Dot left school at the age of 16 and started working for Pearl Assurance in Sutton. She’d actually tried to get a job before then in Woolworths but was turned down when they discovered she’d lied about her age, telling them she was fifteen and a half when in fact, she was fifteen and three quarters! Another example of her rebellious ways. As Laura says, her main motivation was the pick ’n mix anyway, so when Dot eventually got various Saturday jobs at the local cafe, the deli counter at Tescos and later on in Boots, she was able to bowl into Woolworths and buy herself some sweets anyway.