Sometimes the lifestyle offered by mobile catering can seem idyllic, and this is reinforced constantly by glossy, positive posts on social media by those in the industry. Sometimes including me!

The reality can sometimes be different: the hours can be punishing, the rewards limited, and days just don’t go to plan.

The recent Birdfair was a great event for us, but there was a low point and that came on Friday evening. After a full day working on the event, (starting with a 5am rise, in order to travel to Oakham and then set up in time to start serving at 9am), I found myself packing up, alone, in a field, at 8pm, in the pouring rain. Tired, miserable and too keen to get home, I made a schoolboy error and drove the van onto a muddy field from which I couldn’t get off without a further delay – and some justifiable mirth from the tractor driver and security team who had to rescue me. I got home around 9pm, started to wash our equipment and pack for the next day, in a pretty miserable state.

Next morning, I was setting up for Day 2 and was almost ready for the day when a chap approached me. He told me he’d been observing me set up and that every day, he chose a subject to sketch, just to capture where he was that day. The finished sketch of Henri was just wonderful and he was kind enough to stop and chat and to gift me his first draft, which you see here.

This act of kindness, humanity and talent not only made my day, but changed my mindset for the rest of it. It encouraged me to think:

• What can I do to make others feel just as good today? – it seems a simple act, but we set to and served the best drinks we could possibly deliver, with a smile, and often some banter, for every customer we served. In the process we met some lovely people and had some great moments of connection.
• What benefit could there be if, just like the artist, we could all find 10-20 minutes each day to stop, and really take in our world and enjoy the moment, rather than just relentlessly slogging through the to-do list?

I didn’t get the artist’s name but if he’s reading this, he should know that I will treasure this sketch for a long time to come.