What a Wonderful World

Just five days after my midnight operation and here I am strolling across Settle's visitors' coach park towards Towhead Surgery to have my wound dressing changed and this is the view in front of me:

click to enlarge

Just one motor caravan betrays Settle as a tourist place at all.   The surgery is behind the big tree in the centre and behind that is the magnificent limestone contryside which stretches on for miles.   The best in the World it is said.   What a place.

The wound is clean, dry and to all appearances almost healed.    What a contrast from my childhood (perhaps ten-ish) experience of having my appendix removed at St James's in Leeds.   Two WEEKS in bed in hospital and then back home by ambulance.   

Leeds in those days had a fleet of huge great Daimler ambulances which floated along almost silently, or so it seemed to me.   I wonder if any of them survived?

And here's the answer - yes - quite a few in fact:

Wikipedia (what else) tells the tale.   Nobody in post war Britain could supply the country's ambulance needs - except the German Daimler company!   Mechanical parts were assembled in Coventry and luxury car body builders more used to Rolls Royces did the bodies.   They had 4.1 litre engines and did 8.5 miles to the gallon, which makes our model T seem frugal.   This example was a Surrey ambulance.