PW_1_2019

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More Bang for Your Membership Ben Pedro Anido , 10 Region 10 Region go clay pigeon shooting: Once again, Steve Hunt hosted our annual Clay Pigeon Shoot at Grahams Clay Shoot in Purleigh, near Chelmsford Essex. It was a great turnout, with 26 of us taking on the challenge to aim, shoot, and obliterate those pesky flying disks. W ith five of us, including me, having never fired a shotgun before, I was a little bit apprehensive when I spotted how many of our group appeared to be shooting experts. Even our President, Clive Wood, was well turned out in his personally embroidered shooting wear. We were blessed with great weather for the morning, and wasted no time getting stuck in with the safety briefing, where I was disappointed to learn we could not aim at foes or fire from the hip. From here we split into our three teams and after a couple of rounds of practice, we began our much awaited shooting competition. There was some great shooting. It was nice to meet German IPA members; Geelke and Armin Allwicher, who like me were experiencing Clay Pigeon shooting for the first time. Although being German police officers, they were of course quite familiar with handling a firearm. Once everyone had finished their rounds, Steve collected in the score cards, and with much anticipation we awaited the results. After a brief drum roll, Clive announced that there had been a draw for the top spot, with father and son team Sam and Julian Arnold achieving 28 kills. There were some raised eyebrows at first, as they were guests of Clive’s. But when we learnt there would need to be a shoot-off to decide the winner, all was quickly forgiven. So the lads loaded their weapons one last time and in full western- style fired the deciding shots; with son Sam beating his dad for the top spot. Before bringing the event to a close, Clive handed out trophies to Sam and Julian for 1st and 2nd space, to Lizzie Hudson, who was the top female scorer of the day, and to Debbie Sawyer, who took home the booby ‘fun trophy’ award for sadly coming in last. I can’t believe I have waited 30 years before having a go at this sport; I absolutely loved the smell of the gunpowder, the crack of the clays as I hit

Years passed. And then… …not long ago, as age increasingly confuses the memory, I had a chance to visit India. As I crossed the country, I hired a guide at Agra to do the sights; the Red Fort, The Taj Mahal, the magnificent gardens. As we chatted, we came onto motorbikes, which were his passion. He rushed off and returned with a very new, very shiny black Royal Enfield 350 cc Bullet. He let me ride it. The feeling was indescribable. If you ride bikes, you know. You just know. Don’t you? Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I am at that ‘born again’ age now. What to do? Oh what shall I do…? David was a Met and Thames Valley police officer, retiring in 2010.

them and the thrill of holding a loaded weapon and firing it into the air. You can be sure I will be back again next year and I suggest that if you haven’t tried it yourself before then, amongst friends, is a great way to give it a go. All IPA members received a £5:00 discount on their range fee which again shows the benefit of membership. I look forward to seeing you next year – come and give it a try - you will receive a warm welcome!

POLICE WORLD Vol 64 No. 1, 2019

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