Saturday the 16th June started out warm and pleasant though there were signs of oppressive clouds lurking. Just as I was crossing Westminster Bridge, the heavens opened with torrential rain and the first of a Tornadoes formation roared past, then another. My umbrella was hardly sufficient for the deluge that relentlessy pursued us, and like many, I was absolutely soaked. The world and his/her visitors, holidaymakers crammed for a bit of shelter under a walkway.

There were more roars. As I peered out from the walkway I saw two more Tornado formations in the sky, flying across the London eye, over the Thames, onward over Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament; this time they were acommpanying larger planes in the display. Another roar and a trail of red and white smoke was released by the last formation of war planes in the sky. Only then did I realize I had just witnessed the fly-past of The Red Arrows Formation Team.