High Flying over the Beach

A sunny day in a seaside town, sand barely visible beneath the bodies on the beach. Tents line the promenade as people in varying stages of beach attire take a gander at souvenirs, talk to charity fundraisers and try keep track of their children. Soldiers and officers from all three of our armed forces stand in uniform next to helicopters, Jeeps and tanks, there to promote the armed forces and their nominated charities to the public at the Bournemouth Air Festival.

One of many annual events to take place on the beach over the summer, drawing thousands of people every year. I'm born and bred in Bournemouth so I've never been overly enamoured with the beach but the Air festival is one of the few events that will draw me to it. Seeing awesome looking planes, tanks and other combat vehicles is not something I get to do very often. The flying displays are amazing to watch even if, like me, you know nothing about aeroplanes. And it’s always just a nice day out.

Along with gorgeous men in uniform, varying types of cuisine — enough to make up a food court in a shopping centre — and free shots of toffee vodka. There’s a handful of fun fair rides to make adults feel like children again. I love a good fun fair ride — though they do get an outing at all the big beach events — nothing beat sitting in a rickety carriage spinning so fast you may vomit up that free toffee vodka shot.

Be prepared for the cacophony of noise though — in case you forgot aeroplanes aren't quiet — especially when the Typhoon flies, I may suggest ear defenders as the perfect souvenir. They as work perfectly for blocking out the sound of crying children frightened by the noise. If you’re not overly fond of the tiny humans I can suggest spending time in one of the pop-up bars or head away from the beach and over to the Pimms bus.