Next Day Eastbourne Air Show

off we went Duncan's sat nav working overtime,

some people are so lucky when it comes to finding a parking space, me, I have to walk miles, Duncan finds almost the nearest car park to the event and a space magically appears, but here we are on the beach footpath going towards the pier,

we almost turned back on the way here, the clouds opened up and it just poured down, it was almost like a monsoon, but just a few miles away the storm clouds disappeared, then Mr. Blue Sky made a afternoon long appearance,

there was hardly any wind the sea calm and smooth,

quite a few people had already arrived and were on the beach, but we decided to go on the pier,

it was so hot Diana even took her jacket off,

welcome to Eastbourne pier,

what I love, cockles and whelks, I have been looking forward to these for such a long time,

Duncan and Diana had some cockles as well, not to everyone's taste, but great for me,

by now the beach was filling up fast,

we walked along the lower promenade, then Diana saw the giant hot dog stall, the rest as they say is history!

we then needed a restroom, so over the road to use one in the hotel opposite,

it was a nice hotel but we could not just walk in and out again, so a swift pint followed, well it was only fair,

by now the beach was really full so we stayed on the upper promenade,

below us the lady Mayoress was chatting to people,

then the show began, except in this case a flying boat the planes kept well out to sea, health and safety I guess, but it was a little disappointing for the planes to be so far away, there were a couple of fighter jets and some ariel acrobatics,

but nothing prepared us for the stars of the show, the Red Arrows as they came screaming in from behind,

as always the show was a breathtaking display of fine flying with split second timing,

perfect formation in a perfect blue sky,

the magic 'T' formation,

I am not sure what this formation is called, but it was spot perfect,

the start of the heart,

nearly finished,

as the arrow goes through it,

this next maneuver takes place coming towards you, but it takes a time for the camera to focus again after taking a shot,

and there they were gone!

for the grand finale a group races for the stars,

then bursts on their way to the ground, a truly great show and a milestone in the Red Arrows history, today for the first time a female pilot took part in the show, but the future looks bleak for this British institution, first mooted by Gordon Brown in the Express, he wanted them disbanded, luckily he is not in a position to do so now, but more importantly in 2008 Armed forces minister Bob Ainsworth confirmed that a review was under way into the value of the Red Arrows and their operational effectiveness as reported in The Defence Management Journal, coming up to date on August 11th, just a couple of weeks ago, Johnathan Edwards MP called on the government to axe the show, he said the unit of the RAF is costing taxpayers £8.8 million-a-year and that the money could be better spent elsewhere, that may be so, but it would for me be a great shame to lose them,

then it was time for us all to make our way home,

Diana said she really enjoyed the show, as did we all,

a last look at the pier then back to Duncan's,

a friend of Jade's has called in, Jade, Duncan's middle daughter on the right,

then it was time for our evening meal, in Rochester High Street at the Atruim Resturaunt,

Duncan and Merlina,

Chris and Melody,

Diana and myself, Diana had the lobster thermidor,

'Cheers!' from all of us,

strawberry crepes for dessert,

chesseboard for Duncan,

after the meal it was out to the local to round the night off, Diana and Merlina,

Merlina and Duncan,

Chris,

and the girls Diana, Merlina and her sister Melody,

well I had not been in the picture for a long time!

neither had Duncan, Tony is in the back ground, then home for a good nights sleep, a great night out.