In good old Civil Service fashion, at the end of the course we were asked where we'd like to be posted. Southern England says I, Aberdeen says they! Guess geography was not their strong point. Lyn (fiancée) at the time was an ATCA on the Ocean, and I had just finished my approach validation at Belfast, so we made a proposal to the powers that be. They were short of staff at Belfast, and because of the troubles they couldn't force people to go there, so we offered that both of us go for a period of time, in exchange for a posting of our choice at the end. Not only did they accept the proposal, the posted me to Heathrow on day one with a detachment to Belfast. Bonus... lots of extra subsistence and free trips home every weekend! Fast forward a couple of years and we both went to Heathrow.

In 1980 we went on vacation to Canada and unintentionally came back with a job offer at the Toronto centre. After a few months of debating, we decided to accept and moved to Canada in 1981. ATC was different over here, different rules, different phraseology, less radar etc. After a few years of controlling, I went back to ATC college to train as a Data Systems Coordinator, a buffer between the technical staff and the operational staff. During this time, we had two children, Catriona and Paul.

In 1989 I applied for a promotion in Ottawa where I would be working on the new CAATS project (Canadian Automated Air Traffic System). My main responsibility was controller communications. This position required a fair bit of travelling as we had contractors based in Vancouver, California and Austria. Next, I volunteered to have project management added to my position. I was told that, having had no project management specific training, this would likely not end well. I had previously been involved in a couple of small projects so had some idea what I was letting myself in for! I proved them wrong by completing a multimillion-dollar project ahead of time and under budget, no training needed... just a smattering of common sense.

Around 2005 my boss retired and suggested I apply for his management position, a switch to the dark side. I wasn't totally convinced I wanted to switch, but I knew I couldn't work under the only other candidate. I made the switch, and was awarded the grand title of Manager, Operational Requirement, Communications and Facilities,  a Deputy Director equivalent position. I was now responsible for defining nationwide operational requirements for all communications systems, as well as the design of all new control towers.

In late 2008 I was summoned to the boss's office for my annual review, and more importantly, my bonus cheque. I walked out without a job! Seems management restructuring had been discovered. This came as a serious and unexpected blow. At age 54 I was too young to retire ...... or was I? I received a generous package, and after 24 hours of number crunching it became clear I didn't need to work again, bring on retirement.

With the kids having left home, we decided to downsize and moved closer into Ottawa. We also decided travel was our thing, so we bought a fifth wheel trailer (caravan on steroids) as well as a 6 litre diesel truck to haul it behind and set off exploring N. America for a few years. Once that was done, we left the trailer at a resort on the Alabama Gulf Coast, and use it as a winter escape from the cold Canadian winters. Travelling now consists mostly of jumping on a plane and then a cruise ship!