Thursday 22 March

On Thursday I set out, much as usual, with the camera just before 9 o’clock. As I rounded the bottom of the pond I saw a narrowboat chugging down the canal. As it would have been out of sight by the time I walked to the bank I ran – mistake!
Anyhow I took a few pics of it – it was Umnyama which I’d often seen moored at Albert’s Dock near Kiveton Park.

Nb Umnyama passing Godfrey's pond on the Chesterfield canal

Apparently it was going to have its bottom blacked.
More pictures on this sub-page and even more on Flickr here.

I think it was the slight extra effort running to catch Umnyama on camera that triggered my myocardial infarction. I walked on and joined Christine and Jenny on the rugby field. As we were looking for Scooby, who’d vanished into the hedge I began to feel woozy, short of breath and hot & cold shivery. I went down to the floor.

Just to say: Christine had never held a non point-and-click camera before and did a grand job, taking 387 pictures in all. Alright some were of headless folk and one or two were a tad out of focus but all were good nontheless. Don’t forget I’d got the 70-300 lens on.

I’m a bit hazy from then on, but remember stripping my fleece off and hearing Jenny leave to find someone with a mobile phone. After about ten hours subjective – ten minutes(?) really – a paramedic arrived via the rugby club. I came to enough to give Christine the camera with instructions to click & keep clicking – no way was this going to be unrecorded.

Since found out via email from YAA:
Helicopter crew:
  Paramedics: Tony Wilks; Andy Armitage;
  Pilot: Chris Wood.
If anyone wants themselves identifying (or removing) let me know

Now I’m crap on names, really crap, I mean so crap I have to check in my wallet if I’m asked my name so, although I was given many names that day, I remember only one or two. The first paramedic was Carl – he walked across from the rugby club with his equipment guided and assisted by a young man (name …? Sorry!). Then they began to arrive thick and fast, at one point all that I could see was the green and reflective yellow of their jackets all around.

Map of the flight – 38 miles as the crow goeth

They decided that a road ambulance wasn’t an option, given the accessibility of the location for ground based transport. Next up, of course was the Notts helicopter, but that was fogbound. So it was the Yorkshire air ambulance that was summoned. The destination of choice was Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital but again the early morning mist made that a no-no so Leeds it was!

There’s all the pictures on Flickr here. But here’s a few I’ve pulled out:

Me; and that's the only one you're getting.

Normally I don’t put identifiable pictures of people on the web without their express permision but I’ve got as many of the parameds as I could ’cause the’re all terrific people doing a difficult job.

I think this is Carl (read above about my name retention abilities)

Another paramed, name ?	I hate needles!
More of 'em	Paramed with his chopper out
Just having a chat(?)	Looks as if they've decided what to do
Some of the audience	And another onlooker
Just checking	Wheeeee! off the ground!
Up ... up ...	... and away!

That’s all for now: off to bed ’cause I’m knackered.

Map (zoom in to the Worksop end to see the scene of events)