Mrs Myrtle Bagot told the soldiers in no uncertain terms that she would not be serving them with beer at the railway station tea rooms.
“I'm sorry,” she told the soldiers.
“My licence does not permit me to serve alcohol out of hours, that's final. You wouldn't want to get me in trouble, would you?”
Suddenly, the door flew open, and a well-dressed lady was helped through it by a dapper gentleman.
Mrs Bagot’s assistant Beryl Walters rushed to help them.
“Could I have some water, please? There’s a cinder from the steam engine in this lady’s eye, and I’m trying to remove it. I’m a doctor,” he said.
Beryl ran to the tap and drew some water into a glass.
“Here, sir,” she said.
“Let me get you both a cup of tea, too,” Mrs Bagot said.
“I’ll put three spoonsful of sugar into it to help with the shock.”
The doctor washed out the cinder and gave the lady his handkerchief.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Go on, ma’am, drink your tea. It’s such a shock getting something like that in your eye.”
The lady sipped her tea and looked at the doctor.
“I’m Laura Jesson. Thank you…”
He smiled.
“Dr Alec Harvey. It’s no trouble. I hope you’re feeling better now.”
She nodded.
“I do, thank you.”
Mrs Bagot looked at them and smiled. There was quite the spark between them! Mrs Bagot sighed.
‘It’s a long time since you felt that with your late husband, Myrtle!’ she thought.
She walked back behind the counter and called: “Beryl! It’s time to do the orders for the next week. Come and give me a helping hand, please.”
Beryl put down her cloth and walked to the counter.
“Yes, Mrs Bagot. Of course.”
Mrs Bagot pored over the carefully written order book and totted up the tea, sugar, flour, and milk she’d need over the next few days.
Mr Godby came into the tea rooms and stood next to her.
“Evening, Mrs Bagot. Looks like you’re busy there!”
She laughed.
“No as busy as you Mr Godby. Running this railway station, making sure you get the right engines and carriages to the right places, getting the goods loaded and unloaded, making passenger announcements and ensuring all the rickets are punched. That’s the sort of logistics that makes my head spin!”
Mr Godby replied: “It does that to me, too! There’s so much paperwork. We need to ensure the drivers and guards have the right training, that all the equipment is properly maintained, and we need to stay on the right side of the law. It’s positively exhausting Mrs B."
“My one wish would be that there was one, overall system that could control it all, something that all the railway workers could use whether they work here in Milford, in Oxford, Brighton, or in King’s Cross. We could keep all that paperwork on it and make sure it’s there for when the inspectors come to see we’re doing the right things.”
Mrs Bagot passed him a mug of tea.
“That sounds wonderful, Mr Godby. So many organisations could use something like that for their logistics. What are you and your staff unloading at the moment?”
Mr Godby smiled.
“The first shipment of fruit from the Caribbean in years.”
Mrs Bagot asked: “Bananas? I haven’t seen them since before the war!”
Mr Godby replied: “No, Mrs B. Mangoes!”
How could online compliance software Mango help you fall in love with your organisation’s logistics? Book a free demonstration which will be delivered via Zoom. We can help you achieve the ISOs your business needs, too, in areas like health and safety, the environment, and business continuity. Call Penarth Management on 029 2070 3328 or email info@penarth.co.uk