A night in a castle

You can't beat a little of the royal treatment, George Sutherland writes.

Driving through the impressive entrance to Windsor castle with a reciprocated wave from the policeman on duty; parking our car outside our hosts' ''grace and favour'' home in the grounds of the mighty residence; trying not to look too smug as hundreds of sightseers speculated on who we might be; jogging in the morning in Windsor Great Park to a salute from the duty constable and a ''Good morning, Blue'', on the mistaken understanding that we were Aussies; then Christmas dinner with the castle superintendent and many fine lords and ladies in his superior apartment. These were some of the elements in the best day of our lives.

Attending a service in the little church in Windsor Great Park on Boxing Day with all the royals (but no press or photographers), watching Diana, Sarah, the Queen et al close up for an hour was also fun and pretty special for both my wife Joan and me.

Our Windsor experience came as something of a surprise.

We had arrived earlier in a freezing London, intending to take a short snooze at our hotel before joining friends Nobby and Violet at the castle.

In the event, we were woken some hours later by a phone call from Violet, who was wondering where we were. We made our way to Windsor station, where Nobby picked us up for the drive to the castle, our home for the next few days.

We had hosted Nobby, a Queen's Military Knight, and Violet when they visited New Zealand the previous January and had mentioned that we were flying to the UK later that year to see our son.

''Oh, you must stay with us,'' they had enthused.

My wife Joan couldn't believe that they were serious but when a postcard arrived some time later showing the military knights' accommodation in the lower ward of Windsor Castle, with a pinhole marking their home, she began to get excited.

The military knights group was established by King Henry VIII. People who had achieved notably were offered residence in the houses of the lower ward.

Nobby served in the military in India and had been padre at Wormwood Scrubs. The only duties attached to the Windsor Castle position were forming guards of honour on special occasions, reporting in at the castle proper several times a week and regularly attending church services.

A year later we stayed at the castle again, in June, for the Trooping of the Colour ceremony and the Knights of the Garter parade, which featured Sir Edmond Hilary.

• George Sutherland is a retired primary school teacher.

- Tell us about your best day. Write to odt.features@odt.co.nz or ODT Features, PO Box 181 Dunedin. We ask correspondents not to nominate weddings or births - of course they were the best days.