Interestingly, Emily says that had Dorothy not become a singer, she would very probably have been an interior designer. “Dorothy was very creative and did all the upholstery and decorations throughout the big mansion in Bexley. She also bought four houses as an investment and did those up too. This creativeness extended into other areas of Dorothy’s life, like cooking, which she really enjoyed, and of course song writing. Dorothy was probably one of the first – if not the first female – to write her own songs and she had a lot of success with compositions like Say It With Flowers and Tammy Tell Me True. When she wrote the song Torremolinos back in the Fifties, the locals were so pleased that she was given the Freedom of the Spanish town and invited there with some friends for a free holiday!”
Emily has many memories of life with Dorothy, certainly enough to fill a book. “In many ways she was like an Auntie Mame,” she says. “Life with my Aunt Dorothy was always unpredictable. I can remember as a kid sharing a bed with Dorothy, Betty Newman and Hilda Brown, and them all gossiping away. But whatever the subjects, it always ended up being about men and how they were no bloody good!”
She adds: “As I said at Dorothy’s funeral, I had a lot of good times with her, and I had some bad times – but I learned from them. She left behind some fascinating memories and life with my Aunt Dorothy was certainly never dull.”© 2004 www.dorothysquires.co.uk
