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The twins and Larry were in the window waiting for the Lexus to enter the drive. A few minutes before it did so, Larry got up and walked into the hall and sat in one of the chairs by the door. As soon as the SUV turned into the drive, Willie shouted to Paolo, who was working on his iPad, and Izzy, who was busy in the kitchen, “They are here” and he and Millie rushed to open the front door to greet the guests.
By the time Paolo and Jack had got all the luggage indoors, the twins had shown the Baker children their rooms. Ava was delighted she was next door to Millie, and it was an en-suite, something she didn’t have at home. Liam and Logan were sharing a twin-bedded room that was also en-suite, while Jack and Molly were in Izzy’s old bedroom, which was also en-suite but had a small sitting room. Paolo and Jack distributed the baggage and joined the other three adults around the kitchen table for a cup of coffee.
“Wow, this coffee is good,” said Jack, “is it the same as the Continental serve.” “It is,” said Jinnie, “I don’t think it’s easy to get in Canada. We have to import it especially.” Millie and Ava came into the kitchen and Ava headed over to Larry, who had retreated to his cat basket and was listening to the conversation. Ava said, “Hello Larry, I saw you on TV at home. They said you were a hero and should be given a medal. But they didn’t say what a handsome cat you are.” Larry let her stroke him and purred loudly. Millie said, “I think he likes you. He only lets people he likes stroke him.”
“Do you girls want a glass of milk and a biscuit?” asked Jinnie. Izzy poured out two glasses of milk and gave them both a Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer, before shouting upstairs, “Boys, who wants a drink and a biscuit.” Almost immediately, the three boys came clumping downstairs and accepted glasses of milk and more wafers. Logan said, “Gee, this cookie is different, we haven’t got one like this in Canada.” Jinnie chuckled and said, “There are lots of things that are different in this country.”
Jinnie continued, “Don’t forget we are all going out for dinner tonight and it’s going to be early, so we are having an early sandwich lunch. We have nothing special arranged for today, but I thought we might go for a walk. I hear that there is a steam-hauled excursion passing through Hadley station about 3:30. I know the twins would love to see it.” Willie said, “Yes please, I have only seen steam engines on TV.”
It was a pleasant spring afternoon and Jinnie led everyone, including Larry, over the road and across the common. Liam pointed to soldiers in a foxhole with a man-portable anti-aircraft missile and asked, “Is he on an exercise.” Willie answered, “No, he’s guarding Uncle Nigel, the Germans tried to kidnap him.” Molly said, “Don’t you remember seeing the helicopter being lifted over his house. I guess he lives nearby.” Millie replied, “Uncle Nigel lives next door.”
As they strolled across the common towards the woods, Jinnie explained to the visitors that the common is believed to have been the site of the Battle of Barnet in the War of the Roses, when the House of York and the House of Lancaster fought in 1471. Despite the Yorkists having the smaller army, they won, which eventually led to King Edward IV being restored to the throne. As they strolled on, Ava asked, “Are there rattlesnakes here?” Paolo replied, “No, there are no rattlesnakes in the UK. There is only one type of poisonous snake in the country and that’s the adder. And they don’t live around here, there are too many people and dog walkers about for them.” Ava said, “That’s good because I don’t like rattlesnakes.”
The party wandered through the wood and eventually came to a wire mesh fence at the top of a cutting. Larry knew exactly where he was, as he was right next to the tree stump he used to come and sit on when they first came to live in Hadley. He jumped up on the stump and looked down into the cutting, where the railway tracks glistened in the sun. Jinnie explained to everyone that it was the main line out of London up the east coast of England to the North and Scotland. As she finished, a train burst out of the Hadley tunnel and rocketed north.
“Gosh,” said Willie. “That was a Thameslink train, we are going on one on Monday when we go to London,” said Jinnie. “Will we come through here?” asked Millie. “Yes,” said Jinnie, “we are going to get on a train at Potters Bar and it goes into a tunnel under London and then change on to the Underground.” “That’s exciting,” said Logan. As they waited, a few more trains passed by, another Thameslink, but this time going south towards King’s Cross, and two expresses going north. Then they heard a steam train whistle in the distance and Paolo said, “Did you hear that, it will be here shortly.” The kids pressed their faces to the fence and the adults stood behind so they could see over their heads. The locomotive roared into sight, belching steam and smoke and making an incredible noise as it passed them pulling 10 carriages (Larry counted them) and disappeared into the mouth of the tunnel.
Willie asked, “Can we go on that one day.” “Maybe,” answered Jinnie, “there aren’t many steam trains operating these days and they get booked up quickly. I’ll have to see what we can do.” They turned and walked back the way they had come, but this time Larry knew where they were going and led the way. As they strolled along, Liam said, “This has been something I can tell my class about when we get home, I bet no one has seen a steam train.”
It was decided that Paolo would drive the Lexus so that Jinnie could have a drink with dinner, and Izzy was to drive her C4. The twins decided that for once they would be separated, with the boys all in the Lexus with the parents and the girls in the C4 with Izzy and George. They parked at the back of the Trattoria Trevi in the staff car park and walked around to the front entrance just as Sir Nigel climbed out of a taxi. Jinnie introduced him to those who had never met him, and then asked, “No Freddie this evening?” Sir Nigel replied, “It’s not fair to make him work on Saturday evening, and I’m not drinking and driving so I just called a cab.”
Alberto was waiting just inside the door in reception and was introduced to the Bakers. Alberto said, “A few of the directors are already here. Belinda and Brian are on the table with my wife and Andrew. Clive and his wife and Harriet and her husband are on their way but are struggling on the M25. Nigel and Camilla will be here any minute. As you might have guessed, they are walking. Finally, I think Brooke is in the ladies.” Willie, who had been standing listening in silence, suddenly said, “Uncle Alberto, have you got banana splits on the menu, we had it in Barbados and it was lush.” “Well Willie,” Alberto replied, “your Mummy told me that you loved it, so I have put it on a special children’s dessert menu. And I think we can beat the Continental, ours not only have banana, ice cream and whipped cream, we also have toasted almonds and chocolate sprinkles.”
Brooke came out of the ladies and said, “Hi Jinnie, can we chat work for a minute?” Guessing she wanted to talk about the Heathrow proposal, Jinnie said to Paolo, “Would you like to go ahead while I talk shop for a moment with Brooke.” When they had gone, Brooke said, “I’ve had a very productive day. I put a call in to my contact at Heathrow, but he wasn’t answering so I left a voice message and jumped into the car and made for Terminal 2. I couldn’t miss the coffee outlet, and I agree it would make a good addition to our chain. As I was checking it out, I got the call back from Simon. He said the outlet wasn’t on the market yet, but if I was interested, maybe we could save each other some money by doing a deal. I had a price in my head I didn’t want to go over, which I think will give us a reasonable margin, and he came in under, so I offered a bit less and he thought that would be acceptable. So, I’ve got first refusal and I’m seeing him on Monday.”
“That’s quick,” said Jinnie. “Yes,” said Brooke, “but there is a bit more. I had a word with the shop manager, and I liked her, so I told her what I had in mind and asked if she wanted to work for us. She said yes, and I think many of the employees will come with her. I think it won’t take much effort to change it into an Artisan Outlet, I would reckon on closing for a week and retraining the staff while it is shut. I’ll work on a costing spreadsheet tomorrow and get it over to you.” “That’s good,” said Jinnie, “now I need to tell you something. This dinner tonight is for the Bakers to meet the main board directors and their families, and you are the only one who doesn’t fall in that category. So, Alberto and I suggested to the other directors it was about time we made you a main board director. As of today, you are the TT SuperBurger Development Director. We always intended making you a full board director when the time was right, and that time is now.”
The dinner went really well. The conversation and wine flowed for those not driving. Andrew said how glad he was to have accepted the offer of a lift from Brian and Belinda. The food had, as always, been fabulous. Jack and Molly had lots of experience of eating in the best restaurants but agreed that this was by far the most superior for food and service. Jinnie had pointed out several movie stars and sportsmen who they knew, and some British politicians that they didn’t, but Sir Nigel did. The children’s menu had things on it that initially read like simple children’s favourites like spaghetti bolognese and pizza but were made from only the very best ingredients and each had a little twist. The twins had planned their meal days ago, they had started with tomato soup because Uncle Alberto’s soup was the best, then it was spaghetti bolognese, which was even better than Izzy made, probably because it was made with Wagyu beef, and a banana split for dessert.
Alberto had whispered to Jinnie how he loved to see the twins demolish his food, even if it wasn’t authentic Italian food like the adults were eating. Ava had followed the twins’ selection and Molly was amazed to see she had eaten every scrap, saying to Jinnie how she never normally emptied her plate. When the adults were served coffee and homemade chocolate mints, the twins asked for the special hot chocolate and the Baker children agreed on the twins’ recommendation and tried it. Liam said to his mother, “I don’t like hot chocolate at home, but this is different, it is really good.”
As they strolled back to the cars Ava said, “That was a really nice meal and very posh. I like Andrew, he even drew me on the back of the dessert menu” and flourished the picture, which Molly had to admit was an excellent likeness. Once in the Lexus, with Ava in the C4, Jinnie quietly said to Molly, “It’s a good job your little one doesn’t know what gay means.” Molly replied, “He is rather a nice man though.”
***
The following morning Izzy was up early and was feeling bright and clear-headed, as she had been one of the designated drivers along with Paolo. She laid the big table in the kitchen for breakfast and wondered what to prepare. She assumed the twins would want their regular Rice Krispies and then boiled egg and soldiers. It was strange how they had completely gone off Coco Pops, it was only Rice Krispies now. They said Coco Pops were too sweet. She thought, ‘I think I will butter some baps and fry a load of bacon. The smell of bacon and coffee will get them out of bed.’ It succeeded because she soon heard people moving, but the smell of bacon also drove Larry wild, so she took a big back rasher out of the oven, where she was keeping it and some chipolatas warm, and told him he’d have to wait a bit as it was too hot for him. He seemed to understand, as he went back to his basket and lay there watching her every move.
Molly was first down, quickly followed by Jinnie. While they poured their own coffee, Izzy asked what they wanted for breakfast. Seeing the buttered rolls on the table, Jinnie said, “I know you’ve got bacon cooked, I think I might have a big bacon roll.” “Would you like a sausage with that, or I can fry an egg?” “That sounds tempting,” replied Jinnie, “but I think bacon and sausage with HP Sauce will be perfect, thanks.” Molly said, “Could I have the same, please?” So, Izzy took some rashers of bacon and some of the sausages out of the oven and put them on a plate in the middle of the table, and they all started making their own rolls, until Larry interrupted them with a big meow. Izzy said, “I’m sorry, Larry, I had quite forgotten you.” She quickly cut up the rasher of now tepid bacon and dropped it in his special bowl. Larry sniffed it and approvingly attacked it with gusto. Molly said, “Larry is almost human.” Jinnie replied, “No way, he is superhuman.”
The others trickled down and, as Izzy had predicted, the twins had Rice Krispies and boiled eggs, but everyone else, including little Ava, had a roll of some kind. Molly made Ava a sausage roll and put ketchup on it for her. Paolo fried himself an egg and had a sausage, egg and bacon bap. Jinnie laughed when he bit into it and egg yolk ran down his chin and suggested she fetch one of the twins’ old bibs.
Liam decided to try a roll with a couple of sausages in it. He took a bite and started chewing and his face lit up. “My, this is good,” he said, “Why don’t we have this at home?” Molly, who was still there eating a bacon and sausage roll, said, “I suppose we could, but I’ve never thought about it, and this bacon is good and I love this brown sauce.” Izzy had been trying to get the twins to take their used cups and plates to the dishwasher instead of just getting up from the table and walking away. When everyone had finished eating, without being asked, the twins started clearing the table and stacking the used crockery in the dishwasher. Izzy was delighted and said so quietly to Jinnie.
As everyone was getting up, Jinnie said, “I hope you all brought your swimming stuff, just as I suggested, as in 30 minutes we are off to have a swim in Sir Nigel’s pool. Then Paolo has got the Italian Embassy’s box at the Emirates for the Arsenal vs Brentford match. I know nothing about football, but I understand it’s a big match and Arsenal need to win to stay top of the league. The box can take 15, there are ten of us, so my mum and dad, Sir Nigel and my sister and her husband are joining us. Izzy’s fiancé, George, is not happy as he is on shift and will only be able to watch the second half on TV. The box includes a 3-course meal before the game, refreshments at half-time and post-match, and champagne on arrival, free drinks and a gift for everyone.”
“Wow, wow, wow,” said Willie, “Can I wear my Arsenal scarf?” “Of course,” said his father, “and haven’t you got an Arsenal bobble hat.” “Yes,” said Willie, “but it’s not cold enough for a bobble hat.” Liam asked, “Is this a soccer match like we see on TV?” Jack said, “That’s exactly what it is. And we are going to be in the biggest crowd you have ever seen.” Turning to Jinnie, Jack asked, “How far away is it, how do we get there?” Jinnie said, “If we meet the rest of the family at Potters Bar Station we can get the train to Finsbury Park and then we can walk for 15 minutes or get the Tube one stop to right by the ground. If we get a fast train it runs non-stop, so it’s just 10 minutes, if we get a slow train it takes 20 minutes as it stops at every station.” Ava said, “Are we really going on a train, I’ve never been on a train.” Molly said, “I think she is more excited about the train than the soccer.” Willie said, “What’s soccer, I thought we were going to football.”
The two families trudged through the gate in the wall and across the garden to Sir Nigel’s pool house. Ava waved to one of the armed policemen who watched the little procession, and he waved back. As they neared the pool house, Larry peeled off and headed for the cat flap in the kitchen door and his second home. Jinnie’s keyless entry key fob unlocked the pool house door as she neared it, they all trooped inside, and the pool house soon echoed with the noise of children and adults enjoying the water. It was only a couple of minutes before Sir Nigel joined them and they all splashed around happily.
Eventually, Jinnie called a halt saying, “I think we’d better get out now, we have a train to catch.” Turning to Sir Nigel, Jinnie asked, “Are you joining us on the train?” “No,” he replied, “I’d love to, but security won’t allow it. They have arranged for the Roller to use the box’s allocated parking space in the car park under the stadium and Freddy is happy to drive as he gets to watch the match from an upper tier seat. I asked James if he and your mum wanted to come with me as security said it might not be good for him to be on the Tube in a crowd. He said he does it every day when he travels to Portcullis House but has accepted to make it easy for your mum.”
***
The two families arrived at Potters Bar Station in the Lexus and Izzy’s C4 and parked in the station car park next to Penny’s new company Range Rover Defender 130. Jinnie briefly wondered what grade Penny had reached at the Cross to warrant such a car, but dismissed the thought to concentrate on buying the train tickets. Jinnie did a quick head count and came to 7 adults and 5 children and told everyone to wait at the ticket barrier whilst she got the tickets. Penny then said, “Dan and I both have first class season tickets that include London Tube and buses so forget tickets for us, but we can also use them to get a discount on people travelling with us off-peak, so we’ll come to the ticket office with you.” Paolo said, “My season ticket is from Hadley, so I suspect I need a return to Finsbury Park if we get a fast train.” Jinnie was delighted to find that the two season tickets allowed them to get a third off the cheap day adult tickets and 60% off the children’s fares, so she had bought first class tickets for them all.
The Thameslink train arrived bang on time and the party virtually filled the first-class compartment. This was all the children’s first experience of a train, and they were all super excited. The train soon pulled into Finsbury Park and lots of people in red and white got off the train. Logan asked, “Are all these people going to the soccer?” “The ones with red and white scarves and Arsenal shirts,” said Jinnie, “but it’s a long time to kick-off, so I expect they are going to get something to eat or go to the pub first.” Paolo added, “There will be a lot more people on later trains, and the Tube will be busy, we might not get a seat, but it is only one short stop.”
Paolo led them down the steps from the elevated platform to ground level, with Jinnie and Izzy bringing up the rear making sure no one got lost. Most people turned left at the bottom of the steps and out into the street, Paolo turned right down the passageway and down more stairs onto the Piccadilly line platform. The Tube train burst into the station from the tunnel, screeched to a halt and the doors slid open. Jinnie and Molly herded the children onto the train, which was quite busy, and as Paolo had predicted all the seats were taken. The adults hung onto the handrails and the children hung onto the adults as the train rumbled through the tunnel and suddenly burst into Arsenal Underground Station and braked to a halt. The doors slid open, the train emptied onto the platform and the crowd surged to the two exits. The family paused on the platform to let things clear before heading up the steps and into the long sloping foot tunnel that Paolo said led to the street.
As they walked up the tunnel, they heard another train coming into one of the platforms behind and below them, so they hurried a little. At the end of the tunnel was another short flight of steps, the ticket line, and then they were in the bustle of the street. Turning right, they could see the Emirates Stadium and headed toward it, past people selling fanzines, touts offering to buy or sell tickets, hotdog and burger stalls, souvenir stalls and even vintage match programmes and club pin badges. The twins were wide-eyed and excited as they took in the sights. They passed some matchday programme sellers and Willie asked if they could get one, but Paolo said there would be one each waiting for them in the Box.
Then it was up a huge, very wide flight of steps and over a wide footbridge, that Paolo said crossed the railway branch line to Moorgate, and onto the stadium forecourt. Liam was looking up at a huge mural on the side of the stadium with his mouth open. The stadium was far larger than even Jinnie had expected and looking up there were huge glass walls and behind them were people eating and drinking. Jinnie thought ‘I want to be doing the catering here one day’, before pulling out her iPhone and snapping the others with the stadium in the background.
Paolo led them round the stadium until they came to the VIP entrance where they showed the tickets on their phones and were shown to a lift to the Box level. Coming out of the lift, they were directed to the Box where they were greeted by a girl host who handed the adults a glass of champagne, and the children glasses of juice as they entered. Granny and Grandad Walsh and Sir Nigel were already there, glasses in hand. The children all hurried over to the glass wall with its view over the pitch and their seats in front of them. Millie asked, “Are those seats for us?” Paolo said, “Yes, I suggest you children sit at the front, so you get the best view. If we sit behind you, we can see over your heads.”
The host was back with a pile of menus and a box of gifts which was an Arsenal replica shirt for everyone. Willie looked at the menu and said, “This is like on the cruise ship, I’m going to have minestrone soup, roast beef and pear crumble with custard.” “And me,” said Millie. The food was quite good, but Jinnie was thinking costs and improvements. There was wine for the adults and soft drinks for the children. The widescreen TV on the wall was showing the match build-up and the children were amused to see things on the pitch happening a few seconds before they appeared on the screen. Jack explained that was because the pictures went from the ground all the way up to a satellite 22,000 miles above the equator and then back down to the TV.
The group headed out to the seats just before the teams came out and Willie said, “Gosh, it’s nearly full out there.” Paolo said, “It will be when they kick off.” Liam asked, “How many people are here.” “Well,” said Paolo, “the official capacity is 60,704, but I hear there are plans to increase it.” “I’ve never seen so many people,” said Liam, “and it’s so loud with people singing, but I can’t make out all the words.” “Good job too,” whispered Izzy to Jinnie as the crowd sung about what they thought of Tottenham Hotspur.
Much to the twins’ delight, Arsenal were two-nil up at half-time and playing well. Back in the Box, big thermos jugs of tea and coffee and cartons of juice for the children had arrived together with a platter of mixed sandwiches and another of fairy cakes, which Molly called muffins. The children grabbed sandwiches and Willie said, “I like these egg and tomato sandwiches, they have cut the crusts off.” Jinnie was not so impressed, the coffee was not very good, and the fairy cakes looked like they had been bought in the local supermarket. ‘Artisan Sandwiches could do 10 times better,’ she thought.
The final score was five-nil and Arsenal stayed top of the league. The crowd sung their way out of the ground and to the Tube, buses and trains. In the Box, there were more refreshments, so there was no rush to get away. But Willie was intrigued by just how fast the seats had emptied. Thirty minutes after the final whistle, the family went down in the lift and found themselves in an almost empty foyer where a few people were having a final pint at the bars and a souvenir shop was still open. Jinnie asked everyone to wait a moment and bought each of the children a Gunnersaurus, Arsenal’s green dinosaur mascot. Sir Nigel said he would take all the programmes, shirts and dinosaurs home in his car, so they didn’t have to carry them.
As they walked back to the Tube, the streets were now nearly empty and the queue for the Tube at Arsenal Station was almost gone, and what there was, was moving at speed. The Underground train arrived quickly and was almost empty, and the children all got seats while the adults stood. The walk up the stairs to the northbound Network Rail platforms at Finsbury Park had the children complaining and Molly puffing. Jinnie checked the departure board and said the next slow train was in five minutes and it would get them back to Potters Bar before the next fast train. So, it was all stations back to the cars.
Shortly after they got home, Uncle Nigel arrived laden with a big bag containing the replica shirts, the programmes and the soft toys. He was invited in for a drink while Izzy oversaw all the children getting ready for bed. When she went in to check on Willie, he was sat up in bed with his Arsenal scarf on reading the match programme. He said to Izzy, “I’m going to be a Gooner now.”
***
The next morning, after breakfast, it was another trip on the train into London. This time it was sightseeing. A visit to the House of Commons, where Jinnie’s dad James, the MP, had organised passes so they could visit inside and see things others didn’t. As it was the Easter recess and Parliament was not sitting, this was easy. Next came a trip to Trafalgar Square before Buckingham Palace and the Changing of the Guard, which the children adored, especially the military band marching up the Mall from the Guards Barracks. After a quick lunch in a café, it was a trip down the river, past the Tower of London and under Tower Bridge to Greenwich and a look at the Meridian Line and the Cutty Sark. Then it was a ride on the Docklands Light Railway to Canary Wharf and a swap on the Tube to London Bridge and the train home. Jinnie asked the twins if they had enjoyed the day and what had been the best thing. Willie didn’t have to think long, he quickly answered, “It was the train with no driver where we could sit at the front and see where we were going.”
The holiday progressed. One day was Harry Potter World, which Jinnie had to admit was magical, another was a trip to Windsor and lunch in the Artisan Sandwiches branch. They spent several more days in London visiting the Imperial War Museum and the Science Museum, the Tower of London and the Crown Jewels. Jinnie told Molly that the UK wasn’t just London, and she arranged a trip to Cardiff where they saw the Welsh Parliament and the Castle before flying to Belfast, where they stayed a couple of days in a city centre hotel and visited the Titanic Experience, the Giant’s Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, which Ava said was scary. Then they flew on to Glasgow and the children couldn’t understand the Glaswegian accent but adored the trip to Loch Ness and monster hunting.
From Glasgow, it was a short train trip to Edinburgh and the Castle, and a look at the Forth Rail Bridge on a bus sighting tour. After a night in the Balmoral Hotel, they caught an express train back south. But the tour wasn’t finished, as they got off the train at York, which Jinnie told them was the prettiest city in England. Again, they were booked into a hotel and spent a couple of days exploring. They walked the city walls, wandered the ancient street, visited the Minster and its crypt, which everyone marvelled at. They visited the Jorvik Viking Centre, which impressed everyone, but Ava did complain about the “natural smells”. They visited the National Railway Museum, which the boys loved, not so much the girls, who were more impressed by a traditional tea and cakes at the famous Betty’s Tea Room. Everyone loved the cakes and Jinnie bought some to take home.
The train journey home meant a couple of changes, first at Peterborough and then on to Welwyn Garden City for a local train to Potters Bar and a couple of cabs home. Molly said to Jinnie, “You are so lucky to be able to have so much to see and so many trains. We must go by car as there are so few train tracks. But that trip was wonderful, and you saved the best till last, York is absolutely amazing, I could have spent a week there.” “I rather like York,” replied Jinnie, “I wonder if we should open a hotel, there are loads of visitors.” “I’d stay there,” said Molly. “But that’s only because you would get a company rate,” replied Jinnie.
The holiday came to an end only too soon and Jinnie drove the Baker family back to Heathrow for their flight home. She parked in the short-term car park and accompanied them to the Air Canada business check-in before saying goodbye. The children all kissed her goodbye and asked when she was coming to Canada next. Jinnie said she didn’t know, probably the next board meeting.
In Chapter 16 – Ennio’s expands
© WorthingGooner 2025
