RIAT 2022

Today was the first day (in fact the preview day) of the Royal International Air Tattoo 2022. It was especially exciting for all of the aircraft enthusiasts because it’s the first time that it has taken place since 2019 due to Covid. We arrived at about 9.30 a.m. with no hold ups at all and left the car in one of the big parking areas on the periphery of the airfield. We then took the shuttle bus to the entrance gate and walked to the “FRIAT” (friends of RIAT) enclosure. This is a bit of a step up from the perfectly acceptable public areas that we usually use, but we felt that it would be worth it for the raised seating in the stand and the extra facilities including a quieter food area, toilets, and a marquee with tables and chairs. This turned out to be a tremendous decision; it was all very civilised and there were plenty of shady areas for me when I felt that I needed respite from the sunshine. James required no such respite and didn’t want to miss any of the flying display so he stalwartly stayed in his seat in the stand all day and ended up with a very pink face! I do enjoy an air show as it is one of our traditions, and I do my own thing, which means that as well as watching (some of) the flying display I read my book and wander around the stalls and generally relax. So we both had a good day. Back in Cirencester we went to a gorgeous wee Spanish tapas restaurant for dinner called La Robina, it’s in an old building with wooden beams, down a wee cobbled lane, and as James pointed out, if you didn’t know that you were in the Cotswolds you would have thought that you were in a traditional restaurant in Spain.