'Doling out hugs': UK's 'Cake Lady' continues to cheer up wounded soldiers in hospitals

Kath Ryan, a retired nurse more popularly known as ‘Cake Lady’ has been credited to save lives of wounded soldiers in Britain by distributing cakes and uplifting their mood. Started back in 2009 at the bloody time in the war in Afghanistan, in the 11 years, the UK Cake Lady who is 59 years old has made at least 1,260 visits to British hospitals and has bound with the patients. As per the Associated Press report, it is believed that Ryan has distributed nearly one million slices of cake.

Her typical weekly bake consists of six dozen Butterfly cakes that are cupcakes with frosting sculpted in the shape of butterfly wings, along with 48 custard slices, Bakewell tarts, coconut cake, carrot cake, chocolate muffins, and many other deserts. Moreover, if a specific soldier has a favourite, the Cake Lady even takes requests such as mince pies, fruit cake, Pavlova. There was a time when Estonian soldiers were admitted to the war, the retired nurse even went out of her way to look for a recipe of Estonian honey cake for the large group of South Africans. 

However, as eventually, the cost of the supplies surged, Ryan has even set up a charity ‘Cakes 4 Casualties’ to invite helpers to pay for the butter and flour required to make the cakes. But, for both Ryan and the soldiers, it was reportedly never about the cakes. All soldiers have considered the Cake Lady as their extended family and she constantly receives invitations for their weddings, baptisms, and anniversaries. As per reports, the soldiers even crowd-funded so that Ryan can join them at the sporting events for injured service people. Cake Lady, herself isn’t married and never had children. 

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‘Meant to be somewhere’ says Ryan

Kath Ryan herself says it was a sense of belonging to the place that drove her into helping the soldiers whom she had seen at their worst. She also reportedly said that there are times in an individual’s life when they feel that they are “meant to be somewhere”. She had started in 2009, on seeing the situation of the soldiers, and has continued to come even 11 years later. 

“There are times in life you’re meant to be somewhere, aren’t you?” she said.

David Wiseman was admitted to Ward S-4 at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham when he first head about the Kath Ryan, the Cake Lady. On wondering what made the soldiers in the nearby beds chanting cheerfully that “Cake Lady is here”, Wiseman finally say Ryan in “strange dress” and pushing trolley while distributing cakes. Wiseman credited her for bringing “joy”.

“When all you’ve seen is doctors and nurses and the odd relative, it was just a bit of an assault on the senses,” Wiseman remembered. “And she was doling out hugs and, you know, cakes…She just brought joy into that place.”

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