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The Norfolk Eastern Daily Press, UK Wing-walk attempts could set age record LORNA MARSH August 2, 2003 09:15 We've all heard of silver surfers by now, but there can't be many pensioners who would willingly walk on the wings of a stunt plane. And for 80-year-old Paddy Hayes, her daredevil 'air-raising efforts could have also set a British record. Unfortunately for Paddy, it was far from 'plane' sailing after rain scuppered her chances of being probably the oldest woman winger in the country. But, the pensioner from Bressingham, near Diss, has not given up her plane pass yet - she hopes to try again in two weeks. Paddy is not completely new to extreme sports - she did her first abseil four years ago at the tender age of 76. Four abseils later, they are becoming a bit old hat so she decided to try something a little different. Paddy was all set to take off from Seething airport yesterday to go over the Lowestoft Air Show with the Utterly Butterly wing-walking team to raise money for the Cinnamon Trust and the Parkinson's Disease Society. But, with the plane reaching speeds of up to 90mph, yesterday's rain would have made the venture far too painful. Paddy thought she would have to wait another year for the team to return to Lowestoft, but they have invited her to have another go when they fly from Felixstowe to Clacton Air Show in a fortnight. However, the offer doesn't help 82-year-old Dorothy Barnes, who travelled from Las Vegas to watch her friend's madcap feat and will now have to go home without having seen her pal pull off the stunt. Paddy said: "It's very disappointing because you get all geared up. I wasn't really nervous, just excited. "My family know what I'm like and they've all but given up on me." A Guinness Book of Records spokesman could not confirm whether Paddy would have clinched the oldest British wing walker title and that she would need to make an official claim. Pilot Mike Dentith said from his knowledge she had an extremely good chance. "She must be the oldest wing walker in East Anglia, either male or female. I know there was a woman in South Africa, who wing walked in her 80s, but I haven't heard of one in this country." The overall world record holder is Leslie "Dizzy" Seales, from Leicester, who was aged 85 when he broke his own record in 1999 at Goodwood. Eileen Buck, 65, from Carlton Colville, was also hoping to walk the wings for cancer charities yesterday but will now try again for next year's show. And 58-year-old Eileen Beamish, from Lowestoft, was another disappointed candidate in her efforts to raise money for the Ellie Savage Foundation, set up in memory of the Lowestoft girl who was a close family friend and died, aged 14, from a brain tumour. SOURCE: The Norfolk Eastern Daily Press, UK http://tinyurl.com/itfz * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn