Polly Vacher is the first woman to fly solo in Antarctica

Polly Vacher, the first woman to fly solo in Antarctica, is taking retired district nurse Mary Robinson for a spin from Oxford Airport, Kidlington.

They met when Ms Vacher gave a talk at Shiplake Women's Institute.

"Mary asked one of the most interesting questions," Polly said. "When I learnt she was 99, I promised to give her a flight when she reached 100."

When asked if she had done anything special with her life, Mrs Robinson thought for a while and said: "I suppose delivering about a thousand babies is quite special."

In 2003 Ms Vacher attempted to become the first person to fly solo around the world via both poles in a single-engined aircraft.

The attempt was thwarted by poor weather in Antarctica.