 The Queen's cruise of the Western Isles has already brought about some interesting headlines, not least the fact the 'royal' yacht, Hebridean Princess, is a converted car ferry.
But today comes the strangest of all, with the story of a shopkeeper who this week found himself playing chauffeur to some very famous tourists.
Shopkeeper Russell Town, whose store in Ardminish is the only one on the tiny Hebridean island of Gigha, was going about his daily business when he suddenly spotted a rather familiar face on a push bike outside his shop.
Here, in his own words, is Mr Town's story:
"I was busy sorting out the papers when Princess Anne, her husband Commander Tim Laurence, Peter Phillips and his girlfriend Autumn Kelly came into the shop. They waited patiently until I had finished and then came over to introduce themselves."
"The Princess Royal asked if I knew where the Queen could get a taxi and it was a spur-of-the-moment thing to offer to take them in my Peugeot people carrier. Who’s going to turn down the chance to give a lift to one of the most famous women in the world?”
"The Queen jumped in front and she was really, really pleasant, the nicest person you could wish to meet. She asked about my family and when I pointed out one of my daughters at the side of the road the Queen waved to her. People on the island knew she was there but gave her privacy."
"Princess Anne and her husband Tim Laurence cycled down from the ship with Peter Phillips and his girlfriend. They introduced themselves and asked if there were any local taxis. When I said Gigha didn’t have a taxi service the Princess asked “Any chance of a lift?"
"I still can’t believe it – it’s quite
amazing. I picked up three of them, the Queen, her lady-in-waiting and
Princess Anne, who had cycled back to the ship by this time."
"The Queen was lovely. I thought I would give her a bit of peace and
remained quiet but she was a real chatterbox. She was wearing black
trousers, a blouse and headscarf. As soon as she got into the people
carrier, she took off her headscarf and started asking me lots of
questions about my family, about the local sights and about life since
the community bought it from the landowner five years ago."
"It was just so bizarre. One minute I was serving in the shop and the next I was sitting next to the most famous woman in the world. It took ages to persuade my friends and even my mum that I had given the Queen a lift. They all thought I was having a laugh at their expense."
"It is an experience I will never, ever forget. My friends joked that I should have charged the Queen £12 for the run but shaking her hand at the end was honour enough, although I can perhaps put 'By Royal Appointment' above my shop now."
"My wife joked that I should put a By Royal Appointment sign up in the car, but I was told that a lady-in-waiting would arrange a thank you letter and that will be good enough for me."
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