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Ukrainian refugees bake showstopper cake to say thanks to hosts

"At the end of the day we've all got cake in common."

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Host Tracey Gemmells said: they came to us with their whole lives packed into one car, but they still found space for cake tins and a piping bag."
(Tracey Gemmel via SWNS)

By Athena Stavrou via SWNS

Ukrainian refugees staying with a British family have said thank you with a showstopper gingerbread model of their house.

Host Tracey Gemmel welcomed a Ukrainian mother and her two children to her home in Somerset, South England.

Mrs. Gemmell said: "At the end of the day we've all got cake in common.

"We don't speak the same language, we have to use translating apps, but we can bake and connect through that and find joy with that.

"This is an extremely tough time, but we can always go into the kitchen, shut the door behind us and just bake."

Author Tracey and her husband Scott decided to take in the family after her own experiences with homesickness.

Ukrainian baker Liuba and her son Grisha, 7, who also loves to bake, in front of the gingerbread house they made. (Tracey Gemmel via SWNS)

Their guests Liuba, from Ukraine, and her two children Tonia, 20, and Grisha, 7, have been baking since they arrived.

Tracey had been away on vacation and returned to find her Ukrainian friends had made her house in gingerbread.

Mrs. Gemmel said: "When I walked through the door, Grisha led me into the living room and showed me the house.

"I sat there with my mouth open thinking, 'how could this stranger have this extreme talent and I had no idea.'"

She said: "I lived in the US for 30 years but always desperately missed England and spent a lot of time chasing this dream about coming home.

"When I saw refugees getting off of trains in Poland, not knowing if they could ever go home it touched me - I can't imagine having to leave home dodging bombs and bullets so I knew I had to get involved.

"What's really touched me is that they came to us with their whole lives packed into one car, but they still found space for cake tins and a piping bag."

The household are yet to eat the baked creation but Liuba has been baking plenty of other treats for everyone.

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