The passenger

I’m not sure how much of the following story I should reveal but since I’m not bound by the Official Secrets Act here’s an edited version.

A couple of months ago I was asked if I would drive a former head of MI6 to a meeting followed by dinner at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire.

The reason I was approached is because the organiser knows me. More important, the former spook and I live in the same county and it was thought he might be more amenable to accepting an invitation to speak if he was driven door-to-door.

To be honest, and despite the offer of free overnight accommodation and a seat at the dinner, I wasn’t hugely enamoured by the prospect of being a glorified chauffeur.

Nevertheless I gave it some thought and decided that, on balance, the opportunity to spend six hours in a car with a former chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (to give MI6 its formal name) doesn’t happen every day so it would be churlish to decline. The venue, Berkeley Castle, also sounded interesting, especially if I was given a room for the night, so I said ‘yes’.

As it happens it was never confirmed that accommodation would be in the castle. It may have been the local Premier Inn but we’ll never know because I have now been informed that my services will not be required because my proposed passenger is unable to attend.

Nevertheless our mutual contact, the organiser, tells me that ‘he might be persuaded to come to London if in future I need his services. So I may come back to you about transport if you are willing to oblige’.

Seriously? Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire is one thing, but London? I’m not running a taxi service. He can get the train!

Below: Berkeley Castle, photo: iStock