Everything for the dolly girls

She visited a day after she won the title to open the town’s first ‘dolly-shop,’ the Penny Alley Boutique.

She cut the ribbon of the little white-washed shop in Haslem’s Lane on the Thursday morning as it opened its doors to the strictly ‘dolly’ girl in mind.

Her sisters Agnes and Marie McConkey, both dollies in their own right, 21 and 20 years old, “with a bit of experience in London Boutiques,” were the girls behind the idea.

Their boyfriends Ian Wallis and Headly McCormick, helped to build, paint and fix up the shop.

A wide range of dresses were provided but the foursome employed a dress maker so dresses could be made and designed how a girl liked if they couldn’t find anything to suit in the shop.