#jon egging

I wanted to write something about the Red Arrows today. I went to Bournemouth Air Show on Saturday and was lucky enough to see them perform a spectacular display which had many people, me included, as giddy as a child. The Red Arrows have always filled me with excitement and make me regress to being 5 again, watching them for the first time, sheltering my ears as they fly past, smoke streaming from behind.

To me they embody the spirit of being British, sat on the beach with a picnic and ice cream, wide eyed as they make their mark in the sky. But above all they make me proud of my country, quite an extrodinary feat after recent events with the riots. Then I took a call from my sister Saturday afternoon who informed me of the fatal crash that took Flight Lieutenant Jon Eggings life. We didn't know it had been fatal at the time but as news trickled around the beach it was clear to me that everyone was affected in some way.

I signed the book of condolences in the town hall and joined hundreds of other people on the beach for a beautiful candlelight vigial to say goodbye. Although I never met Jon Egging for 25 mins on Saturday afternoon he made me and thousands of others the happiest people on the planet. Quite an extraordinary achievement for a man of only 33.