And the culmination of the bake-a-thon ...

It was about 12.25pm when I suddenly realised that my stomach was churning.

It's one thing to bring in to the office some sort of culinary effort as a gift for colleagues – it's entirely another to expect them to pay for something! Would it be good enough that people would genuinely enjoy it and not just pay for it out of a sense of 'duty'?

I was up early to solve the final parts of the puzzle – getting everything organised so that I could carry it into work on the bus.

Four cake and biscuit tins did the basic work – the chocolate cake had spent the night in the fridge, on a plate that had been covered with foil, which had been turned down and folded under the plate. It was then easy enough this morning for me to unfold the excess foil and gently lift the cake off the plate and into the biggest of my tins.

With two large carrier bags weighing me down, plus my camera and a handbag, I was out early to avoid the schoolchildren. It turned out to be an easy journey.

And sure enough, a colleague who, like me, is an early starter most days, bought her chocolate bark early.

But nonetheless, after a morning's work, the nerves kicked in.

I should have realised – if you bake it, they will come. Particularly when you liberally sprinkle the word 'chocolate' around.

And they did come. Slowly but surely, they came.

I'm left with some ginger cake and some bark, but they'll sell in the next couple of days.

The reality is that people enjoy my wares and I'll raise a decent amount for charity.

In the meantime, The Other Half is off at a conference and I'm having a girly night in. So please excuse me if I don't post at length.

This has been a really exciting day. I'm quite chuffed, if the truth be known.

And on that note – I'll talk to you soon.