The parting glass

Our last official day in London was just as fantastic as the others. We visited the LAS museum located in Ilford. This is probably about 10 miles away as the crow flies, but in London it takes about an hour to travel it. We ended up in an ambulance station with a section dedicated to the 'museum.' They have old British ambulances parked outside. Inside they have stuff everywhere. There was a section with ancient training devices including the mask of a woman who we know as "Anne" (the CPR mannequin).
Interesting story that I never knew before: In the late 1890s, this young woman was pulled from the river Seine in Paris. It was assumed that she committed suicide and because she was unknown, a death mask was made of her face. The story was romanticized throughout Europe and years later Asmund Laerdal decided to use the death mask to produce a resuscitation mannequin in order for more people to learn live-saving skills. And, the rest is history; we all use Laerdal products almost every day.
I digress. This place was also filled with memorabilia/equipment/kits collected throughout the years. I've never seen such a collection. It's like some nutter decided to steal stuff as it went out of use. What they ended up with is a fantastic collection of London and English EMS. The vehicles they have range from the horse cart, to the current Mercedes truck.
After this we went back to Waterloo HQ for a 'debriefing.' They basically wanted our opinions of the system and how the LAS works. It was really nice to have a wrap-up and to touch base with everyone who set this up for us. We came back and had a nice dinner out and a pint. Now, I'm supposed to be packing (actually, it'll probably turn into stuffing before it's all said and done). It may be a while before I get a chance to update again, but we'll see.