The Mayoress of Weatherfield accompanied her husband, the Mayor, when he opened the new Community Centre in June 1971. Problems were caused though by their arrival in the Mayoral Rolls, which was serviced by Billy Walker in a contract with his Canal Garage. In the previous February, Billy had taken Irma Barlow and Elsie and Alan Howard for a drive in the car when it was in his care and Irma had lost one of her earrings in it. She tried to chat up Reg the chauffeur outside the centre to get the earring back but the Mayoress, returning to see if she had left a glove in the car overheard her and immediately suspected that Irma was her errant husband's mistress. Throughout the reception in the Centre afterwards, she stood near to Irma, listening into her conversations and throwing dagger looks