Dollies are smiling at life

9:24am Tuesday 10th June 2008

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On a mission to have a laugh, the Dolly Mixtures of York offer a colourful code of conduct. Maxine Gordon dips in to find out more.

IT was the story that you never heard about... when Dame Edna Everidge sneaked into the Mansion House to surprise the Lord Mayor.

As she burst through the door into the banquet room and declared Hello Possums', the Lord Mayor was leaving by another door.

"We missed each other," says the Dame - or rather Charmaine Fenton, impressive mimic, Mulberry Hall waitress, and founder of Dolly Mixtures, a York social group of women of a certain age'.

The group meets monthly, taking in a range of activities from cookery demonstrations to theatre trips, following the motto: "It's a sad day if you haven't had a laugh."

And one of their funniest moments came during a visit to the Mansion House in York in December 2006, when Charmaine slipped away to pop on her Dame Edna disguise and play a prank on the Mansion House staff.

"We'd just been looking at the Mansion House silver and had moved up to the banqueting hall for coffee and to admire the Christmas decorations when Charmaine burst in, saying Hello Possums'," explains fellow Dolly Mixture Barbara Bright.

"We'd all had to give our names and be vetted before we came for the visit, so the staff could not understand where this person had come from. Dame Edna just wasn't on the list. In the end, we had to say: It's Charmaine!' They all saw the funny side."

If the WI conjures up images of making jam, the DMs are more about making fun.

The group was launched two years ago, over a glass of wine at the Ebor pub in Bishopthorpe. But its horizons were wider than meeting for a drink every four weeks.

After their first event, on Barbara's narrowboat where a holistic therapist provided mini treatments, membership grew, and now stands close to 40.

Among the monthly outings to date have been tours of York Minster, a visit to the Heslington gardens of floral artist George Smith, a makeover with city hairdressing legends Glen and Julio and making sushi at an oriental store in Bishopthorpe Road. There have also been a few theatre outings and a trip to Scarborough.

A second motto of the Dollies is: "Do it anyway", which leads them to activities they'd never ordinarily dream of trying out.

"We went to an Art Jamming' session at The ArtSpace in Tower Street," says Charmaine, aka Queen Dolly. "There was someone playing acoustic guitar and we all got the chance to throw some paint on to paper."

ArtSpace owner Greg McGee later posted a message on his website saying: "The Dolly Mixtures rock!"

They also got the chance to be creative when they went to Rainbow Ceramics in Bootham and painted crockery.

Their outings have another purpose too. Each year, they choose a charity to support. Last year, they raised more than £2,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care, the bulk of the cash coming from a variety show staged at Bishopthorpe Village Hall. Among the headline acts were The Mishapes tap dancers, with an average age of 70, York singer Steve Cassidy and the York Light Opera Company. Charmaine did a turn too - as Dame Edna.

This year's good cause is Martin House children's hospice and the Dollies are planning a barn dance in September to boost funds.

The Dollies also took over Whistles fashion store on Stonegate for a night, in aid of the hospice. They enjoyed a fashion show and picked up lots of style tips from Whistles' staff.

Members even have their own sign': they cross their arms under their boobs and give them a quick lift. "It's very Les Dawson," says Charmaine. "And something ladies of a certain age do when they talk about their medical problems. We do like to send ourselves up a bit."