THE function room at Tavistock's Ordulph Arms was packed for the spring Taste and See dinner in which lecturer Sue Yendell spoke on the subject of 'The Mind and Faith'.

She lectures in health and social policy at the University of Plymouth and was previously a mental health practitioner in the community, working with people with a range a mental health issues.

She said her work had deepened her faith and respect for the struggles with which many people have to contend. Her personal life has not always been easy — her father committed suicide when she was a teenager and her mother remarried and left the country, leaving her in boarding school. It was during this time she discovered Christianity.

As she grew up, her lack of security led to a series of abusive relationships and she suffered the suicide of her brother.

She came back to faith on an Alpha course where she met and subsequently married Richard, a Devon farmer. Their faith was further tested with the birth of their son Jack, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, but they learned to accommodate his needs and he is now a delightful nine-year-old who has a six-year-old sister for company.

Ruth Newman, chairman of Taste and See, thanked Sue.

The summer Taste and See is to be on Wednesday June 24 at the Moorland Links Hotel. It will be an image night and the speaker will be the South West's award winning image consultant Lizzie Fox.

Further information from Ruth Newman on 01822 616859. Tickets will be available from Georgina's Pets, West Street.