Aunt Doll

Known to everyone as Aunt Doll she was Dorothy Stevenson, a single lady who was fairly tall with a thin face. She was a good kind hearted woman who was always pleased to see us kids.

Aunt Doll lived on the edge of the village green near Obthorpe Lane in what had been the Tenyson Arms Public House which became a butchers shop that was owned by Harry Stevenson who was Aunt Doll’s brother,  he was the village butcher . 

Aunt Doll and Aunt Kate , Aunt Doll’s sister still made Harry’s pork pies raising the hot water pastry around Kilner jars. It was intriguing to me as a child watching them make them and afterwards they were taken to my dad the village baker to be cooked. Throughout this process a big oval cast iron cooking pot would be gently simmering the marrow bones to the make the jelly for the pies.

Our treat at Aunt Dolls was a homemade ginger biscuit with a glass of homemade lemonade, they were delicious , I still have recipes for both.

My dad used to bake both Harry’s pork pies and Hacelets ...when the Hacelets were cooked the fat in the tins between them went lovely and crisp...another on of life’s treats now long gone.

After Harry packed up butchery and the old kitchen was no longer in used it to store our Christmas cakes. The same kitchen where Aunt Doll used to make the pies. We started decorating our Christmas cakes about ten days before Christmas and this cold and clean space was perfect.

Every year Aunt Doll would pass the same comment, we’d drive round in the van loaded with the first batch of Christmas cakes and tap her door, she would always came out to look at them in the van...with her hands  resting behind her back as she gently leant forwards to look at them she’d say “ by guy, don’t they look handsome , it looks like hands have never touched em” this always made us smile and still does as I’m writing this.  They were happy days, we had less but it seemed so much more, people had time for you and cared about you, shared with you all that life threw at you, helping in your hour of need. 

They were happy days.

Footnote.

On the back of Aunt Doll’s kitchen door hung a homemade drawstring bag “ what’s in there ?“ I asked one day  “All my odd coppers” she replied “ why are they in there, what are they for?” “They are for a rainy day “ she told me...

One day when it was raining I popped round “come in Timmy, what  are you up to?” ....“ well, you know you said those coppers are for a rainy day, it is raining so please can I have some?” She smiled “of course you can Timmy” ❤️

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