Scottish Parliament visit; June 2007.
Report by Rachel Milne
Dial-a-Community Bus was voted Scottish Charity
of the Year in May 2007 and because of this I (as the manager)
was invited to a reception with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh
at the opening of Parliament in June.
I was suitably honoured, and at the same time
horrified…..what does one wear? How does one act? And
…most importantly, could I possibly keep my big mouth
under control long enough to meet their Royal Highnesses and
not put my foot in anything?!
After many comments and helpful suggestions given
by my friends and family, such as “just don’t speak!”
and “bet you’ll fall over trying to curtsey”
I decided to ignore them all and just hope for the best!
The bus was leaving from Marischal College at
6.30am so I pulled poor David from his bed at some obscene hour
of the night and he drove me into Aberdeen where I joined the
throng of well dressed people heading to Edinburgh.
I have been to Parliament once before, for a meeting
with the Minister of Transport and it’s quite a pleasant
place, although its entrance has always reminded me of a marine
aquarium! However on this occasion there was pomp and circumstance
to bedazzle the most jaded of people, and if not that then the
enormous police presence was enough to scare you into submission!
There were so many conflicting pieces of information
that I got a little confused (never have understood directions
have I?!) and almost got off the bus at the first stop, until
a very nice young RAF cadet set me back on the bus with instructions
to sit down and not move until the next stop. He was smiling
as he gave the order so I took it in good part!
By this time there were only 4 of us left on the bus and once
we disembarked at the correct stop we separated again with the
other three heading for the gallery and me wending my lonely,
nervous way to the reception room.
Before that however came security. I don’t
do well with authority figures, and people in uniforms can make
me very uptight, so you can imagine my nerves to be faced with
policemen who just refused to smile at me! I’m convinced
they were all told to be as scary as possible.
The nice man who searched my bag relaxed me a little when he
spotted my book and asked me if I thought it was going to be
that boring a day, however when they started directing us through
the airport scanners and patting people down I started to shake
a little again. Isn’t it amazing that you always feel
guilty under these circumstances….even when you’ve
not done anything wrong?!
Once I finally got into the reception area it
was to be hustled into place by an officious Parliament usher
who gave me no nonsense instructions about time and decorum….I
decided that this wasn’t the time to say anything out
of the ordinary; the policeman parading round the room looked
like he’d had his sense of humour removed for the day
and I didn’t fancy having to call for help from a cell
in Edinburgh’s police HQ!
I met several nice people in the group that I
was in, including a beautiful young Moslem woman who was employed
by all the Churches to work on improving inter-faith relations
and a young man in a wheelchair who, at 23, was the youngest
elder in the Church of Scotland. There were also delegates from
Shelter, Islay Disability Action and other charities.
It transpired that we would meet the Duke of Edinburgh
rather than the Queen and we were given specific instructions;
use the title “Your Royal Highness” the first time
and then “Sir” thereafter. Easy to remember you
may think….hah…you try it when you’re trying
to think, speak AND figure out how to curtsey….or if you
do….or not….
This is where I realised that I really am a unlettered oaflet!
Once the Royal party left we were allowed on to
the dais to watch the Riding with the other dignitaries (“Other
dignitaries”…..like we were really important!!!).
I was standing with Archie from Shelter and a
couple of the others in the group when of a sudden Sean Connery
passed close by us, so I swung round and caught a photo of him
side on. I was chuffed at this since my mother in law is a huge
fan of Mr Connery and had demanded a picture if I could get
one.
However, once he settled very close to us to watch
the procession, Archie convinced me that I’d never have
another chance and nervously I gathered all my courage, approached
and asked for a photo.
I was pleased as punch when he agreed without reservation and
stood next to me so that Archie could take the photo, however
I think I rather insulted him when I said “thank you so
much, my mother in law will be really chuffed”.
Roars of laughter ensued as he said “ your MOTHER in LAW??”
and Archie exclaimed “way to be tactful Rachel!!”.
Well….after all, I’d managed to keep my mouth shut
most of the day, I had to mess up somewhere!
The day passed a little less eventfully after
this, the Riding procession was wonderful and the Party at the
Parliament was full of music and laughter, even the rain didn’t
dampen many spirits.
After being re directed by the nice RAF cadet
who found me as I tried to get lost again, I clambered in the
bus at 5pm absolutely shattered and slept half the way home!
It was a wonderful day, all the better because
I hadn’t expected to enjoy it as much as I did.
