Don’t assume the worst

It’s easy to be a harbinger of doom in your own life when you take on something meaningful, like a stressed out Mark tonight. But when he said to Matt of the final challenge: “It’s a tough one, a lot to do, a lot to think about, a lot that can go wrong. Matt came back with the perfect calming retort, by saying “Nothing has gone wrong so far. You just lied to me.”

Perhaps Mark was rattled by the Bake Off curse. Legend has it that whoever wins Star Baker in Week 4 has never won the competition, and of course Mark took home the honour last week… And his pastry cage did fail quite spectacularly so perhaps he was right to question himself, although he managed to stay in the competition for another week, and Linda exited stage left (it really is a shame, Linda!).

Maybe we should turn instead to Lottie and her proclamation that “I have hope, if not faith”. A mantra for 2020 if ever I’ve heard one.

GBBO: the four life lessons to take from a stressful pastry week