Nettleham Remembers

Cllr. Mrs. Janice Clayton lays
the Parish Council's wreath.

This afternoon, Nettleham paused to remember. To remember those who have sacrificed themselves in conflict for the freedoms we too often take for granted.

The Scouts, Guides, Brownies, Beavers paraded from the scout hut on Vicarage Lane to the war memorial on the Village Green. A number of the community had gathered by the war memorial. Proceedings and prayers were led by Rev. Jenny Rowley and Rev. Mark Lawrence, the Methodist Minister.

Representatives of a number of village organisations, including Nettleham Parish Council, Nettleham & District Probus, Royal British Legion and the RAF laid wreaths at the war memorial. The children placed 'In Remembrance' poppy crosses in the earth around the memorial.

Edward Leigh MP Welcomes Eric Pickles' Visit

Mrs. Suzanne Scott, Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP,
Edward Leigh MP and Cllr. Burt Keimach.

Edward Leigh, who represents the Gainsborough Constituency, welcomed the Rt. Hon. Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to the Gainsborough Constituency on Thursday, 13th October 2011 together with fellow Conservatives, Leader of West Lindsey District Council, Cllr. Burt Keimach and Cllr. William Parry, the authority’s Chairman.

The Secretary of State visited the Hemswell Cliff Primary School to open the community’s new ‘Room of Requirement’ – named with the Harry Potter books in mind. Head teacher Mrs. Suzanne Scott said:

Eric Pickles MP is shown Marshall's Yard
in Gainsborugh flanked by Cllr. Keimach
(Left) and Edward Leigh MP (Right)

“It's a great honour to welcome the secretary of state to our school.

“We are looking forward to using this facility along with our community.”

After opening the facility, The Secretary of State, Edward Leigh, Councillors, council officers and other stakeholders were briefed on the need to regenerate dilapidated former RAF bases into thriving communities. Mr Pickles said:

“I will rattle the MoD's cage on this as this is a place we should celebrate.”

Prime Minister Visits Lincoln

Local Rsidents will have noticed the excellent arial display by the Red Arrows early this morning, as they practiced for the arrival of a very special guest in the county, above Nettleham. David Cameron MP, the Prime Minister, attended a graduation ceremony at RAF College Cranwell, where he said the RAF is not just important to the nation’s security, but also 'completely and utterly essential'.

"Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, our fighters are standing ready to launch to protect UK air space."

"I know that, I get those telephone calls each and every time there’s a plane in UK air space that we don’t know about."

The Prime Minister made the speech after inspecting the officer cadets at RAF Cranwell. He watched a flypast by the Red Arrows and presented annual prizes including the Sword of Honour, the International Sword of Honour and the Queen’s Medal.

Mr Cameron, who is the third Prime Minister to visit RAF Cranwell, told the graduates the RAF would remain a 'formidable and world-class air force.

Above: David Cameron Answers questions from staff at Lincolnshire Co-Operative

Later, Mr. Cameron visited workers of Lincolnshire Cooperative as part of his 'PM Direct' inititive which follows on from his successful 'Cameron Direct' roadshow conducted inopposition.

Red Arrows Say 'Thanks' to Residents of West Lindsey

The world famous Red Arrows based at Royal Air Force Scampton in West Lindsey have thanked local people for their support.

Squadron Leader Ben Murphy, Officer Commanding and Team Leader of the Red Arrows, said:

"When we perform displays we are acting as ambassadors for both the Royal AirForce and the United Kingdom. We can't do this without the support of the peopleof Lincolnshire. For six months of the year we have to use the skies here to
practice and perfect the display. Without the support of local residents it would make things very difficult."

The Red Arrows winter training programme at Scampton runs from October through to March. For safety reasons each Red Arrows' display is designed to follow the same flight path over the ground.

Squadron Leader Murphy explained:

"To get to the standard needed for us to be allowed to display to the public we have to practice the same sequence of manoeuvres. We start with small formations of say four aircraft and gradually build up to nine as the winter months pass."

All military aircraft are required to avoid flying directly over residential areas, hospitals, schools, animal sanctuaries and other sensitive areas, whenever operationally possible.

The Red Arrows are no exception but given the location of some of the nearby villages to RAF Scampton, such as Burton, the Carltons, Scampton, Aisthorpe, Brattleby, Cammeringham, Ingham, Hackthorn, Nettleham, Dunholme and Welton, this is not always practicable.

Squadron Leader Murphy added:

"We do make every effort to avoid residential areas where possible. The aerobatic flying that we do is subject to the very strictest of safety rules and regulations, as are all of our engineering operations. If anyone has any questions about what we do please do get in touch. We are always happy to chat through local residents concerns."

For more information about the Red Arrows visit www.raf.mod.uk/reds.