1st October - Hylands Park
It was fairly windy when Dad and I arrived at just after noon. So much so that I had packed my cheap stunters, in case my good ones broke in the wind!! I didn't recognise any cars in the car park, so we had some lunch. I saw Ernie two cars away, he was just getting out his Lidl Diamond kite in the shape of a Fish. It didn't climb very high in the sky, straight out of the packet, so he had modified its spine with some lead weights, so the tail could stay the same length, and some Carbon fibre, from his stock, to stiffen the spine up a bit; results were better after some trimming, but although the £2.99 kite was now a £12.99 kite it was still flying with a list to the left, due to it being non-symmetrical. So Ernie had had enough in the strong wind and put it away to try something else.
Meanwhile George had got out his large Parafoil, some eight feet square at the very least, complete with drogue the size of a very large bucket, if not a dustbin! Ernie and I thought he was a bit brave and hoped we would not see him take off too. Dad gave him a hand to get the wind into it and up it went. It was not up for too long, as George thought the stake and line were at their limits and brought it down.
I had been saying hello to John Dodson who had arrived whilst Dad got the "FLY" 2 line foil out. I went to help him launch it and on turning round persuaded him to put it away again due to the massive black clouds coming our way, he said it may be a small shower, but after a clap of thunder we decided to pack up - quickly !! Just as we did it started to rain. So we retired to the car to chat to John D. for at least a half an hour, in which time we witnessed new rivers forming along the pathways in the car park! When it did stop we went to see Maurice and Glenda, who I saw arrive earlier, to pick up our Kite Wings magazines. On the way to them I saw Colin and Peter, but didn't have time to chat to them until later as the rain started off again! I heard that Harry, who amazed me the first time I met him, flying Indian fighter kites, had been there, but I hadn't seen him for rain!!!
The rain stopped again eventually, but for a very short time, and after a bit more chatting we all decided that, as it was nearly 3pm, and the sky had no blue in it, it was time to leave. We said our goodbyes, but Dad and I didn't make it out of the car park as my car had total windscreen wiper failure, back and front!! So after a quick check of the fuses under the bonnet, which all seemed OK, I blew the dust off the RAC card and waited half an hour for the "very nice man" to fix my rear wiper wiring with some PVC tape and some new fuses - that were inside the car, near my knee!! We got home eventually!!
Graham Leggett
Meanwhile George had got out his large Parafoil, some eight feet square at the very least, complete with drogue the size of a very large bucket, if not a dustbin! Ernie and I thought he was a bit brave and hoped we would not see him take off too. Dad gave him a hand to get the wind into it and up it went. It was not up for too long, as George thought the stake and line were at their limits and brought it down.
I had been saying hello to John Dodson who had arrived whilst Dad got the "FLY" 2 line foil out. I went to help him launch it and on turning round persuaded him to put it away again due to the massive black clouds coming our way, he said it may be a small shower, but after a clap of thunder we decided to pack up - quickly !! Just as we did it started to rain. So we retired to the car to chat to John D. for at least a half an hour, in which time we witnessed new rivers forming along the pathways in the car park! When it did stop we went to see Maurice and Glenda, who I saw arrive earlier, to pick up our Kite Wings magazines. On the way to them I saw Colin and Peter, but didn't have time to chat to them until later as the rain started off again! I heard that Harry, who amazed me the first time I met him, flying Indian fighter kites, had been there, but I hadn't seen him for rain!!!
The rain stopped again eventually, but for a very short time, and after a bit more chatting we all decided that, as it was nearly 3pm, and the sky had no blue in it, it was time to leave. We said our goodbyes, but Dad and I didn't make it out of the car park as my car had total windscreen wiper failure, back and front!! So after a quick check of the fuses under the bonnet, which all seemed OK, I blew the dust off the RAC card and waited half an hour for the "very nice man" to fix my rear wiper wiring with some PVC tape and some new fuses - that were inside the car, near my knee!! We got home eventually!!
Graham Leggett
posted by Essex Kite Group at 12:30 PM
1 Comments:
Good write up Graham - many thanks! I didn't manage to fly a single kite that day! I think the rain storm was enough to deter even the most enthusiastic kite flyer and anyone who would have dared to brave the rain would have probably got a nasty shock!
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