HARELINES

LONDON TO SYDNEY AND EVER ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

(or round-and-round, there and back, etc.)

by David Hare

RED TAPE ROUND THE WORLD – CONCLUSION

The final legs – Keflavik to Glasgow, and Glasgow to Fairoaks – were completed on Thursday, 17^th. May, and were uneventful, apart from the dismal, windy weather in Southern England that day.  Having left Biggin Hill on the 11^th March, with a lowering cloud base and slack winds, to complete the picture of an English Summer we returned inevitably to somewhat higher, scudding clouds, and a 30 knot wind to land with.

So why did I do it?  Aviators don’t need an answer to that!  But there was more to it.  In 1992 Margaret ran the London Marathon for the benefit of the cancer Wards at the Middlesex hospital, where she is a consultant.  That fund today stands at some £101,000.  But, as I’m sure everyone realises, the need for money remains.  The Middlesex Hospital is now part of the University College London Hospitals group, which is one of the country’s largest NHS Trusts and takes a leading role in national and international trials of treatment of cancers.  This has enabled it to remain at the forefront of cancer care.

But to continue the fight against cancer it is essential to put in place projects that are outside the NHS budget.  One of these projects is the creation of a Cancer Day Centre, which is a particularly important ingredient of the cancer care offered by the University College London Hospitals group.  Outpatient treatment of cancers is becoming more and more effective, and this trend is set to continue.  The Cancer Day Centre will enable a range of activities to be undertaken, from complementary therapies to advanced research to evaluate new therapies.  It will be staffed by a multidisciplinary team catering for the full range of cancer patients’ needs. 

The Cancer Day Centre will cost £5.3 million.

If you feel that my flight deserves recognition in a tangible way, and would like to put the first building blocks of the Cancer Day Centre in place, please would you send your donation payable to “UCL Hospitals Charitable Foundation”  to Dr. Margaret F. Spittle, MSc FRCP FRCR at The University College London Hospitals Charitable Foundation, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG.  Up to date, we have been supported in this project to the tune of some £30,000 , but more is needed.

If you are a UK tax payer, the Charity can reclaim the tax on your donation under the Gift Aid Scheme – currently 28p for every £.  If your donation can be gift aided, please let it be known when you send it.

Happy Landings!

David.