'On a crisp September day in 1944, Ethel Alleyne stood outside Tate & Lyle's factory at Plaistow Wharf, on the shining curve of the Thames. Looking up at the giant gate, Ethel felt as if she'd been preparing for this moment all her life. She drew herself up to her full height and did her best to hide her nerves as she headed into the factory.Â
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She was quite unprepared for the sight that met her eyes...'Â
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During the Blitz and the years of rationing, the Sugar Girls kept Britain sweet. The work was back-breakingly hard, but Tate & Lyle was more than just a workplace - it was a community, a calling, a place of love and support and an uproarious, tribal part of the East End. From ambitious Ethel to irrepressible Gladys, lovelorn Lilian to fun-loving Joan - and Miss Smith, who tries to keep a workforce of flirtatious young men and women on the straight and narrow - this is an evocative, moving story of hunger, hardship and happiness.Â
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The Sugar Girls (Collins, 2012) weaves together tales of adversity, resilience and youthful high spirits, bringing vividly to life the East End of Call The Midwife and Silvertown. It provides a moving insight into a lost way of life, as well as a timeless testament to the experience of being young and female.
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For more information, pics and audio clips, see thesugargirls.com.
