Friday 25 February 2011

Thursday 17 February 2011

The Family Group at the Wedding

We now have a photo of the family at Nicola and Joe's wedding. The only person missing is Sam, Helena's young man. Sadly he had to work that day.



Lawrie, Emma, David
Helena, Barry, Julia, Gaew, Andrew, Peter
Peter, Joe, Nicola, Phil, Natalie

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Tucson

I did manage to see some of the countryside;


Tuesday 8 February 2011

Flying High at Pima

When I was looking at the planes that were outside (see previous post) the proceedings were enlivened when some fighters took off from the local US Airbase. The planes looked very dramatic against the mountain backdrop. Sadly it all happened so quickly that by the time I was able to get a photo they were high in the sky.

Pima Air and Space Museum

I had a spare couple of hours yesterday and managed to get to see the Pima Air and Space Museum. I have been past this and the "Boneyard" many times over the years but never had the time to look inside. It was well worth the visit; at a reduced fee as I am over 62, who said that there are no benefits in aging! The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) known as the Boneyard is where over 4000 (yes four thousand) planes are stored. Some can be made airworthy othere are used as spares for planes in service others are scrapped and sold. As an example there are B52 bombers there that were scrapped as a condition of one on of the disarmnament treaties with the Soviet Union.

The air museum itself is fascinating, planes of all shapes and sizes from early planes to some of the latest. The guided walking tours were excellent and the guides extremely knowledgeable.  It was a well spent couple of hours.





An American Original

I am in Tucson Arizona on business. It is good to see that the arch typical American is alive and well.

Friday 4 February 2011

Diaconal Studies

As I have mentioned previously on the Blog I am in a three year formation program which, DV, will lead to me being ordained as a Deacon. We have this topic to write about; I would welcome your views on this:
Your best friend has been living for years with an unrelenting painful affliction. There is no known cure and no effective pain control. Although the condition is not in itself life threatening, your friend is incontinent and bed-ridden. Your friend tells you that he or she can no longer stand the pain, embarrassment, and dependency and wants to end their life. He or she has given this  a great deal of thought and pleads with you to leave several blister packs of paracetamol by the bed. What would you do?
Give clearly argued reasons for your answer. You may put the answer in letter form addressed to your friend if you wish.