| abstract | - Sybil Cudlipp was an elocution teacher who was hired by Annie Walker in 1973 a few weeks before she was to become Mayoress of Weatherfield. Annie had prior experience in public speaking through her position as chairperson of the Lady Victuallers so she only wanted to hone her skills with Mrs Cudlipp. Even more grand dame than Annie, and wearing a blue coat, hat and glasses, Mrs Cudlipp arrived at the Rovers for Annie's first lesson and was led through to the back by Betty Turpin, giving the barmaid a look when she asked if she was there to teach Annie to "talk proper". Preparing Annie for her lesson, Mrs Cudlipp intrigued Annie by mentioning that there were medals for public speaking, leading her to aim for the gold. When they got started, Mrs Cudlipp treated Annie like a novice, starting off with breathing exercises and then putting their tongues to the roofs of their mouths and humming. Annie considered these exercises a waste of time and asked to start at a more advanced stage, trying to have her way by threatening to give up the lessons - depriving Mrs Cudlipp of the prestige of assisting the Mayoress. However, Mrs Cudlipp refused to fast-track her, and so Annie decided that her lessons had nothing to offer her and dropped her.
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