Biscuit Girls by Davies Hunter

Author:Davies, Hunter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ebury Publishing

Chapter 11

Dorothy

Dorothy, the girl from the country, brought up on a farm, started at Carr’s in 1976, not long after Dulcie had returned. She was trained by Ivy for the first few weeks, who was still helping to teach a new generation of biscuit girls the tricks and tips.

Dorothy, having spent many years previously in the confectionery business, was by now aged thirty-seven, quite old compared with some of the girls who had come straight from school. She did meet quite a few woman of her own age, though, most of whom were married with children.

When first moving to Carlisle, she had gone to dances, at places like the Cameo and the County. She was quite happy living at home with her parents and quite happy, she says, with her own company. ‘I did have men who asked me to go on holiday with them, but I said no. I had boyfriends, but nothing serious.’

She walked to work on the first day, found she could do it just fifteen minutes, and walked back and forward every day afterwards, thus saving money on bus fares.

Like most new workers, Dorothy was overwhelmed by the size of the factory, and all the old bits, scattered around, at the end of corridors and across yards. She often got lost in the first few weeks and had to ask someone the way to where she was supposed to be working.

Dorothy was put on Table Water Biscuits, where she had to pack twelve packets into a box and then, if they were for export, she had to pack three of the boxes into a much bigger box, which would then have thirty-six packets in each.

The water biscuits were hot, straight from the oven, but like most of the women at the time – before health and safety took over so much of working lives – she didn’t wear the gloves, preferring to get used to burning her fingers.

‘The first year was the worst. I was put on the six to two shift. I don’t remember being offered any other shift. I just accepted it, pleased to be in work. But it meant I had to be up at five each morning to get there. That took some getting used to, after doing normal day shifts in the other jobs I had had.

‘When I got home at 2.30, I felt so tired. I would have a rest, then get up and have a cup of tea and a wash. It felt a bit funny at first, not knowing what to do with yourself for the rest of the day. But I soon settled down. I liked the six to two shift. It was no bother.

‘I did dream a lot about biscuits that first year, not quite nightmares, but a bit worrying. I would dream that the biscuits were running off the band [the conveyor belt] because I had been too slow to pick them up. They were all just falling down… then I would wake up.’

She didn’t find being on water biscuits all the time too boring.

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