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Before the start of each new series, I go shopping for my 'Bake Off' wardrobe. I've got increasingly confident with my look and now wear much more colour than I did at the start.
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I'm very keen on the family getting together around the table because you learn so much of what's going on. With a full tummy, they begin to talk to you. People now have busy lives, but once or twice a week, it's lovely to sit all around together.
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I don't want food all over the place, down the sides of the sofa... When I shared a flat before I got married, we would always eat around the telly, but not now!
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Family life is fragmenting in this modern age, but it's up to all of us to keep it together.
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I was rather hopeless at school, but the one subject I seemed to be good at was domestic science.
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I would serve a selection of cakes, scones, and small sandwiches for afternoon tea. High tea is usually served between 5 P.M. and 6 P.M., replacing an evening meal - it is more substantial.
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Lots of people have written to say 'Bake Off' has inspired them to bake with their children. I feel proud about that; it's exactly what I used to do with mine.
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We have three and a half acres, complete with duck pond and wildflower meadow and open annually by appointment as part of the National Gardens Scheme.
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If you're feeling a little bit down, a bit of kneading helps.
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'The Great British Bake Off' is family entertainment. There aren't many programmes where all ages can sit and watch from beginning to end. Everything else is violent, cruel, and noisy. We're educational without viewers realising it.
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I hope that I dress for my age. Because there's no need to be dowdy, is there? But I don't go with all the colours that everybody is wearing. I'm not very fond of lime green or orange, so I don't do that. I read all the fashion magazines, but most things are totally unsuitable for somebody of 79.
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You've got to pay an awful lot for your hotel before you get fresh orange juice. If a hotel has got proper orange juice - and you do expect it if you're abroad - I rank the hotel highly.
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One of my first jobs was as a recipe tester for a PR agency. One week, the editor of 'Housewife' magazine called my boss and asked me to write a column - the cookery editor had gone away on a press trip. I was terrified.
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I think my father couldn't wait to get home to his wife, but I don't know if he was so keen on us children.
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Reluctant as I am to regard myself as a style icon, I would love to think I could inspire older women to make the most of themselves.
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All-in-one dishes are among my favourites. I'm very much in favour of using the oven as much as possible - for casseroles, roasts and other one-pot meals - rather than the hob, where dishes need much more attention.
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I do like going out and finding free food. I've done it since I was a child. Fishing prawns and shrimps from the sea is wonderful, as is picking blackberries, sloes and mushrooms. Having a guide while out looking for mushrooms is really important, though, as picking the wrong type can be quite dangerous.
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I've always collected vintage kitchenalia because it's beautifully made, and I love to see things that have been used down the ages.
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Dad thought something very fishy was going on when, at 22, I was offered a job for £1,000 a year - more than Dad paid his own staff - for inventing cheese recipes and writing leaflets at the Dutch Dairy Bureau in London.
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I know people think I invented the Victoria sandwich, but I'm really not that old.
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I can't bear the thought of retirement, and I haven't prepared myself for it. I don't play bridge, and I don't play golf. I do play tennis, but you can't do that every day of the week.
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I don't like tattoos because tattoos are forever.
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When our William was killed, there wasn't a child bereavement charity. I was extremely blessed with a very close family, wonderful friends, a supportive husband, and two further children.
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My husband is not in the slightest bit domesticated, but as the years go, by he's getting better. He can make an excellent omelette.