Milky Way photos scoop star prizes
After her dad was killed in Afghanistan, Brooke struggled with her loss. Then, where she least expected it, a new champion stepped up
THIS stunning shot of the night sky over an Iron Age hill fort outshone all other entries in a star photo contest.
Milky Way From Cissbury, by Neil Jones, took first prize in the
South Downs National Park’s astrophotography competition.
Graham Bryant, a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, judged the galaxy snap the winner and said: “You can see it in all its glory.”
Runner-up in the contest, marking a dark skies festival, was John Fox’s picture of Birling Gap near Eastbourne.
DANCING On Ice chiefs have cancelled Sunday’s live show – giving the stressed contestants a chance to chill out.
RebekahVardy and Andy Buchanan survived at the weekend, along with Faye Brookes and pro Hamish Gaman with a royal wedding routine.
But they can put their skates up for a while after ITV put the show on ice.
Bosses said said “we felt it prudent to take a week’s break at this juncture” for the welfare of those taking part.
ITV said in “challenging times” making the “best
TV for our viewers is of paramount importance to us and we look forward to resuming next week.”
On Sunday there will be a highlights show instead, from 6pm.
Amy Tinkler has become the latest celebrity to be axed.
The Olympic gymnast, 21, and her pro Joe Johnson lost out to rapper Lady Leshurr.
Two celebs have pulled out after testing positive while Billie Shepherd and and Denise van Outen left with injuries.
WHEN Brooke Scott was just seven months old, her father Corporal Lee Scott was killed in Afghanistan. Now 12, she has spent her whole life longing for and wondering about the father she never knew. Her sense of loss was so strong it led her mother Nikki to set up the charity, Scotty’s Little Soldiers, to support bereaved children of forces personnel.
Corporal Scott – or Scotty as everyone knew him – was serving in the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment in July 2009 when he lost his life at the age of 26 in an explosion. To this day, Brooke still finds it difficult to accept.
“It’s been very hard and it still hasn’t really sunk in after 11 years,” she admits. “I find it really difficult having no memories of my dad. Christmas and birthdays are the hardest, along with the anniversary of his death. The worst part of it is that he wasn’t even there for my first birthday and he never saw my first steps.”
But Brooke finds solace in “chatting” to her dad whenever she faces a challenge. She explains: “When I am in bed and thinking, I talk to Dad and tell him about the day I’ve had. Whenever I am nervous, I talk to him to get things off my mind. It helps me.” And so on the night before she started at Thomas Clarkson Academy in Wisbech last year, Brooke found herself telling her dad about her anxiety. “I was nervous and I told him I was worried,” she recalls. “I was scared about getting lost. It is such a big leap from primary school.”
Her fears soon evaporated, however, and by day three, Brooke felt more settled. So as she sat down for her first science class, nothing could have prepared her for the spine-tingling surprise awaiting her when her new teacher, Jon Siracusano, introduced himself by telling the class his personal history. A former soldier who retrained as a teacher, Jon mentioned he had served in the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and the Royal Army Physical Training Corps.
With her heart in her mouth, Brooke raised her hand and asked: “Do you know my dad, Sir? His name is Lee Scott.”
She recalls: “When I told him my dad’s name, he went white and looked like he had seen a ghost.” Not only did Jon know Scotty, they had often socialised together. An assistant principal and head of behaviour at the Academy, he admits now that he was knocked sideways by Brooke’s question. “The thing that caught me out was when she said, ‘Do you know my dad?’ and said his name,” he says. “I knew he had been killed in Afghanistan and I can remember squinting a bit as my brain ticked over. After that I struggled to get the class back on track.
“Scotty and I were from the same extended circle of friends and we would invariably bump into each other on a night out at the pub and talk about our jobs and how we were doing.
“I was serving in the Army when he was killed and the impact of his death on me was profound. Scotty was the first person I knew who was killed and it hit me hard.”
TEACHER and pupil caught up later in the day at school to talk about her father and ever since he has made her welfare his mission. Brooke says: “From that moment, Mr Siracusano has looked out for me and he is always checking up to see if I