Up and away in Betty's beautiful balloon

Elizabeth (Betty) Wilson, from Clark House, fulfilled a lifelong ambition to fly in a hot air balloon. And she did it in style on her 75th birthday!

Betty, who had a heart problem a few years ago got the all-clear from her doctor “he told me to just go for it”, said a determined Betty. But, after two abortive attempts to organise a flight in England she thought the dream was over. “Just when I had given up, I got a call out of the blue from my son Brian to tell me that he had arranged a flight for me near where he lives” said Betty. But Brian Wilson now lives and works in Belgium. So, the adventure began with a trip to Brussels to visit Brian and his family to prepare for the flight. The added bonus was that Betty could meet her newly born, baby granddaughter Eve.

Betty said that “there was plenty of skit” before the trip. In a light-hearted conversation with Mary Harper at Clark House, Betty had said that the flight would be “the nearest I’ll get to heaven” and, “I feel like taking some money up with me and scattering it around”. Mary’s response was “Well, in that case, I’ll come along with a bow and arrow and shoot the balloon down”. Brian had also joked that his diminutive mother would “never manage to climb into the basket anyway”.

Betty loved her adventure. “Six balloons took off together and I was thrilled that we landed beside the famous Waterloo battleground” said Betty. “I’m so glad that I did it. It was a very special experience”.

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