Merry Twixmas to you all! Something a little different for you this week, a monumental story of strength and hope! When Charlie Hodson (Owner, until the end of 2023 at least, of Hodson & Co) reached out to me to see if his story merited an airing on the show, a quick call got me questioning whether this show is big enough for his story. There's a lot to get through in this chat including:- The Cheese RoomBeing a ChefOpening the smallest restaurant in the UKCommunity SpiritFalse economies of convenience shoppingBuying LocalRelying on AlcoholPlanning suicideThe Life saving words of strangersThe return to darknessHospitality Action interventionWe’ve Got youThe joy of lifeSocial connection Charlie has been to hell and back and he talks about about his demons openly and in detail so fair warning, please don't listen if you don't feel ready to listen. But do try if you can as the learning through here is quite remarkable. You might also wonder how this chat fits into the category of up beat and positive but as you will learn, there's so much positivity available, even in our darkest moments. Enjoy! The Guest A chef by trade and a lover of all things pork and cheese, Charlie is a Norfolk boy with the heart and soul of the beautiful county running through his veins.  After being awarded 2 rosettes in 2013, awarded Champion of Norfolk Food & Drink in 2014, going on to win the Sausage Roll Off title at the Red Lion at Barnes in 2017 and being a finalist in Visit Britain in 2018, Charlie has been co-hosting the Big Norfolk Sausage bash in Aylsham since 2019. Instagram - @hodsonandcofinedining The Sponsor Today’s episode comes to you in partnership with RotaCloud, the people management platform for shift-based teams. RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from a single, web-based app. It makes work simple for your team, too, allowing them to check their rotas, request holiday, and even pick up extra shifts straight from their phones. Try RotaCloud’s time-saving tools today by heading to https://rotacloud.com/phil This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy