I was quietly working in my shed just now, when an extraordinary and instantly recognisable racket outside rent the air. Having watched a million war movies as a child, I can tell the sound of Rolls Royce Merlin engines a mile away and that can only mean one thing – A Spitfire! I made a million airfix models of them too.

Sure enough, we had a minute long display over the town of a Spitfire diving and climbing through the air. Thrilling! Gone as quickly as he came.

Later… Now I find out there was a parade of the 1st Battalion of the Rifles in town and I missed it. Not sure how I didn’t know about that. A friend of ours’ son would have been amongst them, recently back from Afghanistan. The Spitfire was a fly past in honour of them getting the freedom of the district. The Rifles are barracked at Beachley, not far away, near Chepstow.