James' Wings Parade

One of my best friends in the whole world just achieved something really amazing.

James (the one in the Navy uniform, not the one acting silly) just got his wings and is now a qualified helicopter observer in the Navy. Mark, James and I have been best friends since we were about 14 and they are two people that I know will be in my life forever and that I can always count on.

As Mark and I drove down to Yeovilton together from his home in Oxford I reminded him of one of my favourite lines in Baz Luhrmann's Sunscreen song which pretty much summed up what we were doing perfectly. The line goes:

"Remember that friends come and go but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gap between geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young."

I don't think going to visit our friend across the country, to watch him achieve what he has been working so hard for could be put any better.

James showed us around some of the helicopters they use in the Navy. Naturally Mark couldn't resist jumping in for a closer look

James had just got back from off shore training and his lovely girlfriend Sophie had literally landed the day before from three months of travelling so it was really nice to see them reunited at last.

After a nosey the band started up and we took our seats to watch the ceremony.

Once all the awards were given out and the champagne had been clinked we were ushered outside to watch a helicopter display which was seriously impressive.

After all the official stuff was out of the way the real celebrations started which meant that a lot of drink was consumed....Navy boys ay. We ended up in some pretty tragic places but had a lot of laughs nonetheless. Seeing as we don't see each other nearly enough we had to take a group shot. It took a few attempts. 

Nailed it.

M x