October 2010:

Red Arrows Salute H2 Garden Party

You know you’ve made it in the world when you have the famous Red Arrows perform an exclusive fly past during your Annual Garden Party. Our staff loved it and it was certainly the highlight of the afternoon – Paul and Rachael’s fabulous catering notwithstanding.

The Garden Party in question was in fact a barbecue at the Hammonds. And the Red Arrows were commissioned, not by Paul and Matt (even their renowned generosity has its limits) but by the Shrivenham Defence Academy as part of the 2010 Graduation Ceremony.

But that’s just detail.

For all intents and purposes, the Hammonds’ house
was Buckingham Palace, Paul was Gordon Ramsey
and those magnificent men were whizzing overhead,
in death-defying formations, executing victory rolls
and loop-the-loops, for us and nobody else.