LS Gow and Hampton and LEUT Barrett fold the curtains for East Timor.

Its curtains…in the nicest sort of way…for the patients of the Dili Hospital.

Following some good work by LEUT Robin Barrett, the acting head nurse at the Balmoral Naval Hospital, and her staff, 40 curtains which once hung from the windows of the 36 bed hospital at Balmoral, will soon be on their way to East Timor.

The curtains became redundant when vertical blinds were installed.

"After getting the appropriate permission, I took them home and put them through my washing machine," Robin explained.

"Then I asked my neighbours if I could use some of their line space to dry them."

The curtains, described by Robin as "light and airy" and ideal for a tropical environment, are now back at BNH where Phil Barling, PACC/NSW photographer found Robin and LSMedics Heath Gow and Susan Hampton busy folding them for dispatch.

The giving of the curtains is just one of the many examples of how the Navy "family" has helped the people of East Timor.