Our March meeting was our AGM. Piers Ford-Crush brought his brilliant 3-year chairmanship to a conclusion with an illustrated talk on Internet shopping. We all heartily thank Piers for the hard work he has done during his tenure. In its 12 years, the BVCS has grown from an attendance of six to well over forty for many of its recent meetings. However, as it has become increasingly difficult to find speakers willing to give up their evenings, the BVCS will go into 'hibernation' whilst awaiting suggestions from members.
The 2004/5 Season came finally to a close with our visit to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in Yarmouth and their operations room. No longer needing to be situated scanning the horizon searching for smugglers, the modern coastguards sit inland, each in front of four touch screens waiting for any emergency to occur at sea, on lakes, rivers, cliffs or mountains. Their main objective is search and rescue, though with satellite navigation 'search' is rarely needed. Even if a vessel does not know its position, they can locate it to within 2° through their sophisticated technology. With the tap of a finger they are able to patch a caller to the expert, perhaps a ship to a hospital for medical instructions. They co-ordinate the other services when an emergency arises, which might be anything from a lamb in the Yare to a major oil spill in the North Sea. The MCA actively promotes safety at sea. They examine the seaworthiness of ships calling at British Ports and visit schools to educate children and parents of the dangers of drifting out to sea on inflatables and airbeds. As for the future, it is probable that only one global operations centre will be needed, situated who knows where - Calcutta?

Kay Ungless

Nicola Brown, Waveney Primary Care Trust