Mrs Cross came again to give another of her talks, this time about her Orient Express experience. When she and her husband celebrated their golden wedding their family decided to give them a special treat. Early one morning a gold chauffeur driven Rolls Royce arrived at their house and took them to Victoria railway station in London where at 9.45am they boarded a Pullman train which would take them to Bath for the day. On entering the carriage they were amazed at the sheer luxury of the beautiful furnishings. Inside the dining car there were tables for two, four or six people and on each table was a white linen tablecloth and a vase of flowers. They were served with a marvellous three course brunch with wine and champagne. They spent the day sightseeing in Bath and when they returned on the train in the afternoon they were again served with another sumptuous meal and champagne. The sheer luxury of that journey is something they will never forget.
There are a number of these day trips on these Pullman trains starting at Victoria station going to places such as Cambridge and Chester, and yes, there is one that comes to Portsmouth. There is also the longer trip that follows the route of the well known Orient Express to Venice.
As the wine and cheese party combined with the mock auction proved so popular last year it was decided to do the same again this year. Everyone bought something to sell and we had several tables laden with jigsaws, household items, toiletries and many other items. Our chairman did a great job as the auctioneer and at the end of the evening we were delighted to find we had raised £80 for our charity.
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page last updated 1 MARCH 1999