A Suffolk headteacher has described how she decided on the ‘spur of the moment’ to visit the Queen’s coffin in Edinburgh- and be back in time for school the next day.
Canon Jo Gunn, 48, head at St Margaret’s Primary School in Ipswich and her partner Lou, 44, travelled to Scotland in shorts and T-shirts for the completely unplanned trip on Monday, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Queen lying-in-state in St Giles Cathedral.
She said her pupils’ mouths ‘just dropped’ on Tuesday when she told them how she had made the 810-mile round trip and still been back in time for classes the next day.
The couple decided to go because they would not be able to get to London for the Queen’s four day lying-in-state at Westminster Hall and jumped in the car at 7.20pm on Monday to head to Stansted Airport, although they had not booked flights.
Luckily, airport staff were able to find them an Easyjet flight to Glasgow at 9.30pm instead and after arriving an hour later, they were able to hop on a train to Edinburgh that was already waiting at the Glasgow station.
Having visited the coffin, they were then able to get a flight back to Stansted from Edinburgh the following morning for the start of the school day.
Canon Gunn said: “I am in training to be a priest myself and I knew I was going to be busy this weekend and would not be able to go up to London, so I just decided on the spur of the moment to go to Stansted to see if I could get a ticket for a flight to Scotland.”
She described the atmosphere in Edinburgh as a bit more sombre than it appeared to have been in London, possibly because it was the first day of the lying-in-state.
Although not a diehard royalist herself, she wanted to make the trip for relatives who could not be there, including her late uncle William Carmichael, who served in the RAF.
“I just think she has given her life in service for the nation and a few hours to see her and pay respects was a small price to pay and I felt very moved to go and do that on behalf of family members who are no longer with us,” she said.
And she was able to tell the children about her adventure the next day.
“I managed to explain to the older children in school, the year 6s, I was able to say to them that I was in Edinburgh this morning and their mouths just dropped and they said they could not do that. They loved the fact that while they were asleep, I had been to Edinburgh and back again,” Canon Gunn said.
She will be preaching at St Mary-le-Tower civic church in Ipswich.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here