Past Events 2007
Sunday September 23 Airfield open day event.
3000 people came to see a great display
Link to full report from Seething airfield. Click here
JULY 2007 Starlight Event.
Airborne fun for children
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| Aaron Kendall with pilot Brian Greathead |
story from EDP
27 July 2007
Seriously ill and disabled children from around the region took to the skies
yesterday for a once-in-a-lifetime day of airborne fun.
Pilots and volunteers from Seething Airfield, near Brooke, saw months of hard
work and planning come together as 70 children from hospitals and hospices
around East Anglia were given a flying fun day of their own.
While members of the airfield's flying group took children for 20-minute flights
over the south Norfolk countryside, planes taking part in the Lowestoft seafront
air festival were landing and refuelling at the site. A spitfire, wing walkers
and the army's Blue Eagles helicopter display team gave special warm-up displays
and fly-pasts for the children at the airfield before going on to wow the crowds
on the seafront.
After the children and their families had taken to the skies, they were given
the chance to try out more forms of transport including rides in hover-crafts,
military vehicles, diggers and fire engines. Speed demons were able to see a
full-size model of Lewis Hamilton's McLaren formula one car, while those
preferring a more peaceful ride could take a tour of the nearby country lanes in
a horse-drawn carriage. The event was organised by the Waveney Flying Group and
Seething Control Tower Association with help from the Starlight foundation, a
national charity which grants wishes for seriously ill children.
Claire Limbrey, Starlight's children's services coordinator, explained that the
flying day would provide a day of escape and relief for the children and their
relatives.
She said: "It gives families a chance to have fun together. It's lovely for
these children to be able to include their siblings, because brothers and
sisters can feel excluded when there is an ill child in the family who needs a
lot of care. "Lots of parents also tell us that days like these give them a sense
almost of relief because they can be around other families who are in a similar
situation and not have to feel different or alone. "The children are having a
fantastic time here; they don't know what they want to go on next because
there's so much for them to do and see. "Seven-year-old Eden King, who suffers
from muscular dystrophy, was enjoying the day with her parents, aunt and cousin.
She said she loved her trip in a plane and could not wait to try the other
activities. Her father Rod, from Thetford, said that the day provided a real
escape for the whole family. "It's so nice to see the children having fun," he
said, "and great for parents to be able to come along and not have to worry
about organising things. "Normally you have to check that everything will be
wheelchair accessible and such things, but this has been so well planned and
taken all that usual stress out of the day. "It is the first year that the
airfield has hosted the event, and Steve Hiscox, one of the organisers, said he
was pleased to see all the hard work and meticulous planning pay off. He said:
"It's great that so many people have given up their free time to come and make
this happen. We've got members who've brought their vintage cars, one in the
police who has come with the emergency service vehicles and one has even
provided a bus to help the children get about.
"It's just lovely to see the children, some of whom have such tragic stories,
having fun and forgetting their troubles for a little while."
Thank you cards and letters from Starlight and the kids
