I’ve been traveling around the UK on a CP job for the past few months but was also lucky enough to be part of the security for the royal wedding, it’s not often I say I was glad I did a job but it was nice to see lots of flag-waving royalists out on the streets of London wishing Kate and William a happy wedding day.
Several days after the wedding I received a call from a reporter from The Times newspaper, he was running an article on women in protection as Kate Middleton now has a female bodyguard. I was happy to talk to him and very pleased when the article ran the next day and almost quoted me word for word. He asked what made a good female bodyguard and why it was good for a female client to have one, toilets and changing rooms was just one reason!
On my way back from a CP job in Scotland I was at Euston station lugging my suitcase down an escalator that wasn’t working. Halfway down, a male approached me and asked ‘can I carry that for you?’ ‘Yes please’, I said, in shock, and at the bottom of the escalator, I noticed he had an SIA license around his neck, so obviously, he was on his way to or from work. I thanked him very much and he replied, ‘My pleasure, Jacquie Davis!’
‘Err… how do you know my name?’ I asked, to which, he informed me that he reads the Circuit Magazine before disappearing back into the crowd on the platform. So whoever you were, thank you, it is a real pleasure to see that chivalry isn’t dead!
At the moment I am writing this from a hotel room in the north of England, gales are blowing at seventy miles an hour and a volcanic ash cloud has stopped my Principal’s plane from taking off. My Principal, is in fact, leaning over my shoulder as they are cowering in my room scared of the horrendous noise from the gales blowing outside. The rest of my team is on duty protecting another Principal and probably me.
Sometimes, even though you are ‘off duty’ you are never really ‘off’, and this is my time to catch up on paperwork, read my emails, and get a bit of “me” time – very hard to do with said Principal in the same room insisting I carry on and pretend they are not there. The guy on RST has just put his head around the door asking if everything is all right – I’m now laughing as the Principal is flicking through the TV stations saying, “I hope I’m not getting in your way”, I’ll finish this later.
With the Principal now back in their own room, nursing a cup of hot chocolate after a pep talk from me, reassuring them on how safe they are, with the team surrounding their room and me being next door. Even though this is a low-risk job, we still have to reassure the Principal that all is well within their world, but again it’s a lesson in CP diplomacy and how we have to drop everything for the client.
Summer may be a bit tough this year, for those of us working in the protection industry, as the goings-on in the Middle East is preventing some of our Middle-Eastern clients from traveling at this time, so I wish you all well with work and remember, take what you can, while you can. Just because you have a Close Protection license it does not mean Door Supervision or festival work is beneath you, it’s a challenge and character building and a great way to network.
Until next time
Stay safe
Working Girl
By Jacquie Davis
Director of protective services
Optimal Risk
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