Schools are out for summer but given the rising costs of travelling abroad many people are choosing to spend their holiday in the UK. Chichester has so many fantastic attractions and activities for residents and visitors alike, and many volunteers organise fetes and events throughout the district.
We spent a lovely afternoon at the Tangmere Aviation Museum which is home to a wonderful collection of planes, simulators and most importantly, the life stories of many distinguished RAF pilots.
The museum celebrates the role played by Tangmere airfield in the Battle of Britain and we went to see the new exhibition commemorating Polish and Czechoslovakian fighter pilots. These pilots trained and served in the Polish or Czech Air Force and after occupation by Nazi Germany they escaped and made their way to the UK, often via France. Britain badly needed more pilots to fight against the Luftwaffe which outnumbered the RAF in terms of both planes and pilots. The Polish and Czech pilots, alongside other nationalities, made up about twenty percent of the those fighting in the Battle of Britain.
It was a great privilege to meet Lt Colonel Arnost Polak, who was also visiting the museum with his daughter and who fought in the Battle of Britain as a wireless operator and gunner on Liberator and Wellington bombers. “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few” so it was a real an honour to meet one of the few still alive to tell their story. The exhibition is on until 3rd September.
MP’s get invited to lots of events in the community and I’ve really enjoyed attending many throughout the summer. The most unusual thing I’ve been asked to do (so far!) is feed a pint of beer to a pair of dray horses after they had taken passengers around Brewery field! Transition Chichester organised this wonderful event focused on community sustainability. This included Grow Chichester which has two community gardens and orchards in Chichester for all to enjoy – either to use your gardening skills or to enjoy eating the fruit and veg.