Tannie Maria

Maria Purvis is never the centre of attention, but she's always paying attention. Her hair looks like it could use a brush, and her hands tend to fly about with a life of their own when she talks or cooks. You might not immediately notice her – until she offers you some food. She has an unexpectedly firm grip – all that upper arm strength from baking makes her handshake intimidating. Her eyes hardly ever stop moving. She's liable to blurt things out awkwardly. She might appear unfocused or distracted at times, but that's just because she's taking in everything, like a sponge cake absorbing all the brandy.