3rd March, Great North Air Ambulance Service

At our 2009 Dinner Dance we raised the excellent sum of £610 from a raffle, with prizes donated by members and companies and in December our Chairman Peter Ebdon presented a cheque for that amount to Janet Hume, Fund Manager for the Great North Air Ambulance Service. Janet promised to come and talk to us at one of our Natters and on 3rd March that promise was fulfilled, when 30 members and 2 guests settled down to hear the story of GNAAS.

With colleague Robert, Janet gave us a picture and video presentation of some of the rescues they have made. Whilst making it all sound straightforward and ordinary, the video showing a helicopter ‘landing’ on Striding Edge in the Lake District, with its front wheels hovering off the ground, proved that it was anything but. Similarly, a helicopter setting down in the narrow High Street of Berwick must have had shopkeepers thinking someone had fitted air conditioning without their knowledge, so close were the blades to the buildings.

Janet explained that they operated solely on donations from the public and many organisations. Whilst this gave them independence it meant that they were forever in the debt, and the pockets, of so many people who continued to give so generously. Whilst we could not match the previous cheque we had given in December, Barrie Hope in thanking Janet and Robert, was able to hand over a further cheque for £55 from people who had been unable to attend our Diner Dance but wished to show their appreciation for the work of the GNAAS. Brave but modest people.

When it was all over we tucked into a meal and continued with our usual good old natter. It was a splendid evening without doubt and we hope to raise more money for GNAAS in 2010, with the sincere hope that we never need the Service but will be safe in the knowledge that we will be in good hands if we do.

Saturday, 20th February, Visit to Heritage Classics, Middlesbrough
Sixteen of our Centre's members were treated to a feast of classic cars undergoing surgery at the premises of Heritage Classics in Middlesbrough. Owner John Collins kindly allowed us to see the range of work he and his team can perform on cars in all sorts of conditions. There were E-Types, Morse-type Jags, a Mark IX, an Aston Martin DB6, even a comparatively lowly Wolseley 1500 and several shells in store that had us guessing what they might be . If anyone has doubts as to whether their precious car can be brought back to original, probably better, then a visit to see John is a must. Such work does not come cheaply, but as many of us know who have had cars restored, we make such decisions with the heart and worry about the wallet later.
Not only did we enjoy seeing what could be done, John's wife kindly provided us all with a hot sausage butty and tea or coffee. At the end of the visit, Barrie Hope gave a vote of thanks to John and presented him with a small token of an Old Speckled Hen glass - with a bottle to enjoy when he got home. The picture shows our members ready to hit the road home to various parts of the region. Some had travelled well over 60 miles and said it was well worth the trip.



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AGM February 2010
Overseas Director Paul Plummer joined members of the Tyne-Tees Centre for their Annual
General Meeting on 3rd. February at The Manor House in West Auckland. In spite of snow
falling before the meeting started there was a good turn-out with 20 members, 3 guests and
of course our special guest Paul Plummer. The picture below shows Paul looking nice and snug
inside his new TT Centre fleece presented to him by Chairman Peter Ebdon.

The meeting was conducted in exceptionally good spirits, with members expressing
great satisfaction at the varied programme that had been provided for 2009. The general
view was that the Centre continued to thrive with an even more varied programme for 2010.

The Committee offered itself for re-election with the exception of retiring Membership
Secretary Donald Dalton, whose role was taken over by recent new Committee member
Martin Rodgers, already doing the job of Publicity Officer. Chairman Peter Ebdon expressed
the gratitude of the whole Committee for Donald's work in helping the Centre to continue its
growth. In his comments at the close of the meeting, Paul Plummer light-heartedly (although
not too light) set Martin the task of breaking the growth record for the coming year. Full
details of all the Committee will appear soon in an updated page.

After the conclusion of the meeting everyone tucked into a buffet and enjoyed a jolly good
natter and the Committee went home satisfied that even with the challenges ahead, there
was good reason for optimism.