…that’s what he told me when I asked him what his name was. He’s a Cambridge Ambassador with Cambridge BID, and I met him in front of Poundland at The Grafton last week. William, and others dressed similarly to him, all with bowler hats and suits, walk around Cambridge trying to help people who might be lost. I’ve met a couple of them in my time here, the last group I stopped just to tell them that they do wonderful work. 

I came across the Cambridge Ambassadors when I first got to Cambridge. I noticed them, milling around, looking both dapper and peculiar in their suits, and one day, a lady who works as an Ambassador approached my parents and I and asked if we needed any help. She pulled out a map and helped us to find where we were looking for. Since then, I have been curious who the mystery bowler hat people were, and so this October, I stopped William and asked him a series of questions about his job and what he does. He was very friendly and happy to answer my questions. He explained to me that his job was to ensure that people get help if they’re lost, to make sure that folks are happy in Cambridge and to ensure that the city of Cambridge itself was taken care of and kept tidy. Sucks though that they don’t seem to work in the night, because I used to get lost then, but alas, they need time off too. I thought it was such a wonderful thing that there are people devoted to doing what he does. I asked to take a picture of him and also draw him, and he stood tall (and he is pretty tall, so he stood taller), put his hands behind his back, and gave a slightly shy smile after saying ‘Yes!’. After taking the picture, I wished him well, and he wished me the same; saying that I could always share the art with them on Twitter once I’m done.