Ellie Hetebrij, The Photographer: Red Arrows at Gylly

The Red Arrows Acrobatic Team, (the Public face of the RAF ) mark their 50th anniversary this year with a national tour. I was lucky enough to capture them captivating, inspiring and enthralling the crowds at Gylly beach.

Its not that i'm not a people person but I just didn’t want to spend/ share my experience of the RAF Red Arrows with the thousands of tourists/ families and students that lined Gylly Beach. Maybe that's not in the spirit of the Red Arrows, but today was a day I had been looking forward to all week and I didn't want to share the glorious sunshine and captivating sights of the Red Arrow stunt team with anyone but my friends (maybe because I didn’t want complete strangers to see how excited I was about it (after all a nineteen year old as excited as I was is a little strange), or how I couldn’t stop myself from screaming with excitement as they flew overhead) so we ventured off the beaten path and into a field just off Swanpool, meaning that not only was our view completely clear of toddlers on their fathers shoulders but the planes were often flying straight over us (making it a very immersive if not slightly terrifying experience).

I have a distinctive memory of going to see the Red Arrows with my Mum and Grandma, but I can't seem to remember the actual event, something which seems completely unthinkable when they made such an impact on me at this age, and i'm sure that my childhood sense of intrigue and curiosity would of been even more fascinated and captivated by them.

To find out more about the Red Arrows - there defiantly a sight not to be missed.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/reds/