King Charles pulls pint and fits tyre as he visits Staffordshire
King Charles pulled a pint and changed the tyre of a JCB vehicle during a visit to Staffordshire.The King visited the JCB headquarters in Rocester where he chatted to staff and heard about their work as the manufacturing firm celebrated its 80th anniversary.He later went to family-owned Tower Brewery in Burton-upon-Trent where he was pictured pouring himself a pint, wishing owner John Mills his "very good health" and taking a sip.He seemed to approve of his Gone for a Burton drink calling it interesting and super-charged.
The King pulled his pint before Mr Mills asked him if he was "going to have a slurp of that".The King replied that if he was not, he was in the "wrong place", and held up his pint as he said "to your very good health".He then joked he would "pass the rest on to them" as he looked at the watching press.
Among the JCB employees who met the King were members of the Williams family, including Richard Williams, who has worked at the firm for 38 years.Mr Williams, general manager of the backhoe loader business unit, told BBC Radio Stoke: "It was nerve wracking to begin with but it was lovely, he put us all at ease and he was really interested in the sort of roles we do at JCB."
His wife Sarah Williams, purchasing manager, said she spent much of Sunday practising her curtsy and making sure she knew how to address the King properly."He was very good at making you feel at ease and he shook my hand which I wasn't expecting," she added.The couple's son Josh, a paint sprayer, also said he was nervous about meeting the King, adding that it was the first time he had met a member of the Royal Family."It's the first time I've ever done anything like that but I think I played it cool," he added.
Among the crowd was Olympic canoeist Adam Burgess, who is sponsored by the firm, and he said the King had a look at the silver medal he won in the Paris games last summer."It was nice to see him taking the time to stop and chat to so many people. He was really friendly," he said."You could tell people were getting nervous but as he arrived to speak to people they did seem to relax."
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