Braver Thelma just can't wait (From Barry And District News)

Braver Thelma just can't wait

A HIGH-FLYING Barry great-grandmother is getting ready for take-off to fulfil a 50-year ambition.

Thelma Barrington is approaching 70 but has always dreamed of doing a wing walk.

She was over the moon when she found out she is going to do just that - as long as she could lose three stone in three months.

After reaching her target weight, Thelma can't wait to get herself strapped to the top of a bi-plane, pull on her helmet and goggles and jet off into the horizon.

The Herbert Street resident said: "I remember being a young woman standing in the Five Mile Lane and watching someone swoop down on the back of a plane. He came so low I waved at him. Ever since then I've wanted to do a wing walk myself."

The head of a large family, Thelma was delighted when her seven children clubbed together. Her Mother's Day present this year was the experience she had always wanted.

But at just over 15 stone, the grandmother of 13 and great-grandmother of nine was determined to get down to the necessary weight as quickly as possible.

She added: "You need an incentive to succeed. It was only a calorie controlled diet, but from April I've gone down to 12 stone 4 pounds. And I can't wait to get to that Gloucester airfield and take off."

Hiring a minibus, 20 members of Thelma's family will be there to cheer her on whenever the weather is fine enough for her to take off.

Thelma added: "I have always wanted to do this, and would regret not doing it. And I'm lucky enough to have a big family around me. They are great kids - they've arranged for me to see Niagara Falls in a helicopter and now this.

"I was once dubbed Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, having this number of children. Now they have all grown up to be the Magnificent Seven."