother’s bara brith recipe to raise money for Macmillan, a cancer charity that supported her mum during her final weeks. Cath’s mother, Isobel Taylor, passed away from cancer last year at the age of 79.

Cath, a personal assistant at law firm Swayne Johnson, hosts a coffee morning every September at the firm’s Ruthin office, where she sells bara brith and holds a raffle. Over the years, she has helped raise more than £5,500 for Macmillan.

Isobel Taylor and Macmillan Support

According to Cath, her mother’s cancer started with a growth on her arm, then spread to her armpit and later to her leg. Cath said: “Mum got great support from Macmillan, they were there for phone calls and advice and that was important because if you have never been through it, you don’t know what to expect.”

Cath’s mother wanted to spend her final days at home, which was made possible with the help of Macmillan. Cath said: “It was tough, but that was what she wanted, she didn’t want to die in hospital.”

The Coffee Mornings

Cath has been hosting the coffee mornings for several years, and they have become even more significant to her since her mother’s passing. She said: “Holding the coffee mornings seem extra significant now, 100 per cent. I just want to raise as much money as I can for them now.”

Cath uses her mother’s recipe to make the bara brith she sells at the coffee mornings. She said: “It is the best bara brith, I get a lot of people saying it’s a good one, and it is made with mum’s recipe, so it’s very special to me.”

The Ruthin office has been holding Macmillan coffee mornings since 2012, and in that time, they have raised £5,501. Cath started working for Swayne Johnson in 1988 and has been involved in the coffee mornings for many years.

Cath thanked the local businesses that donated raffle prizes, including Tesco, John Jones Butchers, and Choo Choo. She said: “The raffle is important because it helps draw people in and they will spend £10 on the raffle and then buy cakes too, it is a big part of what we do.”

Lynette Viney-Passig, Managing Director at Swayne Johnson, thanked the firm’s staff and local businesses for their support of the coffee morning and raffle. She said: “We are really proud of Cath. Events like the coffee mornings simply wouldn’t happen without people like her behind them.”