Huddersfield had won the award before, but years and years ago now. Andy had only been at the helm of the station since January 2016, so he could take little credit for that previous plaudit, but tonight’s decision would reflect on him. The year before, Huddersfield had been nominated for Station of the Year in the national rail industry awards, but although they had won a commendation, they’d lost out to Nottingham. Would it be the same at these internal TPE awards? Was Huddersfield destined to be the runner-up again?
There had been a lot of changes at the station in the past couple of years. Losing Billy Bolt and gaining a celebrity cat had been just two of them. The team had changed shape too, becoming significantly more streamlined, and Andy had been working hard to build a talented team that could still provide top-notch customer service. Tonight, he and his colleagues would be judged on their performance.
They were up against Scarborough. As TPE’s managing director, Leo Goodwin, read out the nominations and described the achievements of each team, Andy and the others felt proud of what they had built at Huddersfield. But would it be enough …?
Eventually, to rapt silence in the ballroom, Leo revealed the results – and Huddersfield had won! Everyone round the Huddersfield table was jumping up and down, hugging each other and yelling at the tops of their voices. Sara and Dan embraced along with the rest of the team, Sara holding her breath as the man she fancied squeezed her tight – before Dan released her to hug another colleague. Nonetheless, Sara felt as though she could still feel his arms round her … Karl, giving her a hug next, seemed to know exactly how she felt. As usual, she did not need to say a word; he understood her instantly.
But there was no time for any of that tonight. There was an award to collect – and the whole team had triumphed! Every team member present traipsed up to the stage to receive their award, which was a stunning rectangular glass sculpture imprinted with the purple-and-blue TPE logo and the slogan: ‘Together, we’re taking the north further.’ Karl, with typical charisma, raised his hand triumphantly above his head as he reached the stage, punching the air with joy. As the team posed for a photo, linking arms, Karl embraced Angie Hunte and the two of them beamed broadly for the camera. In their grins and delighted eyes, you could see at a glance that everyone was immensely proud of their mutual achievement. Everyone was in good spirits that night – even Geoff!
Back at the station, the award took pride of place in the booking office, alongside all the Felix tributes – which by now included several foreign editions of her bestselling book. It seemed somehow right that the award had its home alongside all the Felix memorabilia – for it was a prize for teamwork, after all, and Felix the station cat was undoubtedly part of that team. Angela Dunn was also delighted by their win, feeling it gave everyone a bit of a boost. It brought the whole team closer together.
It was a whole summer of happy days, in fact. Returning from holiday, Karl came running into work one day with a smile that said he was the cat who’d got the cream. Sara hugged him instantly, her cry of ‘Congratulations!’ already crossing her lips. She already knew his news because he’d phoned to tell her; while abroad, Karl had proposed to his long-term girlfriend at the top of a mountain … and she’d said yes! He’d been planning the proposal for months – asking Sara for suggestions and ideas along the way – and everything had gone as intended. Sara was thrilled for them both. So close were she and Karl that he even asked her if she would be a bridesmaid at his wedding. His future with his bride seemed as sparkling bright as that shiny new team award hanging in the booking office. As he told all his colleagues his exciting news, Karl’s brown eyes sparkled just as brightly too.
As for Felix, the two Angelas had been cooking up a little plan to ensure that Felix was not forgotten in this summer of celebrations … as if such a thing could ever happen! While Felix’s diet meant they couldn’t spoil her as they might once have done, it didn’t mean they couldn’t come up with new ideas. And though it had never been done before, Angie and Angela decided they wanted to organise a special Felix-focused day at the station that summer, both to honour their girl and to thank her many fans for their support.
Both women had long been touched by these fans. Angie and Angela could see how much Felix meant to people, and they were also overwhelmed by their generosity. Whether it was Christmas or Valentine’s Day or Felix’s birthday, gifts and cards with well wishes regularly arrived at the station for the little cat. Sometimes there were also gifts for the station team themselves, Felix’s ‘hoomans’, as a thank you for their care of the beloved station cat. The team were sent wine and chocolates and cakes and more … And now that Felix’s weight had become such a well-publicised issue, some people sent cash, rather than Dreamies, directing that the money be given to a charity of Felix’s choice. The sums regularly topped three figures by the time each month was out.
Felix’s charity work was another reason to celebrate the railway cat. Her fundraising efforts had not been limited to her calendar and her bestselling book – not on your nelly. Back in May, she had worked with the Manchester branch of a charity called Cash for Kids, donating the proceeds of a Felix-themed colouring book and a limited-edition Felix cuddly toy to their work supporting disadvantaged children across the Pennines. The cuddly Felix wore a blue superhero cape, which was apt, given that Felix’s charity work was now literally saving lives across the nation.
By now, Felix’s fans had supported Cash for Kids, the Samaritans, Fairy Bricks, Prostate Cancer UK and many other charities by buying Felix products or sponsoring her in some way. The team at TPE were determined that everything she did ‘commercially’ had to be for charity, never to build their brand or to make money for money’s sake. That wasn’t what Felix was about. Yet they also wanted to be sure to share the wealth that Felix’s fans so generously helped to generate. That was why, every time Felix did something new, she had a new charity partner. Her fundraising was divided among lots of charities, so that all sorts of different groups in need could benefit from the fairy dust being scattered by Felix the cat. This approach was why, each month, Angela Dunn would donate the financial contributions given in Felix’s name to a different institution, whether it was a local cats’ home, a school in need or a mental-health charity.
Angie Hunte, too, felt that changing the charities each time rather matched Felix’s own approach to life. After all, Felix was indiscriminate in her healing powers, helping everyone from Adam with his MS to autistic children and a man with dementia who loved to have her book read to him each night (he was on his third read-through already, his wife wrote in to say). ‘I just see it as her flowing through,’ explained Angie Hunte. ‘That is what she does as she walks through life: she touches everybody. And if we can do that with her charity work as well, that just seems right to me.’
In the summer of 2017, however, the two Angelas felt that Felix’s fans had been asked to give enough. By now, Felix had raised well over six figures for charity. People were always coming to Huddersfield to meet Felix, yet they always left empty-handed, sometimes without even the memory of meeting the station cat to see them through the journey home. The two Angelas wanted to give something back to these dedicated fans. They wanted to say thank you on Felix’s behalf.
So, on Saturday 22 July, they planned a giveaway day for Felix’s admirers. A limited-edition Felix goodie bag would be given away to hundreds of lucky families who were travelling by train on that first weekend of the school summer holidays. Angie even persuaded Andy Croughan to let her upgrade to first class the first five families who received bags; they’d also receive a free copy of Felix’s book. The goodie bags, meanwhile, would be stuffed full of bespoke goodies featuring photographs of Felix, as well as sugar-free lollies or sweets. When Felix said thank you, she did it in style.