A MUSICAL and firework extravaganza that raised more than £2,000 for charity and featured a sunset fly-past by two classic Battle of Britain aircraft - what better way to spend an August Bank Holiday?

The setting was Chepstow Racecourse at sunset, the occasion: Chepstow's inaugural Proms in the Park, in association with the Welsh National Opera and Classic FM, and in aid of the RAF Benevolent Fund.

On Saturday night thousands of music-lovers traipsed the short distance to Piercefield Park where a white stage like a half-buried conch shell emerged from the ground.

Behind it, a long look down the Severn Estuary at the old Severn Crossing (the scene of yesterday's half-marathon), glowing gold in the setting sun and from where two of Britain's most recognisable aircraft, the Spitfire and the Hurricane were shortly to appear as dots on the horizon, flying together in formation to audible gasps and applause from the crowd.

Before their breathtaking appearance, the air was filled with the sound of clinking glasses and plates as the audience on camping chairs tucked into their evening picnics to the sound of jazz covers of popular hits like Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. This was the most surreal moment of the evening, eclipsed only by Classic FM presenter Nicholas Owen greeting us at Chester, rather than Chepstow, Racecourse.

Never the less the balletic fly-past went off without a hitch before the planes zipped down the estuary to Newport's Nato celebrations.

Shortly the Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera came on stage and were soon in full swing with Walton's apt Spitfire Prelude and Fugue, followed with works by Verdi, Bizet, Massanet, Lehar and Tchaikovsky, accompanied occasionally by the soprano Mary Elizabeth Williams whose flawless performance was not affected by the deepening post-sunset chill in the air.

Audience wrapped in blankets and some even inside sleeping bags, the orchestra gamely carried on after the break with Wagner's rousing Lohengrin; two Puccini numbers from Tosca and Manon Lescaut; more Tchaikovsky in the form of the Waltz from Swan Lake, a favourite with the crowd; three unmistakably American pieces by Gershwin; Piazzolla's Libertango; and Suppe's Overture the Light Cavalry to finish.

The evening, which raised more than £2,000 for the RAF Benevolent Fund with a raffle and charity collection, was brought to a close by a spectacular 15-minute firework display. Roll on next year.