As expected, the press room was full, ranks upon rank of white plastic chairs filled with reporters from all the national and local regional papers, among them Celie Donald and Marcus Garretty who was preening and trying to ingratiate himself with the national boys, who largely ignored him. Prominent TV reporters, mostly female, had naturally taken the front seats, having sent a minion or two to sit and reserve the seats for their own exalted backsides.
To the rear and sides of the room, TV cameras perched on top of tall tripods like so many news-hungry vultures or Martian war machines from HG Wells ‘War of the Worlds.’
Noise buffeted around the room , only falling silent by degrees as Vickers, Grace Swan. Terry Horton and Roy Moorcroft, the Press Officer who was out of sorts with Grace
