One pair of Hands – Monica Dickens

 

I did manage to squeeze in one more Monica Dickens book before Little Miss C's arrival finishing it only a few hours before I went into labour: One Pair of Hands. In this book Dickens pulls together a series of vignettes of what it is like to be a cook in a variety of households. It's not that she is a career cook or anything like that, but more that she thought she ought to get a job and realised that there was not much that she was qualified for. Some embellishments about what she learnt in various finishing school type places means that an agency soon finds her a first position, and then with one under her belt she is able to make a career of being a cook and general member of household staff.

Some of the positions that Dickens holds are far from ideal. Households where the kitchen is poorly equipped and the master of the house is oblivious to the costs involved in providing meals in the way he wants. In other positions she is part of a much larger team working for a family household where all the "below stairs" roles are clearly defined and expectations must be met. Her reliance on cook books to get her out of a variety of sticky situations where she is asked to prepare dishes that she's not heard of before makes you feel a bit sorry for her, but at the same time admire her can do attitude to everything that is thrown at her. She makes the most of all the help that she gets from the various trades people that call at the kitchen doors and the story of a particular vacuum cleaner salesman that takes a shine to her is very sweet.

Overall this is a lovely little book. An insight into a world that you don't always see and an opportunity to pick up on some of the details of what life was like for Monica Dickens in her kitchen role. Many humorous moments are mentioned and by the end it's very difficult not to feel like Monica is a friend and that you're hearing all these little stories over a cup of tea at the kitchen table. I'm just glad I got to hear all her tales before my trip to the hospital!