Down Your Way magazine – Published December 2013

In the summer of 1991 I took a flexi day off work, stuffed my passport and camera into the rucksack, and set off for Yorkshire.  The intention was to climb Simon’s Seat high above the River Wharfe near Bolton Abbey but as I approached the Priory’s Church I realised a large crowd was starting to gather.  A passer-by mentioned that the son of Raquel Welch, Damon, and Freddie Trueman’s daughter Rebecca – who’d got married in the US – were having a wedding blessing in full regalia to please both families.  With a great stroke of luck I managed to position myself hard by the church door seconds before there was piggyback room only.

The time span between the bride’s arrival and that of Raquel was so long that members of the Women’s Institute could have served the entire assembly with refreshments.  But the fervour was electrifying by the time she was was finally in our midst and, in my case,  up close and personal, so we forgave her and cheered.

The ravages of time had successfully skirted around this movie star and, like Rebecca, she was absolutely stunning.  Without wishing to sound catty I couldn’t help noticing that she was wearing an odd line in Marigolds and her dress appeared to have been washed on the wrong cycle.