Brighton actress, Kate Dyson, concludes her memories of her world famous Great Great Aunt Dolly Shepherd…

Aged 16 Dolly had found herself a job as a waitress at the Ally Pally. Why? Because she was desperate to hear the famous American Sousa Band and she certainly couldn’t afford a ticket. And after the concert, oh what joy, Sousa regularly sat at her table, and it was there that she overheard a conversation he was having with his friend Cody, Buffalo Bill’s namesake. Cody was a well-known showman, and part of his act involved shooting an egg from the top of his wife’s head. As his wife was unwell, he could not perform that evening, so Auntie, always loving an adventure, offered to stand in, and to her astonishment, it was agreed that she could. She admitted that had she known that he would be wearing a blindfold, she might have had some misgivings. The performance went well, and as a thank you, Cody, who was also an aeronautical pioneer working with kites, offered to show Auntie the aeronautical workshop at the Ally Pally. This was the beginning. Continue reading My People – Part 2 →