BRIAN THORNTON of Aylburton has just finished his year as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, a post he describes as being 'great fun'. Here he tells Review readers his own story of the remarkable period.

I CHOSE to be sworn in at the Speech House in the Forest of Dean, which, for Gloucestershire, was an unusual choice, but one that went down well with the Verderers and many Foresters.

My bailiwick includes South Gloucestershire, therefore the High Sheriff has a large area to cover. The Forest of Dean is a small, relatively unspoilt and beautiful part of the county. However, being relatively cut off from the rest of Gloucestershire it does tend to be forgotten. I deliberately set out to devote as much time as I could to assisting the Forest community.

As most High Sheriffs seem to agree, one's Shrievalty year passes very quickly and I am left feeling that I should have done more, but did not get the time. My year was blessed with several Royal Visits, included amongst them was a very special occasion when Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, presented new Colours to the Royal Air Force at a superb ceremony at RAF Fairford.

This splendid event included a magnificent parade and a 90th Anniversary Flypast. By some miracle Her Majesty and most of the dignitaries made it into the marquees before a major summer storm arrived and drenched the huge number of unfortunate airmen all dressed in their best uniforms. In addition there were four visits by HRH the Prince of Wales and four by his sister HRH The Princess Royal, not to mention Their Royal Highnesses The Dukes of Gloucester and Kent, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

I was extremely fortunate to be included in the party of Civic Dignitaries who were invited by Major General Jack Eggington of the United States Air Force to visit their bases at Ramstein in Germany and Aviano in Italy. We were flown out from Mildenhall in Suffolk in a tanker aircraft. The highlight of the flight being the refuelling of a series of F16 attack aircraft while over the North Sea and the Adriatic. My year also included a visit to HMS Gloucester while she was alongside in Cardiff and Beating the Retreat at RAF Brize Norton to mark the 90th Anniversary of the RAF.

The Gloucestershire Constabulary invited me and my wife, Verity, to several social events in their calendar as well as visits to their new Headquarters at Waterwells, the Tactical Firearms Unit and an evening spent patrolling in a car. I am grateful to the Chief Constable, Tim Brain, for looking after us so well. I was able to sit with the Coroner, Alan Crickmore, on two occasions and visits to Fire Stations, prisons and the Probation Service provided a perfect prelude to my visit to Gloucester Crown Court where Judge Picton invited me to sit with him.

On New Year's Day the traditional High Sheriff's Race was run at Cheltenham. The course was covered overnight so, despite the heavy frost racing was possible and a wonderful day's racing was enjoyed by the huge crowd. This is a major fundraising event for the High Sheriff making a significant contribution to funds available to Crimebeat and charities for disadvantaged children.

Visits to local industry were extremely encouraging in that they showed just how expert the UK is in high value, high tech industries.

The opening of the new Rolls Royce engine assembly plant at Filton by HRH The Princess Royal, where the engines for the Euro Fighter are made, was most impressive. Every effort has been made to conserve energy in this state of the art facility, where the very latest advances in jet engine technology are being employed to produce engines of quite exceptional reliability for the RAF and the USAF.

I was invited to The Food Research Association at Chipping Camden for their Open Day. Tucked away in this beautiful part of the County is a quite remarkable research centre where every conceivable type of food and packaging is tested to ascertain shelf life, ingredients, nutritional value etc. The centre is a large local employer and a significant contributor to the local economy.

All these visits were very informative, demonstrating how fortunate Gloucestershire is not only in the beauty of the countryside but in the energy and enterprise of the people who live in it. However there is no doubt that the most rewarding part of my role has been in the encouragement and support I have been able to give to the young people of the County. I have attended and supported prize giving and awards ceremonies at some of the best centres of education in the country, including the National Star College, which transforms the lives of severely disabled adults. Also the Heart of the Forest Special School for children with special needs does wonderful work in teaching the students the basic skills for a normal life.

There is little room for other activities in the life of Gloucestershire's High Sheriff, but I feel honoured and privileged to have completed my year. Thanks must go primarily to my wife, Verity, who has tolerated the disruption of the household and been an enormous help to me in so many ways. I also wish to thank the great numbers of the people of Gloucestershire who have helped to make it a very special and memorable year for me.