Nowadays, of course, the Guv-Gen is one of us. Your cousin’s auntie. Went to school with those people you met at that book launch at Unity. See her in New World all the time.
But, back then…
His name was Brigadier Bernard Edward Fergusson The Lord Ballantrae KT GCMG GCVO DSO OBE. And he was amongst us, in Kaikōura. Full regalia—monocle (!)—waving from his big black car. We’d all been shivvied along from school—down to the War Memorial Hall—given a flag to wave, told to line up and be patient, and then to cheer and to wave enthusiastically when he came by.
There was no-one more enthusiastic than I. We’d had homework—long division—and I’d had it there, at the kitchen table, and I’d thought, maybe it would help if I sharpened my pencils first, so I went to find the sharpener and I just happened to pick up the latest Eagle comic I’d been reading: the one where Xel, a dangerous alien from another planet, had roused the teenagers of London to revolt, and had made them forcibly take over the G.P.O. Tower. The jetcopter carrying Dan Dare, Digby and the Police Commissioner was forced down, but another police jetcopter was tracking the rebels…
So, anyway, for once, God did something. He sent the Governor-General to visit. Quite remarkable I thought, because we didn’t have a dog and I didn’t know how else I was going to explain about the long division.
It was pretty awesome, actually. I mean he was actually a substitute for the Queen. Like when Roy of the Rovers got injured when that bomb went off, they had to send on a substitute. It was like that.
The car stopped, right by us. And he made a long speech about the sun never setting on the British Empire and how Her Majesty longed to reign over us and how we should obey our parents, work hard at school, and always do our homework…
And then—can you believe it!—he made a proc carnation: an announcement. In honour of his visit, he said, and because we’d all been such good children, he was granting us a day off school! An extra holiday!
Well. We all cheered and cheered. And the headmaster, who didn’t wear a monocle, but did have a funny lump of an earlobe, called ‘Hip Hip…’ and we all yelled out ‘Hooray!’ And the Governor drove away.
He was the last to be sent out from England…
To remind us where we belonged.
And who we apparently were.
Next Week: Friendship
Sad in a way, not to have a GG sent to us from time to time. Someone to delight in because you clearly delighted in him. The local lot have never given us the day off!
Remind me when I see you to relate my story of sitting BESIDE the Gov Gen, a woman! as we both prepared to say our few words to an audience...
Loved your story :)