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This story concerns
one of my self-trained guides. Probably the most momentous event
in Sieger's early days with me was when she met Queen Elizabeth
'II'. This was February 28th 1986. The Queen and Prince Philip
had been on a tour of New Zealand, and a walk-about in Cathedral
Square.
Christchurch was to
be their last engagement before they left the country. Sieger
and I went into Cathedral Square without any thought of getting
a chance to meet the Queen, but you know the old sore about hope
springing eternal and all that.
In the Square, the
bus stop was deserted. I knew that some space had been reserved
for disabled people, but I did not know where it was, but Sieger
seemed in some mysterious way to know where she was going, as
she went straight to the reserved area. This may seem as though
I am exaggerating but I assure you that I am not.
A lady, very kindly,
got me a seat right in the front row. The royal party and camp
followers were very late, but eventually they arrived after we
had been rendered almost deaf by a display from the Cathedral
Bell Ringers.
The person sitting
next to me said that a little girl had presented a posy to The
Queen, and as she was only about six feet from where I was sitting,
I thought "Well! there goes any chance that we might have had
of meeting her."
A moment or two later,
there was some confusion in front of me, and suddenly I was asked
by the Queen how long I had had the dog and if she was a big help.
I was so taken aback, that I spoke to her as I would to any passerby
who asked me the same questions.
What had
happened was that, after receiving the posy from the little girl,
the Queen had spotted Sieger, and, being a dog lover, she came
over straight away. She was still holding the flowers, and Sieger,
seeing this nice lady coming towards her with something interesting
in her hand, stood up, went out under the barrier rope and sniffed
the flowers.
The Queen lifted the
posy out of Sieger's reach and said to her, "No! you can't have
them, they are my flowers." Another example of her instinctive
love for dogs, was that she put her hand on Sieger's head. For
all she knew, the dog might have bitten the royal hand, as her
own Corgis are not reluctant to do.
I have two great newspaper
photos taken a second or two apart, one showing Sieger apparently
trying to take the flowers; while in the second, she is gazing
up at them. Now! the Queen has met guide dogs before, but I bet
that this was the first time that one has taken the initiative
and gone out to meet her.
(Note from Martha:
The above photo seems as if Sieger is sniffing the bouquet!)
During Sieger's long
working life of 14 years, she could always be relied upon to make
the most of an occasion. It was our custom to go into Christchurch
city on a Friday, and for several visits after the episode with
the Queen, when Sieger got off the bus, she was always very eager
to see if the 'nice lady with the flowers' was still there. Jewel
If your
appetite has been whetted by these stories, they and others are
to be found in "My Life With Guide Dogs". The book is available
directly from the author, Jewel Blanch on 3.5 inch computer disk
at a cost of 10$US, p&h inclusive. Jewel
Blanch
Text
and images copyright 1998 Jewel
Blanch
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