Flying for Freedom helps give wounded servicemen a new lease of life

                                                                
                                         Edward Stroud stood outside his microlight











AFTER being medically discharged from the forces due to injury,   life in civvy street is often  hard to adjust to - but at Cotswold Airport, a flying school  is giving ex servicemen and women a new lease of life; I joined some of the pilots i and found out all about it.

Flying for Freedom first came to fruition in 2009 after Malmesbury man, John Laity, and head of marketing firm Onecall Entertainment sponsored a round-the-world sailing trip by the British Army which was led by James Harris, the other FFF founder. 

 John got the idea after deciding to race the team of soldiers in his microlight.

That idea has grown hugely as today FFF project is recognised by the Ministry of Defence as post rehabilitation facility for wounded servicemen. 

It is based at Kemble Flying Club at the airport, where its pilots are trained at and the microlights are stored and is funded entirely by donations.

Some of the team are currently training hard to prepare themselves for a daring world-record attempt in 2016, where they will attempt be the first ever pilots to fly across the Antarctic in a microlight.

FFF  team is made up of many military personal who have been injured on the battlefield, including amputee Luke Sinnott, a former captain in the Royal Engineers, whose  legs had to be amputated after a explosive device he was trying to disarm in Afghanistan, discharged. 

But not all members of the team have been injured in conflict, other members include Matt Raasch-Sotinwa, who currently serves as an engineer in the Royal Engineers.

In 2008 Matt was rushed into hospital for surgery after he discovered he had a brain tumour  that doctors told him needed  to be removed immediately or he would die.

Matt, who lives in north Devon recovered well ,but the damage caused by the surgery left him partly deaf, and  he also has vision and co-ordination problems.

As we chatted inside the  flying school office, one thing was very clear, Matt was a remarkable man, whose life had been changed for the better by the flying school.

 “Majority of people have been quite active to suddenly lose  that is difficult. This gives us that concentration again," Matt said.

Matt  also showed me the microlights that the team uses in the flying club’s hanger  and explained that steering them using the aircrafts control bar by pushing out back and forth is very physically demanding.

But that is exactly the sort  of test that that Matt welcomes as it helps him forget about his medical problems.

“You can’t suddenly be not bothered at 70 mile per hour [when landing the plane], said Matt who will be the logistics manager for the world record attempt.

“It makes you almost forget you are disabled. You do not think about your disability, you just get on with it.

“It gives you that determination, to think, appreciate and overcome.”

Although the UK does not have a similar climate to the Antarctic, Matt believes the county is good place to train for the team's record attempt.

 “The thing about flying in the UK is that the weather is so unpredictable,” he said.

During my visit I also had the chance to speak to Edward Stroud, a medic  for the army, who was discharge  earlier this year after suffering a hip injury.

Edward was the former head of physiotherapy department at  Army’s base  in Catterick and he has  also lined up for the force’s bobsleigh team. 

A hip injury meant that he was medically discharged and his active lifestyle suddenly stopped -  but ever since recently joining FFS his life has been totally transformed.

 Edward, who is from Calne, said: “In the army you are doing dramatic things, what an injury does is take that away. You need that drama in your life. My dramatic thing was going down the ice at 90 miles per hour three inches off the floor.”

“It [FFS) give you that feeling  you crave for. That is the hardest bit after leaving the military -  finding something you can focus on.”

 “You have to sign up and say you are interested and they just grab you and take you on this journey. They are not interested in what sort of injuries you have got,  as long as you are safe to fly there is no stigma attached to you.”

                                         Matt Raasch-Sotinwa gives Edward Stroud some tips ahead of take off

FFS is one of only three projects in the UK that is in partnership with the Help for Heroes (HFH), an organisation that supports injured servicemen and women.

Many of the sponsors of the team come from the local area, including Cotswold Airport and Snowsled in Tetbury. 

Text wings to 7900 to donate £3 to the team - the cash will go to Help for Heroes.

The other side of Las Vegas: why the city has a lot more to offer than its famed hedonistic party scene

                                    

      IT is the capital of glamour, where dreams and fortunes can be made, but it also has a lesser known side for those who seek a more relaxed idyll; I spent a weekend in Las Vegas to explore what it had to offer.

      After spending six hours travelling on a Greyhound bus from Los Angeles, I had finally    arrived early in the city, early on a Friday afternoon. It would be my last stop of a whistle-stop tour of the USA and I had high expectations of my first visit to Las Vegas.

My first destination was the Oasis at Gold Spike, a boutique hotel in the heart of Downtown Las Vegas, which would become the home of my friend and I during our stay.

Oasis at Gold Spike is only a stone’s throw from Fremont Street, one of the most bustling areas of the city, that is made up of bars, restaurants and casinos.

The hotel has recently been refurbished by the Downtown Project, an organisation that formed in 2008 with the sole intent of revitalisation of the Downtown, the former main part of the city before the world famous Las Vegas Strip was constructed.

And I immediately felt at home at the hotel. With contemporary style that pays homage to the city's mid-century architectural vernacular, this urban hotel is a perfect place to relax if you wish to get away from the buzzing hub of excitement in nearby Fremont Street.

Our rooms came complete with a queen bed,  TV and all important air conditioning, which was much appreciated on what was a blistering hot weekend.

                            Oasis at Gold Spike

                                     

                                Fremont Street

After dropping off my bags and spending half an hour relaxing by the pool, I headed down with my friend to the nearby Gold Spike, another venue owned by the Downtown Project which has recently been converted from a casino into a bar and connects to the hotel.

We sat in the outdoor bar area, where as well as the  usual games, like darts or pool, the  quarter was filled with oversized versions of games such Jenga, chess and  Connect Four and these games got us in great spirits for a fun-filled night in Las Vegas.

Our evenings in the city were spent at The Las Vegas Strip, a ten minute taxi ride from our hotel and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Made up of fantastic illuminations , and  casinos which have miniature versions of monuments  outside them such as the Statue of Liberty and the Eifel Tower, is was hard for us not just to stand still and be mesmerised by the strip.

The fountain show outside the Bellagio casino was the subject  of some of our stares of delight. In the show, more than a thousand fountains  dance to music ranging from Pavarotti to Sinatra.  And witnessing one of these spectacles, which take place  several times an hour,was truly delightful.

Whilst visiting the strip we went to Flamingo Las Vegas , a huge 77,000-square-foot casino that has 3,626 hotel rooms.

 Flamingo  was filled  with your regular bum bag and short and t-shirt  wearing  American tourist or fat cats in suits with gold rings.If you sit at the machines or at the tables in the casino you are given a free drink. This is clearly a way the casino tries you to lure you to stay at the table but despite my concerns that such an act is morally repugnant, I have to concede that in Las Vegas, the capital of gambling, it is more acceptable than it is anywhere else in the world.Scores of card and roulette tables scatter the casino, although I did not partake in these games, a seasoned gambler would be in heaven here. 

Having never been a big gambler, the Strip did not have the same appeal to me as it may to some. I wanted to enjoy more relaxed and mentally stimulating activities and I was delighted to find that there is many more things to do in the city then fritter away dollars.

                      The Bellagio fountain show

                     The Las Vegas Strip

                          Roulette in the Flamingo

One of several daytime activities we did was  visit the Gun Garage, a 12 Lane shooting range and gun store, which allows you to fire a variety of high calibre weapons.

My companion and I had the opportunity to blast a paper target with both an uzi and a pistol and we both had tremendous fun, with the help of instructor Keza Chase  who gave us clear and reassuring instructions.

On another excursion Maria Whelan communications officer from the Downtown Project met us and took us to the Downtown Container Park, an open air shopping centre and entertainments complex.  

The park is unique as every business that can be found there is housed in shipping container,  or Xtreme Cubes (purpose made steel retail outlets) and in my view a perfect place to go if you are with your family in Las Vegas. 

There is a wide range of shops that offer everything from trinkets and craft, clothes and sweets. And both the children and adults  can be kept occupied in the park’s interactive play area. The play area consists of a tree house that includes a 33-foot slide and oversize foam blocks. What’s more, the Container Park also has a giant stage where performances are played throughout the day, but sadly we were not able to experience any in the time we were there.

                      Keza Chase instructs my friend Jono Peacock

                                         

 The  55-foot-tall steel praying mantis sculpture at the entrance to the Downtown Container Park

                    The Downtown Container Park

                An aerial view of the Las Vegas Strip

 

A charming and smiley, Maria explained that the Container Park  has appeal for all types of groups as there is so many diverse things on offer.

She explained that projects like the Container Park are successfully breathing new life into  Downtown and that the area has been much improved since the Downtown Project started giving it a makeover.

She said: “We are not trying to make it like it was in its heyday, we are looking for a different variation of that.”

On our final afternoon in the city, we headed to the Mob Museum. Inside we were able to find out about how the city was formed by Mafia bosses such as Al Capone, and the battle between organised crime and police.

After three days our trip to Vegas was over. It was magical, thrilling and fascinating; the buzz and  excitement of the Strip and Fremont Street will stay with me for a long time. But it is equally satisfying to discover that the city had many more activities to offer than winning big in the casinos.

Pam breathes fresh Ayres into animal rescue centre

                                               Pam with Oak and Furrows staff

She is often known  for her sharp wit and poetic genius but a side of one of Britain’s national treasures that is not often seen is her love for the animal kingdom.

Pam Ayers has passionately supported Oak and Furrows Wildlife Rescue Centre for several years, ever since it rescued a poorly badger she found near her home outside Cirencester.

So when  Pam was approached by the centre and asked if she would like to become its patron,  she happily accepted its offer without hesitation.

Popular poet Pam is lending her support to Oak and Furrows by taking on her role which she hopes will boost the profile of the charity and help raise cash for its desperately needed move to a new home.

It  was with great pleasure that I accepted an invitation to meet Pam at Oak and Furrow’s Somerford Keynes headquarters, where we sat and took in the spring sunshine whilst she explained her passion for the centre and animals.

“I like Oak and Furrows because it gives you somewhere to bring an injured wild animal. It is such a reassurance if you find something injured that you have somewhere to turn to,” Pam said with a beaming smile.

“We are very lucky to have it in the area. I just think this centre do a really great job and if I can help in any way I will.

“I would like to think that if someone finds an injured animal they would know about OAF and if they ring they would get a good response.

“The badger I found  was in a bad way and I didn’t know what to do with it and I rang the wildlife centre and Paul (one of the staff members) came out in his ambulance and took it away with such kindness and confidence and that is why I came to support them.”

“We are encroaching on other creatures habitats everywhere, you just have to have a look around the globe. This is just a small gesture from me. If everyone tries to do something then a lot gets done.”

As a Patron Pam plans to speak about the centre publicly and thinks that using social media is going to be a useful tool in getting the message out about what Oak and Furrows do.

“I will talk about it on Twitter – I have got 29 thousand followers – so there is 29 thousand people I can get the message across to.”

Through her role Pam will also be actively involved in the work the centre currently does with the community, starting by judging an upcoming animal themed picture poetry competition, which will be open to primary schools in the area.

                                      Pam with Oak and Furrows founder Serena Stevens

And not content with just representing the centre as its patron, she has converted parts of land she owns outside her home in the Cirencester area into release sites for poorly hedgehogs.

“I am looking forward to releasing them immensely, Pam said.

“I am making them a nice habitat. I have been putting together piles of wood chippings and tree prunings and anything they could make a home.”

Pam is best known for her witty poems and has become a household name in a career that has spanned nearly four decades.

But  she explained to me that outside of her work as an entertainer she  has always held a burning love for animals and has supported animal charities, Cheltenham Animal Shelter and the Battery Hen Welfare Trust by becoming their patrons.

Pam said: “I have 11 cows, eight sheep, 16 chickens and 15 guineafowls: “ I like animals a lot, they are a nice contrast for me because I spend a lot of time doing performances and driving on the M25."

Barry Branigan, OAF general manager, told me as I left Oak and Furrows after my delightful chat with Pam , that he  Pam to ask if she wanted to be a patron after spotting her name of the centre’s list of members and was overjoyed when she said yes.

“I have worked for charities for the last 20 years. I have found an essential part of raising awareness for what a charity does is having a well known person as patron,” he said.