The Tao of Prue

My family has binge-watched The Great British Baking Show (née Bakeoff) for some time. It’s been a surefire way to get my 13- and 6-year-old together, capture some nuances to the British palate (as Bill Bryson has commented: who eats jam in cakes?), learn more about its culture (dessert is not cake) and laugh a lot as a family.

One of its most enduring highlights in the seasons we watch is its co-judge Prue Leith. Read about her: she is one of the most successful, dynamic, decorated people in the world. And she’s going strong in her mid-80s.

The best thing about Prue that is readily evident, beyond the stunning apparel: she has found her true self and has lived it out to its fullest. No apology. And in an age wherein uniqueness is rare – or carries with it a twinge of recycled influencer – Prue is a true original who is unconcerned, cordial and game for about anything.

This unique and authentic personage is something that entertainment and the whole of our livelihoods could use amid a Zeitgeist of ever-refined banality rife with the vacuous proclaiming of “insights.”

Thanks Prue. What you’ve created is a little triumph.

Image Courtesy Philip Friedman