27/08/2026
Years ago, I decided that one of the unsung heroes of Honeybee House deserved a name.
Our coffee machine works incredibly hard. Day in, day out, quietly keeping Llanishen caffeinated — and it seemed rather unfair that something so important to the tearoom was simply known as “the coffee machine.”
So we did what we often do at Honeybee and threw the question open to you lovely lot. Name our coffee machine. Best suggestion wins a cream tea for two.
There were loads of entries.
Then somebody suggested Dolly.
I remember looking at it and thinking… Dolly? The cloned sheep? 🐑
So I asked her why.
Her answer was simply:
“Because she’s working nine to five!”
Well. That was the competition over. 😂
Dolly got her name — and her name badge — and she has genuinely been Dolly ever since.
But over the years, I’ve grown to love the name for another reason too.
Honeybee is a female-led, mother-and-daughter business, and Dolly Parton was far more than an extraordinary singer and songwriter. She was also one hell of a businesswoman. She built something extraordinary, did things her own way and never seemed to think that being feminine, funny, kind and successful were mutually exclusive.
That feels rather at home here.
And somewhere along the way, Dolly became part of the language of Honeybee.
Every afternoon, as we close the tearoom, you’ll hear one of us shout:
“Is Dolly off?”
And someone else shout back:
“Yes! She’s off!”
We’ve said it hundreds — probably thousands — of times without giving it a second thought.
Today, it feels a little different.
Our Dolly will still be here tomorrow, working nine to five — well, 9.15 to 4.15. Dolly has better employment conditions at Honeybee. 😉
Because our little corner of South Wales has always had a little bit of Nashville in it.
Thank you, Dolly. ❤️
