David Cameron visits Exeter’s award winning lady garage owner….oooh that’s me!

Okay, so I receive this phone call on Tuesday. “Hi Jennifer, David Cameron’s coming down to the South-West this week and he’s like to visit your garage, is that okay?”

So I said “Oh, right, err, what day, I need to check my diary?”

Anyway, having managed to find a free slot and after several subsequent calls from his office, we made the necessary arrangements for his scheduled visit to be conducted Thursday morning. Then, just as I was about to hit the ‘send text’ button on my phone to offer up this exclusive piece of news to my media buddy, Nino Firetto (Exeter fm/Express & Echo columnist), David Cameron’s friendly Staff Officer, Sasha ended her final call that day with “Oh and obviously for security reasons this is an embargoed visit so please don’t tell anyone.”

“Oh crap!” I thought, quickly sliding my finger off my phone, but actually responding with “Oh yes Sasha, of course I understand.”

The following day I receive visits from David’s office. First photographs are taken of my offices and workshops, all entrances, exits, access roads, and other orifices that I shan’t go into. Then the lovely Sasha arrives with a colleague and they do another site recce, talk me through the visit protocol, explain about the likely amount of media coverage the visit will attract (because of the Budget it seems, not because of my lil ol’ award winning garage) and, just at the point when I’m at her mercy like a scared rabbit at the end of a double-barrelled shotgun, she slips into the conversation “Oh, I don’t know if you can help me but I’ve got this weird light that’s appeared on my dashboard?”

Now you need to imagine what’s happening in my garage at this point. First, despite the advice given by Sasha to “carry on as normal and don’t make a special effort”, there was no way a potential prime minister and half the nation’s press were setting foot anywhere near my garage without a quick shipshape clean up that I’d suddenly sprung on them - in addition to the full diary of cars they had to repair. After all, my mother had brought me properly where I’d inherited her “what will the neighbours think” attitude in ensuring that any visitor to my humble abode will be welcomed by ‘meadow spring’ and experience visible vacuum marks in the carpet! So without having given too much away to my boys - well apart from the “Quick, David Cameron’s visiting the garage tomorrow, get bloody cleaning….oh and keep it to yourselves!” - I then added even more pressure on the situation by asking one of ‘the Pauls’ to carry out a diagnostic test and any necessary repairs on Mr Cameron’s Staff Officer’s car!

That evening I had decided to work late (can’t think why!) and, having received the odd nudge and wink email from my media mates who had by this time received their embargoed press release on the next day’s events, I was by this point desperately trying to get hold of my friend and mentor Marc Astley, editor of the Express & Echo, in a last ditch attempt to gain some professional advice on how to handle the media frenzy that was about to descend on me. Thinking back, my last text message threatening to sing “I’m Henry the Eighth I am, I am” to him morning, noon and night was probably what swung his eventual return call to me, offering the best advice he could give his little petrified mentee: “Just be you Jenn, be yourself”.

So the next morning I got up extra early, wondering whether I should just wear jeans, a little black number, or something a little more seasonal like an Easter Bunny outfit! Thank goodness my third mug of coffee then kicked in, giving me the sense not to choose the latter, instead opting for smart jeans, designer jumper and a fluffy, also designer :-) cardy. I then set Sky+ to record both lunchtime and evening news so that I could settle down that evening with my partner Paul and watch….well, err….me!

David Cameron’s arrival was scheduled for 10.30am that morning. I’d opened up at 7.30am with Chris, my down-to-earth “I don’t care if it’s the Queen visiting, I’ve still got a full diary’s worth of work to sort out!” workshop manager, and I’d done my usual meeting and greeting of the days customers giving a lift to those that needed one. By 9.00am David’s office staff had arrived as well as a mass of TV crews and press photographers. By this time my fellow business neighbours knew what was happening and had all pulled together to ensure there was sufficient parking spaces available, their stools perched outside their business units, coffee flasks filled, and their camera batteries charged!

At 9.50am I overheard Sasha on the phone acknowledging that David “had landed” and was on his way. She explained to me that he was early and not all the media had arrived. “Really? She was kidding right?” I thought as I stared at the 20 or so media peeps posed and ready outside my garage. I suggested that his driver take him to a neighbouring coffee shop, Fresha Café, just around the corner, and in return for my quick thinking I demanded that she gave my mate at Exeter fm the exclusive advance announcement of David Cameron’s visit. Having heard about my rendition of “I’m Henry the Eighth” she gave way to my demand, so I quickly grabbed my mobile phone and…….Nino didn’t answer. I dialled again. Voicemail. I dialled the Exeter fm studio number. Voicemail. I looked at the clock – it was 10.00am and the news had just come on. Then my phone rang and it was Nino returning my call having just finished his show. I’m not quite sure to this day how he managed it - to decipher the rushed, garbled blurb that spilled out of my mouth and turn it into an intelligent news bulletin, but he did.

Steve Pearson, owner of Percolapps Coffee Barista, then arrived with his coffee van (by a previous top secret arrangement), thus negating my need to provide refreshments to anyone who needed them. Actually, I think he made a small killing from it! Hannah Foster, Exeter’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate also arrived and explained that we were to walk to the opposite side of the courtyard and wait at the top of the access road in order to meet David Cameron’s car. She would then introduce me to him and we would chat together, walking back towards my garage….and into the mouths of the hoards of hungry press and TV crews that awaited us. “Hah, no problem!” I thought…..not!

So, what happened? Well, David got out of his car and the first thing I thought was “Blimey, he’s tall!”. Okay, admittedly I’m 5’4” so most folk tower above me, but seriously, he is tall. Then I shook hands with him and congratulated him on the news of his expectant baby. As we walked and talked, I stopped periodically to introduce him to some of my neighbourhood not-so-camera-shy business owners.

David Cameron’s visit was supposed to last about half an hour. I welcomed him to Exeter’s only award winning lady owned garage, introduced him to each of my team, who he then chatted to and joked with for some time. Whilst touring my workshops (along with the media frenzy that shadowed us wherever we went) I also talked to him, predominantly about the issues surrounding small businesses, the impact the recession has had on us, and how support from the community - from other small businesses as well as from the local media such as the Express & Echo & Exeter fm - have been paramount to our survival through hard times. Up in the privacy of my office we talked about other matters such as when I was a civil servant, the small business support needed in order to be able to offer apprenticeships, the community events I run for charity - this year being for the Devon Air Amubulance Trust, and my forthcoming climb of Kilimanjaro for Sparks charity, the latter of which he took a particularly personal interest in.

Dave…..sorry, David Cameron to you, stayed with us for around 1 ½ hours and, despite my beliefs and disbeliefs in his party’s policies, or whether I will vote for him or not in the forthcoming general election, I will always remember that this prime ministerial hopeful at least took the time to come and visit us, he showed genuine interest in supporting small businesses, he stayed with us well over schedule, and most of all……he popped a couple of quid in my charity tins!

David Cameron visited MECA Services South-West on Thursday 25th March 2010 and his visit was covered by (among others) Exeter’s Express and Echo, the Western Morning News, Sunday Telegraph, Exeter 107.3 fm, Heart fm, and the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 news channels.