Devoted mother Carol Dukes traveled 900 miles (1,450 km) so her son, the apple of her eye, could play with his GameBoy on a school trip.
Dukes, 41, spent 150 pounds ($220) on planes and taxis in the mad dash from her home in Berkshire to London’s Heathrow Airport and on to Scotland to catch 11-year-old Charlie after she realized he had left the handheld computer game at home.
“If you decide to do something you do it and worry about the money later,” Dukes told Reuters Tuesday. “But I think everyone was quite surprised to see me.”
Charlie and 39 classmates were bound for the isolated island of Iona to learn about life without modern amenities.
When Charlie’s mum caught up with her son’s train at Dumbarton, near Glasgow, he was understandably embarrassed.
“He was a bit diffident when I caught up with him and I guess he was a tad embarrassed,” Dukes admitted.
Dukes said she was not an overindulgent mum but she felt responsible for repacking Charlie’s bag and forgetting to replace the game and his pencil case.
“I wanted Charlie to have a good time and the only option I had was to get the GameBoy to him in person,” Dukes said.