Sgt Slingsby

After meeting my new friends at the Top Gear studio, I was rushed down to the West Country at high speed in a rather natty little sports car.  After she'd had a coffee and a piece of sticky toffee pudding to sustain her on her onward journey, I said 'goodbye' to my Bearer who headed further south and west.

I settled down for a night's rest at my new Bearer's house.  I was surprised to be woken early, fed cereal and raspberries, and found a comfy seat in the car for yet another journey.  It's a good job Bears don't get car-sick.

We arrived at a place called Farnborough, and parked next to a Lotus Elise, another of my Bearer's favourite cars.  Its owner kindly let me sit in it for a photo.  After a brew (note my special mug) we set off on the long walk to the show.  The Bearer and offspring have longer legs than me, and that's a good thing because it was a long way.

The first aircraft we saw was a Hurricane, and its kind minders let me sit on the wing for a photo.  I also had my picture taken near a Lancaster and a couple of Spitfires.

Then we walked along by some more modern aircraft.  Kind gentlemen from Hawk, the Pakistani Air Force and the lovely lady who helps to look after the Vulcan Bomber, all let me sit on their aircraft for pictures. My Bearer and her offspring still think the Vulcan is the top aircraft ever, particularly remembering that it was all designed by people with slide rules and pencils - none of your Computer Aided nonsense!

I then met Dave Sykes, a paraplegic who plans to fly a microlight solo to Australia ... Solo Flight Global He was about to be interviewed for radio, but still made time for a photo with me.  Bon Voyage Dave!

After being rejected by the US Navy ("You can take that picture from behind the railings ma'am, we're too busy letting Japanese tourists come into the enclosure for photos") we spoke to a lovely retired RAF pilot who let me sit on his helicopter.  I then saw the Airbus 380 - the biggest passenger aircraft in the world, before moving on to look at the new Typhoon.

At this point I met an old friend, Cpl Horsa, and his Bearers.  We chatted for a while and agreed to meet for lunch.

We saw the front end of the Tornado, then I had a good look at an Apache (I wouldn't like to see the wiring diagram!), and chatted to a small boy who recognised my beret because his Dad wears one just like it.  His Dad was working, but his Mum had taken him to the show and he was having a great time.

I met Cpl Horsa and his Bearers, and we made our way to lunch. The Airbus 380 had flown whilst we were chatting, and we had to wait for it to be parked. We were under the wing as it reversed, which gave us an even bigger sense of the size of it.  My Bearer thought you could probably park a Concorde underneath it.  (She prefers the Concorde, but I think it's her age - she remembers when it came to Farnborough as a new invention!)

We had lunch (the food was exorbitantly expensive - if I go again we'll take honey sandwiches) then Horsa and his Bearers went back to keep a date with a helicopter whilst my Bearers and I went to watch some more flying.

It was a great show.  My Bearer was mildly miffed at the Sioux and the Scout helicopters being described as 'heritage' because she can remember them in service, but she recovered enough to take a few pictures of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.  Many thanks to those who keep these wonderful aircraft flying.  We were all incredibly impressed by the Raptor - a howl, a noise like the sky being ripped apart, and the most amazing acrobatics - what a fantastic machine!  We left after that, because my Bearer was very tired, having been ill during the week, so we missed a few events, which we hope will be covered in Horsa's report.

It was a great day out, and we gave out lots of leaflets to tell people about Holidays4Heroes and the great things they do.

This week I'm going to have a few days rest before attending a 'Beads and Banter' session at the Bead Base, whilst my Bearers make plans for my next trips.

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