My springtime visit to Eastleach was not without a severe shock.

The morning was bursting with spring sunshine and the daffodils as beautiful as ever. Pausing on the stone footbridge I was surrounded by the sounds of the season.

Water burbled beneath me and far above nesting rooks were the only raucous noise. I was submerged in countryside wonder.

Then I heard it. Quiet at first, but it soon grew.

The roar of aircraft noise was a powerful, all conquering sound. One of the B52s was flying low overhead.

Now I know what the stationing of these bombers at Fairford means. Pictures in this newspaper showed their dramatic arrival.

My spring morning experience highlighted their continuing presence.

To some these mighty machines are instruments of war, to others there very might and power of destruction ensure peace. One comment needs to be made.

We are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and as such have obligations.

NATO was around long before the EU and our membership of it will continue.

Whatever happens with the other organisation is an irrelevance.

American bombers are not a new sight over the Cotswolds. Growing up in Filkins I remember the B36s and B47s based at Brize Norton.

Now the length of the Fairford runway makes the airport a logical base for the current breed of aircraft.

We have to be realistic. Of course our armed forces have a proud record, our country a fine history, but defensively we can no longer stand alone.

None of us like war, none of us like weapons but surely all of us like peace.

My parents lived through two world wars. Mum lost her father and brother. The last seventy years of my life have been years of peace.

I will settle for an occasional roar over the River Leach. The river, daffodils and the twin churches are timeless. They will survive.