Despite it now being a long time since we have been active as Grand Central Ambassadors, there are certain experiences which stick firmly and fondly in the mind. One of these is when we find ourselves (as we quite often do, on Sundays) on the platform when a party arrives to send on their way close friends or indeed family members who have been "up North" staying with them for a few days. Or, as in one case I remember, parents had come to send off their daughter for six months on her elective - a medical placement in South Africa.
In this particular case they had of course arrived in very good time (you can't afford to be late for the first stage in a multi-stage journey). I greeted them cheerily, assured them the train was running on time (!), they checked the tickets once more, and then... and then there was nothing much else to do. They'd already said their goodbyes - and all the other things you think you ought to say at a time like this - but there were still some twenty minutes before the train was due to arrive. Daughter was trying to show Parents that she was confident and not at all nervous; Parents were trying to show Daughter that they were sure this was the right thing for her to be doing and that they weren't remotely anxious about it all...
Although I didn't want to intrude on such a special family moment, the awkward silence of how to fill those next twenty minutes was palpable. So I gently edged up, and asked (as you do) if she was going very far. "Well, yes actually..." And they all immediately began excitedly to tell me all about the journey, and the project out there, and what she hoped to do in her spare time, and after the project finished.... And in no time of course the Class 180 was pulling into the station. I stepped back, a final hug took place - and then all attention was on finding the right carriage and making her way through to her reserved seat, while the conductor checked the platform for dispatch.
Daughter then sat down, and: do you look each other straight in the eye through the carriage window? Mum did, Daughter half-looked, Dad was looking for the green signal. And finally the engines powered up, the train was in motion: all waved, the train accelerated, cleared the platform. and she was off.... And Mum and Dad were left alone on the platform, holding hands, trying to hold back tears, and watching as their daughter's train shrank into the distance....
I was not far away, and they turned towards me: I smiled and said, "I'm sure she will be fine". They managed a smile too, and trudged up the steps to the car park....
Being an Ambassador for Grand Central is not only good fun; it's a huge privilege - and sometimes, perhaps, just by being there, we are able to make a real difference...
Adrian Botwright, Thirsk.