Behind the Counter: A Lincoln Cafe Memory

At Canwick House Care Home, some of our wonderful residents were born and raised in Lincolnshire, and have spent large portions of their lives here. One of our residents, who wishes to remain anonymous, is somewhat of an expert on the city of Lincoln, having lived all around the historic city.

"We lived on Cross O' Cliff Hill but my mother had a cafe in the Strait. We'd sell steak pies, stews, and such, there's not a lot of money in teas and coffees and people would come for the cook, the chef. The customers could always tell the difference between mine, my sister's and my mother's pastry!"

She recounts to me that it was not always easy in this role and not all customers were pleasant. She did have her own clever ways of combating this.

"I was the waitress, who had her knees felt by adventurous men who I was serving, nuisance it was. You wouldn't expect something like that. What I would do is charge an extra sixpence on their bill. They would ask me about this, saying that I've overcharged them."

Assuming a stern posture, she demonstrates, "I'd look right in their eye and say 'I don't think I did, did I?', and it would be taken no further. I don't know if men are like this nowadays, but if so, you should wear high heels and stamp on their feet."

We laugh at this, and I ask her what she would do with the extra 'tips' selflessly provided by these gentlemen.

"We used to take the money and go dancing on a Saturday night. It wasn't always fun though. Me and my chum used to stand at the side of the ballroom and suss out who was a good dancer. There's no point dancing with a flat footed man!"

It's always a pleasure being a companion on memory lane, and we thank our fabulous, feisty lady for sharing this with us.