Monday, January 26, 2009

Auntie Tidge Russell


Sally's People are characters I invented for books, short stories and poems. Their creation spans the last three decades of the 20th Century and (so far) the first of the 21st.
Auntie Tidge is the salt of the earth. She is a big, generous lady with glasses and a smile as big as her heart. She loves her nephew, Sarge, and his dogs, Jack Russell and Preacher. Her affection easily stretches to Caterina Smith, Sarge's intended, and Caterina's harum-scarum dog, Red. Her kindness is also tinged with practicality, as when she adopts Foxie the street dog, and sets about teaching him to be an acceptable member of society. Auntie Tidge's real first name has never been revealed, but somehow she has remained single.

Since moving to Doggeroo in the wake of her nephew and Jack, Auntie Tidge has fully involved herself in the town. She cooks for stalls, knits for charity, minds houses and pets, does a little dressmaking and helps run the new Doggeroo Fowl Society. She could easily be a busybody, but her genuine kindness and shrewd intelligence keep her just this side of the line.

Auntie Tidge appears in all the Jack Russell: Dog Detective series. The illustration is by the wonderful Janine Dawson.

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