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<\/p>\nThe Princess of Wales has helped pick up a 94-year-old rural minibus user as she celebrated the 50th anniversary of the service.<\/p>\n
Catherine travelled to the village of Pulborough to mark the milestone occasion for the West Sussex Minibus, whose team of volunteers transport the elderly across the area in a fleet of vehicles.<\/p>\n
Stella Drewett, 94, said before the princess arrived that she was not fazed by anything, and joked: “When they said ‘It will be a celebrity,’ I said ‘I don’t know any celebrities’.”<\/p>\n
Catherine had been picked up by the minibus in the village and arrived at the home of the retired school cook before helping her board the bus.<\/p>\n
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The princess made sure passenger Stella Drewett got on the bus safely [Reuters]<\/p>\n
Drewett, a new user of the service, said she travels on the minibus for her weekly shopping trip and a lunch held every Wednesday at the Pulborough village hall.<\/p>\n
The princess walked to her front door and said: “Good morning”, before helping her manoeuvre her walking frame along the garden path and onto the minibus, telling her: “Well done.”<\/p>\n
When asked about her trips out for lunch, the 94-year-old quipped that they meant “one day of not cooking”.<\/p>\n
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The Princess of Wales laughed with Lynda Jones, 74, as they chatted during the lunch [The Sun\/PA]<\/p>\n
At the weekly Pulborough and District Community Care Association lunch in the village hall, regular Lynda Jones told the princess that the event “makes a lot of difference if you’ve lost your partner”.<\/p>\n
She added that the princess was “a natural”.<\/p>\n
Chatting at the table, Catherine said: “What a lovely way to make friends.”<\/p>\n
Alan Jenkins, trustee at West Sussex Minibus, told BBC Radio Sussex<\/a>: “She’s done a fantastic job talking to our members.<\/p>\n “It’s really to promote what our volunteers do for the slightly older generation, which is fantastic.<\/p>\n “She’s done a great job and we’re so pleased to have her here.”<\/p>\n Before leaving Pulborough, Catherine played a jumping game with two little boys – Arthur, aged three, and his one-year-old brother Albie.<\/p>\n Their mother Thea, 25, said: “She was lovely, I didn’t expect her to be playing with my children.”<\/p>\n Additional reporting by PA Media.<\/p>\n Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook,<\/a> on X<\/a> and on Instagram,<\/a> and listen to BBC Radio Sussex on Sounds.<\/a> Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk<\/a> or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.<\/p>\n