AFTER writing about how smoothly the trip to Carlisle went, I think I might have jinxed the Stockport game.

Travelling all the way up there for a game that should’ve been called off in the morning was a waste of time and I totally sympathise with those of you who made the effort to come and support us.

But maybe it was a blessing in disguise. I think we felt fresher when we faced my old team Leyton Orient on Saturday, notching up an important victory to take us into the top six.

The game was also a chance for the club to strengthen its ties with the local armed forces and show our appreciation of the amazing job they do.

All three services were represented and it was good to see some familiar faces from our visits to RAF Lyneham and also in the guard of honour provided by 10 Signals regiment in Corsham.

As a thank you to the club for organising these special military days, we have been treated to some treats ourselves - the latest being a flight on a C-130 transport plane courtesy of our friends at RAF Lyneham.

These massive aircrafts are commonly seen over Swindon flying very low and banking sharply, so some of the lads were a little bit worried before the flight.

They might have been even more wary if they had seen the flight crew before boarding, as the pilot and co-pilot looked no older than Nathan Thompson and Kurt Hammonds!

Inside the plane there are no creature comforts, with our seats being a row of benches down each side, but there were plenty of sick bags on hand.

However, after doing a few circuits of the area I didn’t think we’d be needing them as it was one of the smoothest flights I’ve ever been on - little did we know what was in store.

When the rear doors were opened it was amazing looking over the Wiltshire countryside, and even industrial Swindon and the County Ground looked pretty good!

As it was a training flight the pilots practiced landing, keeping the speed up on the runway and taking off again and did this about seven or eight times.

By the end of our flight a few of those sick bags had been filled, with Phil Smith the first to go. He took a bit of stick, but it wasn’t long before some of those who were laughing at the big man were reaching for a bag of their own, much to Phil’s delight.

After an hour of it, all of us were glad to be back on firm ground, but a big thank you to everyone at RAF Lyneham for a great day and an experience we will never forget.