I’m sometimes asked “What’s it like accompanying a VVIP to the Great Wall?”
有時，人們會問我：“陪同一位大人物登長城是什麼感覺？”
The answer is well, incredibly easy!
我的回答是：真的不難！
More than a month ago I received a special request from the British Embassy in Beijing if I might be available to accompanying very very important British visitors to the Great Wall and telling them the Great Wall story as I’ve come to know it.
一個多月前，我收到英國駐華使館的特別邀請，請我陪同一些非常重要的大人物登長城，並給他們講我所知道的長城故事。
Naturally I accepted.
我欣然地接受了。
I was then told who the VIPs might be….none other than the Prime Minister, Theresa May, and her husband, Philip May. I was especially interested because our ‘PM’ studied geography (at Oxford) while her husband studied history (at Oxford)…where they met.
後來我被告知這些重要人物就是特蕾莎.梅首相和她的丈夫菲利普.梅先生。我特別感興趣的是，我們的首相和她的丈夫是在牛津大學學習時認識的，而且一個學的是地理，一個學的是歷史。
After a planning meeting I accompanied some staff members from the embassy and some team members from the PM’s team to the Wall for a reconnaissance. It soon became clear that the time needed to get out and back from the Wall, as well of course as up to it, along it for at least a few hundred metres and back down again soon added up to almost 4 hours…..even with the police traffic assistance en route.
在計劃這次會見時，我首先陪着英國駐華使館的官員，和來自倫敦首相團隊的成員去做了調研。很清楚，即使是交警開道，沒有交通堵塞，往返長城，加上登長城，在長城上走哪拍是一小段，算下來也得4個小時。
Given the PMs pressing schedule of meetings with state leaders in Beijing, and her need to run a government from the far side of the world, it was decided that, on this February visit at least, a visit to the Wall by the PM wouldn’t be possible. However, it was thought that Mr Philip May, being a keen walker along with his wife, would particularly enjoy and should visit the Great Wall — on his very first visit to Beijing.
首相的訪問日程已經排得滿滿的，額外再花這幾個小時登長城可能性很小。然而，考慮到經常與梅首相一起徒步的梅先生還是特別樂意一到北京就去造訪長城一下。
So, it was all systems go for Mr May’s visit.
所以，決定讓我陪同梅先生。
Probably the most difficult part of my task was to give Mr May the most comprehensive ‘view’ of the Great Wall to bring alive the actual view of the Wall itself, at Mutianyu. From the time of him arriving by car at the foot of the Wall, about 200 metres from the cablecar station, to our planned return, we had about 30-40 minutes…..
我們去了慕田峪長城。我任務的難點是，如何把中國萬里長城這樣一個悠久歷史和巨大體量的複雜的工程，在很短的時間裏，用簡潔而生動的語言概括出來。從他乘車來到長城腳下，離纜車200米處開始，到我們離開，一共用了大約30多分鐘。
Fortunately, as soon as Mr May arrived I was I'm immediately introduced to him. I had done a little research and discovered that we were virtually neighbours back in the 1960s and 70s where we grew up….
幸運的是，梅先生的車一到，就有人立即把我介紹給他。之前，我也做了一點功課。我發現，實際上在我們長大成人的上世紀60-70年代，我倆還是“鄰居”。
I was born in Wallasey. He was born in Heswall. The two towns are just 15 kms apart!
我出生在Wallasey，他出生在Heswall。這兩個鎮相隔僅僅15公里。
I first explained why William Lindesay, from Wallasey, was about to tell him the Great Wall story…..of course I told the Hadrian’s Wall story and about my adventures on the Wall in 1986 and 1987.
首先，我先解釋為什麼安排一個來自英國Wallasey的我給他講中國長城的故事......我從長跑英國哈德良長城，後來在1986和1987年我來華的獨步中國萬里長城講起。
By the time we were sitting in the cable car I was introducing the basics of the story…..how the Wall arose because of the conflict between the settled Chinese society of the south and the nomadic society of the north.
到我們坐上纜車裏之後，我開始概括地講長城的歷史......為何修建長城，如何修建長城.....
Once up to the platform just below the Wall came the gasps. What a beautiful day! I told Mr May that of all my 30 years or so in Beijing, this last winter has been the best for weather and air quality.
當我們走下纜車，上到登城的平台上時，啊！今天的天氣太給力了！我告訴梅先生，我在北京生活了30年裏，這是我體驗到最好的天氣和最好的空氣的一個冬天。
We didn’t go straight up the steps onto the Wall from there. no, we took a beside-the-Wall path, for two good reasons. One, by taking that path, one sees the huge blocks of the containing wall close up, with their chisel marks. In this way you can quickly grasp the scale of human effort that went tin the building of the Wall…and that produces the ‘wow’ factor. the second reason for taking that path is that it allows one to avoid passing through the so-called ‘graffitt’ tower. I didn't want to expose our VVIP guest to such an ugly sight, even though I know the management have established the tower’s interior walls, covered in white sheets, for people to scrawl what they want to….
我們沒有直接從纜車平台到長城上，而是先沿着長城旁邊的小道漫步。原因有二個。其一，走在這條小路上，可以清楚地看到支撐長城的巨石上面的鑿痕。這樣使人可以很快感受到長城修建的不易，會使人“哇—”驚歎不已。其二，從這條道走還可以避開那個“塗鴉樓”。儘管這裏的管理人員已經費盡了苦心，在樓裏面蓋上了白布，讓那些想塗鴉的人有的放矢……
The view to the West, towards ‘yingfeidaoyang’ was superb, crystal clear. I told my guest that the Wall extended west and east far far beyond where we could see, and how its geography makes it a wonder among the wonders of the world.
站在慕田峪長城往西看，“鷹飛倒仰”清晰可見，盡收眼底。我給客人解釋：長城從這裏往東西兩個方向，還會蜿蜒前行得很遠很遠，一望無盡。長城之所以是個世界奇蹟，正是因為它在地理上的長度和體量。
Mr May was absolutely fascinated with the Wall and was equally amazed that a fellow Briton, from a neighbouring town, had spent half his life here.
梅先生對我能在中國一呆就是半輩子的驚奇，不亞於對中國萬里長城的驚歎。
I had prepared two my books to present to Mr May, one signed to ‘Philip & Theresa May’ and the other to ‘Theresa & Philip May’ — for equality!
我事先準備了兩本書送給梅先生。我在第一本的扉頁上寫的是“贈給：菲利普和特蕾莎.梅“，另一本是：“特蕾莎和菲利普.梅”——這樣是不是顯得平等呢！
Mr May kindly gifted me a large notebook with a silver number ’10’ embossed on the front cover, something that Tommy promptly took a liking to when he saw it. It’s now on his desk.
梅先生也好心送我一本印有數字10號的黑色筆記本。我想湯米可能會喜歡這個來自唐寧街10號的禮物。現在它就躺在了湯米的書桌上。
It was a memorable visit and as we bade farewell I expressed the hope of having the pleasure of accompanying Mr May and the PM to the Wall, perhaps a different section, on their next visit.
陪同梅先生登長城，真是一次難忘的經歷。當我們互相揮手道別的時候，我希望下次有機會能再陪伴梅首相和梅先生一道參觀中國另一段長城。
（威廉寫於2018年2月）
2月1日，我（右）陪同梅首相丈夫梅先生登慕田峪長城。
贈送給特蕾莎.梅首相和丈夫菲利普.梅我的《萬里長城百年回望》。該書由五洲傳播出版社出版。
贈送給梅首相及其丈夫我的《50件長城文物》。該書由企鵝出版社出版。
梅先生送給我唐寧街10號筆記本。