OPERATING THE ROYAL TRAIN PART 2
THERE was an overnight train for The Queen from Euston to Bradford, timed to pass through Doncaster at a reasonable time in the morning. At 06.25, my mobile rang.
It was the Royal Train officer, Nick Edwards. Could I nip round to Asda to get a hairdryer? The Queen’s lady in waiting was in panic mode after finding she had forgotten the hairdryer, and the one on the train wasn’t working.
I nudged the wife and said: “You need to get up early today, I want to borrow your hairdryer.” After she had made herself look half decent, we made our way to Doncaster station and awaited the arrival of the train on platform eight.
My mobile rang again. I said: “It’s okay. We’re in position with the hairdryer.” The reply was: “The fridge has broken down and the milk has gone off.”
I walked over to the Costa Coffee booth and asked the lady – Janet – if I could purchase two large bottles of milk, to which she replied: “We don’t sell milk on its own.”
I said: “If I told you that the Royal Train will be arriving right in front of you in the next 10 minutes and The Queen is waiting for a brew, would that make any difference?”
The milk appeared on the counter and Janet spent the rest of the day basking in glory, telling her customers what had happened. I
