10/02/2026
February Meeting
Good morning,
What is February known for? Apart from dour weather, well it's Valentine's day of course! As our meeting was close to the big day we thought we'd mark the occasion so each table was decorated with hearts, a special YCA sparkly lights bottle, super sweet treats and tea lights to take home. We even had heart shaped biscuits with our tea so we had moved from a groan at the word Valentine to happy smiles with everyone feeling a little special.
Our speaker was from the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and we would definitely recommend them as it hit the right tone for members with a relaxed and informative style. Established in 2000 we learnt of all the changes over the 25 years going from hiring their helicopters to now owning 3 out right each costing 9 million pounds, equipped with £600,000 worth of state of the art medical equipment. Do you know why they are yellow? Well yes, they are easier to see but it was because 25 years ago the main sponsor was the AA whose colour is of course yellow. The medical staff are on loan from the NHS but this year they are now having to pay for the doctors, two per shift which has increased costs further. They are called out on average 4 or 5 times per day going from their bases at Nostell Priory or Topcliff with only extreme fog stopping flights as they one of the few that fly at night. Living by forest, moors and the sea with plenty of tourists we see the yellow helicopters out frequently saving lives and we are now far better informed about the service and had even considered joining the fundraising by doing a sky dive!
