Guiding Moments
Never too old It was my very first guided tour and I was nervous . My charming group of Americans came into the Garden and paused at the top of the pavilion steps to admire the cascade in all its glory . I then gave an outline of the tour , suggesting to the 92 year old lady on the mobility scooter that she could reach the bottom of the steps by taking the ramp to one side . She looked at me sternly : “ Young man “ ( I was then 64 ) “ I drove tanks in the last war ; this is nothing !” and down the steps she drove … As the scooter lurched , another lady leapt forward to steady her , tripped and fell into the arms of a man not her husband . Almost two casualties in the first five minutes . How could things get any worse ?
True Love When hosting one day I got into a conversation with a couple at the base of the cascade and , without going into detail , it transpired that the husband , who looked very ill , only had a short time to live . They were enjoying every moment of their lives together and were clearly loving the garden . The suggestion of a motorised scooter was courteously declined . Walking slowly arm in arm was all they intended to do . I offered to take a
photograph of them ; I need say no more .
Calendar girl I was doing a guided tour with a delightful , funny , friendly group of flower arranging ladies . Part way round I said to one lady “ I am sure I know you or we have met before ”. Shyly she admitted she was Miss February of the Calendar Girls- Angela Baker . As it happens we had met before when I had been working for another charity and she and four fellow Calendar Girls had given a hilarious talk . What is even nicer is that since that day , many years ago , she has returned to Alnwick and I met her again last year .
Playing away On several occasions I have stepped in offering to take a photo of all members of a party together , which usually is very much appreciated . However , on one occasion in 2016 , after a gentleman had taken a photograph of a lady , I offered to take a photo of them both as a couple only to receive a response , “ Thanks , but no thanks , we are not supposed to be here together ”. Naughty , naughty !
Overheard in The Garden One American to another - " What do they do with the castle when they aren ' t filming Harry Potter ?"
A different kind of cascade ? I am always interested when an enthusiastic member of a tour group joins in and I learn something which will help in my future tours . Such was the case when an engineer stood on the grass with me and was most informative about water flow and pumps . His very small son was not so enthusiastic . He began to jiggle from one foot to another , tugging at his father ’ s trouser leg and announcing that he wanted to go . Dad , not easily deflected from his mission to impart knowledge , brushed off his son with the phrase ,” In a minute son , hang on ”. The talk went on , and the child continued to dance and interrupt . Finally the Dad stopped his very interesting talk and said , “ Right son , let ’ s go , “ and the reply came , “ I ’ ve gone ”. I am very proud of the fact that I stepped back and did not look down .
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The Alnwick Garden