Helen

Helen's 2009 was quite like 2008 so we kept some of the best pictures here. We usually have some interesting pictures from her medical evacuation flights overseas, but this year she did not fly outside North America on medevac.

All four of us met in Canmore (near Banff) in February, to ski. The boys only had a week free, but Helen and Neil took 3 weeks, and did a fair bit of hiking, cross-country skiing and visiting friends. All the photos are on the Canmore page.

Summer sailing started in Scotland, then up to Norway, and back to Scotland, then down to Ireland. Helen left Milvina in Ireland to fly to The Hague for a few days with Neil, where he was helping plead a case before the International Court of Justice, then flew home to take care of things while Neil returned to Ireland and sailed Milvina to France for winter lay-up.

We managed to a couple of Derek's rugby games, but Michael was too far away for that, being in Vancouver.

Helen did not have so much time to fly this year, and is officially retired from nursing in the hospital.

Both Helen and Neil are still active in the First Responders, a volunteer group that is organised to respond rapidly to emergency ambulance calls. There are a number of such organisations in rural areas like ours, where ambulances are from 15 to 60 minutes away.

	I like this picture, even although it is not from 2009, so have left it on the site. When waiting 3 days in Lima while the mechanic tore his hair out extricating a spare starter motor from Peruvian customs, she tried flying without an engine. This is a flight with an instructor on board, but it is still hard to step off a 300 foot cliff when he says " Vaya!" The two pilots of her LearJet declined to fly with her. After the para-gliding trip, she and the rest of the Skyservice crew lunched in the restaurant visible below her. Double click on the blue bordered pictures for a full size version. (Perhaps slow to load). Use the "back" button on the browser to return here.
	While in Canmore Helen and Neil skied for a day at Revelstoke, in BC. The skiing is great, and the scenery fabulous, but there are no beginners runs. There are not even many flat spots to pose for a photograph. Double click on the pictures for full size versions. (It may be slow to load). Use the "back" button on the browser to return here

	Helen's LearJet from the nose. Notice how tiny it is and how large the engines are in comparison. that is why it can fly above the bad weather and turbulence that the big jets have to put up with These shot shows how small the LearJet is relative to the commercial jets we are used to flying in.

Helen in 2009 Home