IPA Membership
helps make a
holiday of a lifetime
Alan & Pam Dobson
, Cambridgeshire Branch
In February, we booked a trip of a lifetime to
San Francisco, followed by a cruise to New Zealand,
meeting IPA friends on the way.
W
e were met at San Francisco airport by Rich Seguine
, of San
Francisco Branch. This local contact was most welcome after
our long flight from the UK and a two hour queue through US
Customs. Rich drove us to our hotel, and showed us the sights of the city
during our three day stay in his city. A visit to Alcatraz is a must for any tourist.
Rich was with us until we left America, driving us to embark on our
cruise to New Zealand. During our cruise, we also visited Honolulu,
Tonga and Samoa.
At New Zealand, we were met In Auckland by Rod Salt, who drove around
the attractions of the city and then to North Shore Police Station. Here,
we met with former Met Officer Billy Lawrence, who grew up not five miles
from where we live in West Sussex. We were given a tour of the police
station, which appeared very familiar.
Our tour of NZ finished in Christchurch, which was still recovering from
the devastating earth quake of 2011, which demolished 80% of the
buildings in the city centre. We left two days before the terrorist shooting
at Christchurch mosque. We found the Kiwis to be very resilient and are
sure they will in time, overcome this outrage.
I felt strong links between the UK, the USA and NZ, with familiar policing
issues across the countries we visited.
Thanks to Cathy KEY (IPA Member Services) for making contact with IPA
members in the US and NZ and paving the way with the travel forms.
We really appreciated the benefits of being an I.P.A. member.
Billy Lawrence (left) and
Rod Salt (right) North Shore
SFPD squad car
Rich Sequine (right)
Christchurch Cathedral earth quake damage
11
Article
POLICE WORLD
Vol 64 No.4, 2019