Bristol Kite Festival
Saturday 31st August & Sunday 1st September 2002

The day started early for us, 7am ferry, but it was nice day so we looked forward to the drive down to Bristol. All went well until we actually got to Bristol, we could see the big kites flying on top the hill and we thought, great not long now and we'll be there. But no, we missed a turn turn some where along the line and ended up driving out to Weston-Super- Mare adding an hour and a half to the journey.

Once we finally arrived it was head down for some fun. We started with a quick stroll around all of the trade stalls and 'lusted' after some of the goodies on offer, we could have spent a King's Ransom if we had had the money.

We decided that we would watch the 'pros' in the show arena for a while and where mightily impressed with the displays from Evolver and Flame. After this it was the big inflatables which are always impressive.

After this it was time for us to have a play for a while, no point in going to a kite festival and not flying. Out came the Revs and an hour passed very quickly, we played a game of trying to knock over a small water bottle with a wing tip, not that easy in a lumpy wind.

At the end of the day we where able to talk to Peter Lynn and what a great man he is. We discussed kite sailing with him whilst he was adjusting the bridle of his 18m octopus and he gave us a lot of very useful information. It was amazing that he could hold three conversations at once and still adjust the bridle of his octopus.

After all the excitement we made our way to the crew area where we were to pitch our tent for the night. Well as we were the last to arrive we got the 'bum' pitch. Lumpy and on a slope. We made the best of it and settled down with a most tasty brew. Suitably fortified we decided to try and do a bit of buggying but the wind decided otherwise so we gave up and had a couple of beers.

When we had watched the fireworks we decided to try and get some sleep but it was like trying to sleep on corrugated iron and cold, very cold. Sunday morning couldn't come soon enough and when it did out came the gas cooker and on went the bacon for the butties and the kettle for the coffee, surprising how simple pleasures can make the world seem better.

We stayed around until just after lunch time and then set off home all the while discussing what all in all had been a brilliant weekend having met some really great people, most noticeably Peter Lynn and TC from Avon Kite Flyers to name but two.

Because of this weekend we have decided to try and resurrect the Island festival for next year, keep checking and there will be more information as it happens.