Anne Barbour armed with mallett

Divorce is awful, and Anne's was no different. During the upsetting process of turfing out cupboards and drawers, Anne came across a poignant reminder of that special day twenty-five years ago - the top layer of her wedding cake in more or less perfect condition. Instead of dumping it in a bin bag, Anne decided then and there, "I can't throw this away. I've got to use it in a very positive way!"

Friends said "Achieve closure! Throw it in the Thames!" But Anne wanted more. A party was the thing. "I'll call it a 'Cake Wake'," she thought and invited round a few close friends - 'mourners' she called them - to a ceremony in which the cake would symbolise the end of her marriage.

The evening, which would have been Anne's 25th wedding anniversary, went with a swing. Champagne flowed, fireworks exploded, ("The neighbours thought there was a firing squad in the garden") and a splendid dinner was had. In the corner of the room, on an altar like arrangement, the cake awaited its fate. Anne had replaced the traditional model of bride and groom with a big gold candle in the shape of a pig, "It was a cake shrine, and attached to it was a plaque which read 'In Memorium 1976-2001'."

The time came to 'cut' the cake. But in place of a knife, Anne wielded a wooden meat mallet, adorned with a red ribbon which one of her friends had had the foresight to bring along as a sort of replacement for the traditional horseshoe given to the bride, "I was told to bash the cake up! Everyone felt it would be very therapeutic."

The cake received a good walloping, but remained stubbornly cake-ish in shape. As the wine flowed again, the party forgot about the remains in the corner. The next day, however, Anne's friends rang to say they were concerned that the cake was still there. Anne, resourceful to the last, told them not to worry, she had a plan.

That weekend, whilst visiting Southampton, Anne took the cake down to the waterfront and placed it on a wooden pile sticking up out of the water. What happened next was reminiscent of a scene from Hitchcock`s film The Birds, "Within minutes seagulls came from every direction and devoured the cake. It was gone! With the sun just setting, it was wonderful - and a very dramatic end to the ceremony."

Turning back to her car, Anne saw what appeared to be a final comment on the state of her marriage, "It was plastered with bird droppings! I just laughed and laughed. To me they were strokes of good luck. There is life after divorce."