March 2010

IN CONVERSATION

...with the Town Mayor - Cllr Sue Doy

I have been invited to our Town Mayor, Sue Doy’s, delightful flat in Southwold, where, over a cup of coffee, I endeavour to find out a little bit more about the person who is the current public face of our town. Without any prompting, she launches into a detailed account of her rich and varied life.
Her first clear memory, as for many of us, is a slightly odd one – in her case, being dressed in a green cape singing, ‘You are my sunshine’! This, it seems to me, sums up two major themes in her life: a positive approach, no matter the circumstances, and a love of performing and dressing up.
Sue has deep Southwold roots, being born into a local family, the Wells’, in the same house (75 Victoria Street) as her father and grandfather. Being a small child at the beginning of the War in 1939 (born in 1936), she was inevitably caught up in the nationwide evacuation of children, being sent away with her mother to Carshalton. Ironically, it then turned out to be more dangerous where they now were, so they were sent back to Southwold. Sue has no memory of any of this, the green cape incident happening later.

The Wells family was then relocated to Southwold Borough Council (as it then was) housing in Reydon, as 75 Victoria Street had been sold and they had to move. The family was given this opportunity because of the war work Sue’s father did: both working on Parham aerodrome and acting as an ARP warden.

Sue remembers the set up in the new house as being very crowded. Not only did her immediate family live there, but they shared the two-bedroom house with two aunts as well. One aunt slept in the bath!

Although she does not remember much of the War years, she does remember having a very happy childhood, ‘idyllic’ in her words. Her parents did not have much in the way of money, but she had plenty of love and there was always food on the table. There were cornfields opposite her home in Reydon (now covered by a housing estate) teeming with rabbits and other wildflife, where she and other children could play. There were also many opportunities for dancing, which she enjoyed at Geraldine Nash’s School of Dancing, as well as pantomimes and shows on the Pier.

She also got into sport in a big way: both through school, where this was the only thing she was interested in, and her father, who now worked at the Borough Council’s tennis courts. She visited the courts every day and this is how she developed her life-long love of tennis.

This led to another irony in her life: because she was regarded as having promise as a tennis player, Miss Nancy Fox asked Sue to live with her to help her get to a higher level of the game. And where was her house? Blyth House, where Sue now lives in a flat. In the end, Sue declined the offer because she was happy at home.

After going to Miss Witty’s School in Southwold until 11 and then Reydon Modern, Sue’s formal education ended when she was 15. But that was not the end of her learning. She says that, although she never went to college, she did go to ‘the college of life’. As she says: ‘In those days, you had to master more than one job in order to survive.’ Thankfully, there were many job opportunities on offer then. Not only did Southwold have a Labour Exchange, but there was also a wide range of employers in the town. ‘If you wanted to work, you never needed to be out of work.’

Sue did not get off to an auspicious start in the world of work: her first job was with Home Knit, where a combination of lack of particular interest in the job (although she did enjoy the company of the other girls) and getting entangled in the machinery several times led to an exasperated manager giving her her marching orders fairly quickly.

She then moved on to waitressing and never looked back. It became her main career for the rest of her working life. She started with old Miss Gardiner and her dog, Rags, at the Glan-y-don dining room on the sea front. Sue was happy there and learnt a lot. It was a lot of hard work, with days not ending until about 8 pm, but she did not mind this.

Interestingly, this period of Sue’s life has been immortalised in film. A young Michael Palin stayed with his parents at Glan-y-don, the experience of which became the basis of his 1987 film, ‘East of Ipswich’. Sue remembers meeting him. She agrees with the film’s depiction of Miss Gardiner as being very strict, with guests having to be in on time, but feels her own depiction (the guesthouse waitress in the film is based on her) is the opposite to what she is actually like.

Although she worked hard, it did not stop her enjoying life. The range of entertainment on offer was not as broad as it is today, but there was still plenty to do. It also did not cost much – just 1 shilling for a night out (pictures, bus trip and chips etc) – and she thoroughly enjoyed herself. Every Saturday, she would go to the Pier or the Halesworth Rifle Hall for dances. It was a more innocent time in some ways: ‘an old boy used to give us Southwold and Reydon girls a lift for free’. Sue would often get packed in the front while the others piled into the back of his car. ‘I must have been an absolute nightmare for my mum and dad!,’ she chuckles.

As Miss Gardiner got older, she did not open as much in the winter, so Sue diversified and also worked at Avrils (known as Woody Whiss’s) and as a nanny during those months. Eventually, Glan-y-don closed, so Sue went on to waitress in the Jack O’Lantern Café, owned by Mrs Powell. It was a memorable place to work, with an expresso coffee machine – one of the first in Southwold – and, bizarrely, a china shop and aviary attached to it as well. It was fashionable because of the expresso machine; all the youngsters from Beccles School would go there. She was very happy working there and stayed until the first major milestone in her life, her marriage.

The wheels started turned when she first met Dutta Doy at the King’s Head pub when she was just 171/2. Her attention initially attracted by his fisherman’s boots, she fell in love and they were engaged when she was 18. They had a whale of a time in the years of the engagement. Sue remembers it as a bit of a social whirl, with regular trips down to the Harbour Inn, mixing with all the people from the caravan site. She particularly remembers an old couple calling themselves the Merry Imps, who performed music on the piano and fiddle.

Marriage came when she was 21, in 1958. She never forgets the day. The ceremony was held in Southwold Church on a beautiful sunny day. She felt like the Queen, dressed in white and giving a Royal wave. The marriage was to be a solid one, lasting over 50 years, until last year, when Dutta sadly died.

Married life started off by moving back to Southwold. After a brief period in Cumberland Road, the Doys moved into 2 Cautley Road, where three children appeared in rapid succession: two sons (Gary and Tommy) and a daughter (Teresa). The 1960s were a happy time at this address. All the neighbouring houses had children (compare that with today), so her children had a ready supply of playmates. There were many parties and Sue was able to indulge her passion for dressing up by creating a costume box for the children, which came out at the slightest opportunity. ‘It’s why Teresa hates dressing up!’, Sue laughs. (There was a strong Young Wives’ Group when she was first a mother and this was when she started dressing up – it was the first time Sue started doing her trademark version of Rolf Harris’ ‘Jake the Peg’.)

They were a close-knit family always doing things together. They would always go out on the beach whenever possible. Sue used to be as bad as her children on the ‘spend a penny’ machines (one reason why she does not want them to go in the proposed changes at the Pier). There was also an annual Christmas Eve party when the children were still young.

The only cloud on the horizon in this happy time was the death of Sue’s father in 1968, which hit them hard. Sue’s final child, Alan, was born not long afterwards and sadly never had the chance to know him.

The family moved again in 1969 to 18 Hotson Road, which had more bedrooms (an important consideration for a growing family), as part of an elaborate property swap with two other neighbours. ‘I wouldn’t recommend three groups of people moving in one day!’ is Sue’s comment – there were no removal men, just helpful friends. And this is where they stayed for a further 40 very happy years.

Looking after four children meant Sue could no longer work full time, so she started waitressing part time at the Swan Hotel. She then moved on to what turned out to be her longest-lasting position: head waitress at the Crown, where she remained for 26 years, surviving changes of management and in the style and focus of the hotel.

One thing that did remain constant was the excuse for dressing up in the form of themed nights she ran – Chinese, can can etc – out came the dressing-up box again! Even when the Crown changed tack and turned into a wine bar, these continued as they were so popular. Particularly memorable was a can can evening where John Huggins and Don Beales were the star turn! Sue smiles: ‘People still talk about it.’

Eventually, one after another, the children left the Doy household, married and started their own families. Sue now has nine grandchildren. The time also came to retire, finally stopping work at 65. This doesn’t mean Sue has stopped herself.

The Royal British Legion is an important focus of her activities, which she joined back in 1981, taking up standard bearing, something her husband also enjoyed doing. Both have been county standard bearers – a great honour. She paraded in front of the Queen for the Golden Jubilee in 2002. She remembers it being a glorious day. Her and a friend from Newmarket took two standards from Suffolk (the only two from the county) to the Queen Mother’s 100th birthday at Horseguards. She is now a caseworker for the Legion, the Chairman of the Women’s Section of the Southwold and Reydon Branch, and Royal British Legion Branch Secretary for Wenhaston. She is also on the Royal British Legion’s County Committee and Parade Marshal of Suffolk County Women’s Section.

She also entered local politics. She was asked when she finally retired in 2002 whether she wanted to be part of Southwold Town Council. Sue suggested that her daughter, Teresa, consider this as well. Both mother and daughter agreed and both were elected to the Council. The culture (‘very formal’) initially took some getting used to, but she now likes it. She feels it ensures that the Town Council keeps to its agenda (unlike some other groups). She also likes and gets on with her fellow councillors. She feels that they are all good at something and have their own slot, like a big team. It is also good that the Council is non political. ‘Local councils should be non political and put serving people first.’

Now a seasoned councillor, having survived re-election, her own slot in the team is responsibility for the Allotment Holders’ Association, the Stella Peskett Millennium Hall and fund raising. Sue is proud of the Hall, both as a building and for the fact that it is all paid for. She is currently trying to get more money for landscaping the outside of the Stella Peskett.

Becoming Town Mayor is the icing on the cake. It came completely out of the blue – Cllr Ladd informed her last year that she was Mayor-elect. Her first response was ‘Oh, good gracious, whatever have I done?’. Dutta’s response was, ‘You can b––y do it!’ He was as pleased as punch and she decided to do it for him.

Although the first meeting was as daunting as anything new she has done in her life, she has not looked back since, as everyone on the Council has been very supportive. Sue’s philosophy about being Town Mayor is: ‘Once I said I was going to be Mayor, I wasn’t going to let them down. Whatever I do, I try to do it to the best of my ability.’

Support has been a key issue for Sue’s tenure as Town Mayor as Dutta’s failing health due to cancer was a major concern for her. She was doubtful whether she could look after him adequately as being Town Mayor would mean being out for much of the time. People rallied around to help her – there was always someone sitting with him when she was out. She is very grateful: ‘I couldn't have done it without all the support of the Council, family and friends.’

As a result, she only missed one event as Mayor – judging the sand castle competition – and that was because Dutta wanted to be drum major at the races at Newmarket. ‘This was the last thing we did together at the Legion, and with his beloved band.’

Dutta’s death was a sad occasion for everyone. Sue has been deeply touched by the level of support she has received from people in the town, and was very proud when the flag outside the Town Hall was put at half mast – as he was her consort.

She feels it has been such a privilege and honour to serve as the town’s Mayor and has enjoyed every minute of it. ‘I hope I’ve done justice to the job and will be very sorry when it is finished. It is sometimes hard work, but always enjoyable. I hope to get a few more things done before I finish, like the handover of the Klondyke, the Putting Green and the Kilcock Cliff toilets, and the new town sign.’

In the midst of a very difficult year, there has been one ray of sunshine for her – a new great-grandson born in June 2009. ‘My beautiful Riley.’

Sue’s thoughts about her life? ‘I’ve had a very happy life and a strong sense of humour.’ And she has this advice for the next Town Mayor of Southwold: ‘Enjoy it and serve your town with pride.’