Well done to Steve Hinton and the Worthing Veterans Association for stepping up to the mark on Armed Forces Day on Saturday at Steyne Gardens. As well as the excellent charities supporting veteran and other military good causes it was particularly good to see so many young soldiers so enthusiastic about their job and the important work they are doing to support Ukraine.
They let me have a go on a High Velocity Missile system (without a missile in it) which is probably one of the most accurate systems in the world, manually controlled by highly trained military personnel and made in the UK. The piece of kit on display in Steyne Gardens was one of the few spare they had to hand given so many have been sent to Ukraine and are very popular and effective with the troops there.
A few weeks ago, I spent an evening at a briefing in Crawley with the South East Reserve Forces and Cadet’s Association (SERFCA) and again met some remarkable young people who are really benefiting from being a part of our dynamic youth uniformed services and many will go on to become regulars.
Last week I was lucky enough to be taken on a trip up the newly refurbished Elizabeth Tower (aka Big Ben.) It was at least 20 years since I last ascended the 334 steps, this time a little less sprightly! However, I learnt an awful lot that I had forgotten about this iconic landmark finished in 1859 at the end of the building of the new Victorian palace after the great fire destroyed most of the original buildings in 1834. The 6pm chimes are again broadcast live at the top of the news after the last 5 years of silence during refurbishment.
The good news is that constituents can now book tickets online for the 90-minute tour. The bad news is that they get snapped up quick but there will be a new release in July if you look at the Parliamentary website.
