Fundraising update

Its now about six weeks since I returned from my trip. I have been catching up with friends and work colleagues since I got back. I got some great news from Sarah Hewitson in that she had collected the money to-gether from Sarah Close and from Rachael Barnet for the Tandem Jumps they did for NACC. They raised the fantastic amount of £708.00. I am very grateful to all of the girls for this, this money has now been deposited into NACC's bank account. In addition to this I have totalled up all the various amounts I have been given when on my travels, along with donations from DZ's in the form of free jumps and from people who have given me free or reduced cost of accommodation, also from people back at home. It has all added up to £757.00 and a cheque has now gone off for that also. The total up to now on the web site combined with other donations is £5895 and if you add the tax refund in it adds up to £6263.08 and money is still coming in.
I would like to thank Cess, Mal, Alan Thompson and all the staff at Peterlee Parachute Centre for taking such good care of the girls on their tandem jumps. Thanks guy's
I have been asked to write a couple of articles, one for the USPA magazine and one for our own Skydive Mag -hopefully these will be published and may possibly encourage more people to visit the just giving web site and make a donation.
I will keep the blog running as long as it seems appropriate. I would be grateful on any feedback you can give me re the blog.
Regards John 22 Oct 08

Journey's End

My flight left as Scheduled, I had a pleasant surprise when my ticket to Heathrow was upgraded to World Traveller Plus, which was very welcome, it meant I had a more comfortable seat and a bit more room. I am no good at sleeping on planes (even those with seats !!!!), so the added comfort was much appreciated. We landed about 1.30 pm UK time. I am just about getting over the jet lag now. I had an onward connection up to Newcastle which got in at 5.30 pm. My wife Rosie and my Dad were there to meet me at the Airport. The weather to greet me was typically English, heavy rain and grey skies - I miss the sunshine already.
Will see what the new week has to bring, need to contact and thank so many people and start looking for a job as well as start thinking about the book. john 14 September 2008

White Rock - Canada

My flight from Vancouver was not due to leave until after 8 pm so I had most of the day free. Len Doerksen where I had been staying told me about this place on the coast which is about 30 mile South East of Vancouver called White Rock. So I went there and spent a few hours just walking along the promenade and pier enjoying the sunshine and the view. There is long stretch along the seafront and it seems quite popular. There are plenty of Cafe's and Restaurants and the railway track runs parallel to the coast, so with one thing and another it makes for a pleasant trip out. I have attached some photographs as usual. John 14/9

One Final Jump and End of Adventure

After visiting Vancouver on Monday there was a message waiting for me when I got back to where I am staying. The local newspaper the Abbotsford News wanted to do a storey on me. After contacting them on Tuesday morning (9/9) it was arranged that I would meet a photographer at Vancouver Skydiving in Abbotsford the following day. This all went ahead and I had some photo's taken next to the Porter, an added bonus was that they made space for me on the plane and I got one more jump in - no 125 of the trip. The weather was perfect, I did a very unplanned two way with Tim a visiting jumper from Germany. It was great fun and the jump went really well. By coincidence Tim knew another guy I had jumped with in Perris, another Tim, we did the balloon jump together. They are both pilots for Lufthansa - its a small world.
I am now all packed and en route for the airport, I have stopped off at the local library to do this final blog before I get home to-morrow - long journey ahead. john 11th Sept 2008

Vancouver

Yesterday I went into Vancouver, just to do some sightseeing. Things got off to a bad start in that I just missed the 7.30 mainline train (should have got up 2 minutes earlier). However I drove closer to the city to a place called Lougheed and got the Skytrain straight into the city from there. Skytrain is a rapid transport system which is a bit like the Metro but most of the time operates on a railway system going over the traffic, but it also goes underground, so its the best of both worlds. I headed for the waterfront area and Canada Place. Large cruise ships dock at the very edge of the city centre, so its really convenient. The harbour area is very large with the added attraction of sea planes going in and out all of the time.

The city is very modern, with many high rise glass buildings, but there is also a lot of greenery around so there is a nice feel about the place. You don't have to go far before you find some pretty serious shopping areas. The biggest store I was in was the Hudson Bay Company. There were at least five floors and I think two lower levels. They have tour buses which look like the tram cars in San Francisco. I only scratched the surface in my trip into Vancouver and could have spent a lot longer there. I have attached some pictures as usual, the ship that in the picture is called the Island Princess, it was so big I just could not get it all on the picture.

I am now in the process of trying to get as up to-date as I can before I leave on Thursday. Will try and get at least one more update in before I head back. John 9/9

More Skydiving

Over last weekend I planned to do my last skydiving of the trip. On Saturday 6th I went back to Pacific Skydivers at Pitts Meadow and spent most of the day there. There was no Otter this weekend so they were flying a C206 and a C182. I did a couple of jumps out of their 182. One of them a really nice three way with Kat and Dave -thanks. I must say their 182 not only is the smartest i82 I have been in - it looks brand new, but its by far the quickest. I understand its rated at 300 hp and climbs like a turbine for the first thousand feet. I was able to take some more photographs, some of them of the view on the way up, I have added these to my earlier posting. Everyone made me feel really welcome, special thanks to Debbie who made sure I got on slots whenever possible, it was a pleasure to jump at Pitts Meadow.

The following day I went back to Vancouver Skydivers at Abbotsford and did a couple more jumps. This time I got to jump out of the Porter and I was able to take more pictures, again some of them of the view as I was going up in the plane, I have also added these to my earlier posting. I did what was planned my last jump at Abbotsford, it was jump no 124. There is the possibility I might do one more as the local press want to do a storey about my visit and the reasons behind it. Thanks to Debbie and Gerry and all the crew for making me so welcome , special good wishes to Karen - keep fighting it and keep well. John 9/9

Canada - Out and about Cultas Lake

A few days ago I went to have a look at Cultas Lake which is East of where I am staying and about an hours drive. It was fairly late in the afternoon and very peaceful. The pictures have come out quite nice, I hope you enjoy looking at them, I particularly like the wild fowl. john 9/9