大象传媒

During the war I was on my way to York from Cardiff by train. It was half light when we were on the platform waiting for the train. At that time, trains either came or they didn鈥檛 come. There were lots of service people and a few civilians waiting.

As I stood waiting, I saw some smoke coming from the pocket of a person in a navy-blue uniform. I was mesmerised by the smoke and I wondered whether to tell him, or throw a bucket of water over him! In the end, I politely pointed out to him that his pocket appeared to be on fire. To my amazement, he withdrew his hand from his pocket with a cigarette in his hand. He said that he was a policeman on duty having a crafty cigarette. To prove he was a policeman, his hat was in a carrier bag at his side.

When the train came in, he offered to find me a seat, which he did. By this time it was getting dark and the carriage was just lit by a pale blue bulb. Everybody had settled into corners, the service men laying full length on the luggage racks above the seats. Every corner was filled. My policeman friend offered to get me a coffee as soon as we stopped at a station, which he did.

When we reached York he put on his cap and helped me off the train. The person who was meeting me thought I鈥檇 been arrested!

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