Meet the Greedy Granny (me!)

I have baked all my life. My mother used to bake to say “I love you”, and I still do that.

When I was a young Mum, I baked for the local WI market, and was thrilled when orders rolled in for my bacon and egg pies, Christmas cakes and Victoria sponges, among other items. I was most delighted when I discovered I was being patronised by several care homes, whose residents liked the assortment of smaller finger cakes I prepared, with different flavours, icings and toppings to choose from. It was a joy to make them.

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For several years I was a volunteer baker at a newly opened National Trust property, baking scones by the several dozen, and seeing them disappear into a long queue of eager mouths. We had to issue warnings and hold people back for fear of burnt mouths and fingers. But the aroma from the kitchen was wonderful and the complements swelled the heads of the baking team something shocking. Covid put an end to that particular venture, but nothing stops me baking.

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I now bake for a local monthly coffee morning, for charity cake stalls, for church events and for a few private commissions. I’ve also won a few (small) local competitions lately!

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Discovering a gluten intolerance a few years ago widened my scope, and now I love to experiment – adapting and developing new recipes to cope with gluten and lactose intolerances, and vegan-friendly products.

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Away from the kitchen, I have a BA degree in English, a Masters in Early English, and a Masters in Text and Performance Studies (gained when I was well into my sixties! Woo hoo!). I love to learn (even lines, when acting – another passion!), and am now trying to learn Spanish from scratch (very trying, I hear my family say!). I can order bread, cheese, wine and beer, and say thank you. I think I’m winning!

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I read voraciously, am a book-club member and I run a play-reading group at my local theatre. Until very recently I was also a trustee of NewSPAL, a charity that saved, and now runs, a Performing Arts Library – i.e. it loans out scores, scripts and general books on all aspects of the performing arts. Based in Surrey, it is used nationwide.

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And I’m a writer. Of anything and everything. A lot of ephemera has been produced over the years, and a great many business reports and plans written, but I’ve now got two novels complete and polished, one in planning, and a murder (sort of) bubbling along nicely. I write an inspiring shopping list too! Just need a publisher to believe in me! I lead a writers’ group, too, and you'll find some of the lesson plans I've used on the Write page.