The Rag-And-Bone Man Drove Us For A Fiver!

For Julia Donaldson, author of bestselling children’s book The Gruffalo, a horse and cart was the perfect transport for her wedding day

- Clare Walters

This picture of Malcolm and me on our wedding day in September 1972 always makes me smile.

I’d fancied the idea of riding to the reception in a horse and carriage, and someone suggested the best way to get one was via a funeral director.

Inspired, I phoned a funeral director but quickly discovered it was going to cost hundreds of pounds – much more than we could afford.

Then another friend joked, ‘What about the rag-and-bone man?’ So I took her at her word and phoned him. He said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it for you. It’ll cost you a fiver, mind.’ So I gave him £5, and he decked up his cart and came to the wedding!