LETTERS Over to you Do you have something to share? Wed love to hear from you! Email us at TheLog@balpa.org or contact us on social media Addressing important issues I have just read the latest edition of The Log. I have been a BALPA member for more than 17 years, and this edition [Spring 2019] stands head and shoulders above all previous magazines. Thanks to all the team who have contributed to this very valuable publication. It is time to address the issues around work-life balance, stress, burnout and mental health in our industry. Thank you for stimulating the conversation. Trevor Purnell Part-time, perhaps? As an Old Git of the Ian Frow vintage, I still subscribe to TheLog and found your spring edition especially interesting. Some things never change. Lifestyle, fatigue and burnout are still as topical as in my day. I did 25 years, all long-haul, with BOAC/ BA and enjoyed the lifestyle; however, as the years went by, I found that my body became less and less fond of time change and all those night sectors. London Johannesburg and return was about 80% night. Nearing 50, and feeling the effects of a quarter century of body misuse, I had a stroke of luck: Lord King came in to sort out the mess that was the BOAC/BEA merger; he asked for early retirements, and my hand went up. I think one of the biggest lifestyle improvements for pilots would be the option to work part-time in their later years. There would, of course, be problems, such as ensuring recency and adjusting salary for less work, but these could surely be overcome. Rolf Richardson Social media We held a photo competition for World Meteorological Day and asked members to send in their best weather photos. Wewere stunned by the wealth of marvellous photos we received and choosing a winner was extremely difficult. After much deliberation, however, we selected Chris Mabbott as the winner, for this photo of a descent into Helsinki, below. WHAT YOURE SHARING On the new BALPA app Great to be able to get The Log via App Store. Naveed Kapadia MSc @Captain737NG On BALPAs bid in Berlin for the IFALPA 2021 conference Thank you for being in #Berlin! Looking forward to being in #Manchester for the 2021@ifalpa conference. Markus Wahl @VC_President (President of Vereinigung Cockpit) We look forward to welcoming you to Manchester. Stephanie Newton @stephnewtonmcr (Head of Business Tourism and Manchester Convention Bureau) On BALPA article and blog: Life as the partner of a pilot So true, I was wondering recently if theres a FB page for fellow partners of pilots where I could have a good moan and theyd understand. It can limit your own career, youre often trapped in the evening when kids are in bed, and most of the parenting is left up to you. Elaine Starkey I suspect the reality of being a pilots wife is very different to that of being a pilots husband. Having spoken to many of my male colleagues, Ive concluded what I need is a pilots wife who does the childcare and runs the household while they are away at work, who would tiptoe round me while I sleep after oddly timed trips. Instead, I time my sleep catch up round my familys needs, spend my time at home catching up on laundry and planning childcare, writing lists and lists of who has to do what on which day while away, getting food in, etc. As the one in the household who works flexibly, sports days and parents evenings and other things that occur between 8am-6pm fall to me, as my husband works in an office and I can bid to work at night so I can be around in the day. Wife work is wife work, no matter what your career. Kirsty Adams The Log reserves the right to edit letters as necessary. Submission implies an acceptance of this condition.