Well done Tammie.

Hello. That must have been a terrifying experience for all those people on that plane when the engine blew up. The time it took for the pilot to turn it around and head for the nearest safe place to land must have seemed like forever, and the turbulence inside the cabin as filmed by one of the passengers looked frightening, to say the least. One can only imagine the relief when Tammie managed to bring it down safely, but it's so very sad that one passenger lost her life.

It brought back memories of my first flight to the USA, Toronto was where we landed. Word got around that we had a female pilot, I was thrilled to hear this news. I said to my boyfriend that I would love to meet her, so he had a word with the steward, and we were invited into the cockpit to say hello. I was over the moon, it was an experience I'll never forget. She was happy to chat for a few minutes, while the plane flew on auto. This wouldn't happen now, such is the fear of a terrorist attack.

I remembered asking her some of the questions I had been asked as a trucker, like how do you get on with your colleagues, are you accepted, and do you get the same opportunities. I was curious to know how difficult she had found it to get to where she was in her career. The fact that she was in charge of a whole aircraft made my achievements of driving 38 tonne truck, pale into insignificance.

I am so pleased to hear about women who have set their sights on aiming high, (sometimes literally), in their career, and actually achieved their goals and dreams. It takes a certain kind of personality to push ahead when the odds are stacked against you. I'm not a feminist, not a women's libber, and I would never go on a march for women's rights. I have never wanted preferential treatment in my working life, I just wanted equal rights, and equal opportunities.

I remember doing a live television interview on a morning chat programme in the studios in London. The topic was that BP, the big oil company, were offering free training courses to women who wanted to become lorry drivers. I was outraged at this, so I asked them live on camera if they were offering the same opportunities to men. They weren't, but I was glad I had made my point.

Thank goodness for Tammie, she managed to save the lives of a lot of people.

The sun is shining and I am going to spend the day outside. Thank you for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip