Beatrice Finch

Beatrice Finch, who is Mrs Finch to all of Seabrook, has run Finch’s Tea Room near the pier end of the High Street for twenty-three years.

Her brother Colin works behind the counter.

She is a small, precise woman in her sixties with the manner of someone who has been running things efficiently since birth. She remembers what people drink and can tell when they need more of it. The tea arrives without being asked for. A jug of hot water follows.

The scones are made fresh each morning, and people drive considerable distances to eat them, though she would not say so herself. She has an unpredictable streak with dried fruit. One regular customer has views about the raisins and has not been consulted.

Mrs Finch has a comprehensive knowledge of Seabrook, which she describes as a natural interest in her community. She does not gossip and she does not ask. She mentions a thing, as a fact, and straightens a cup that was already straight. The matter of Dora Tilling’s cat began that way.

She keeps a small table by the bookshelf, stocked with paperbacks, for customers who come in alone. She also keeps count of the sugar bowls. She had eighteen.

Where you will find her

At Finch’s Tea Room, which opens at eight. On Tuesday mornings she leaves the Chronicle folded on Mr Penrose’s seat.