You are about to see penguins fly!
There must be something about August! Apart from it being the height of an English Summer and my wedding anniversary month, I seem to have some of my very best memories from then. You have no idea how ridiculously excited I was to be going to the Bristol Balloon Festival! And I wasn’t even flying (maybe someday?)
I won’t share with you the whole saga right now. Sufficient to say that it was a very long walk home (even by Restlessjo standards), and that the people of Bristol are some of the nicest folk I’ve ever met. Are you ready for this?
It all starts with the moment that life is breathed into these beauties
Look Mum! I’m surrounded by balloons!
Even a square one!
I had arrived at the showground early, and been royally entertained with flying model aircraft and the beautiful gardens at Ashton Court- all in radiant sunshine. But there was no doubt of the spectacle that everyone wanted to see, and excitement began to build as the teams drove out onto the field. The baskets were tipped inelegantly on their sides and the balloons draped around them.
As the first one juddered and stammered to life, a thrill went through the crowd. And then it was proudly erect! Pink, white and perfect, it waited patiently while all the other balloons performed their own ballet.
Faster and faster they rose!
As the baskets were righted and the excited passengers climbed in, it was the job of one man to hang on to a rope for dear life to stop the balloon plunging away. In moments they were airborne, one after another, amid the gasps of spectators. Necks craned and we waved as the passengers waved back.
Against a mackerel sky
Who could help but smile?
And wave!
Although the skies were clear and bright there was still some doubt as to how many balloons would be able to take off. The occasional gust of wind across the airfield gave no real sense of how breezy it might be in the skies overhead. But one by one they pulled away, and the excitement never faded.
A certain twosome were eagerly waiting
And then there was Swatch
Anyone know these guys?
Airborne at last!
Don’t forget the polar bears!
In minutes they were clear of the trees and gone, in the direction of the city and Clifton Suspension Bridge. Part of me wished I was waiting by the bridge, but there is no guarantee in which direction they will head, air currents being vital to this. On the field, the numbers of balloons dwindled, but I remained rapt.
Two red letter days?
But look whose turn it is next!
Totally adorable!
‘Balloons’ was one of the last to take to the sky
And then it was over, for a little while. Wilkinson Cup began to be deflated and the balloonists were off being collected from their respective landings. That would be fun to see too! Then began the wait for evening and Nightglow.
The cup takes a curtain call
Without ever seeing Paula’s Guest Challenge this week, I knew that the subject was Time, and that with Debbie in the driving seat there wouldn’t be much of it to spare. Mine is rather a large ‘snippet of time’ but a very special one, and I hope you’ve enjoyed it with me. Please click on the links to see Debbie’s wonderful post, and Paula’s interpretation of it. I hope I can play my part in making Thursday special.
And I musn’t forget a mention of a very special friend, whom I was lucky enough to meet in Bristol. Viveka, this one’s for you!
restlessjo 
ein herrliches Ballontreffen…
schöne Aufnahmen, was es doch nicht alles gibt !
Ernst
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Ya, danke, Ernst! 🙂
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Ooh what fun – that must have been amazing “in the flesh” (or should that be latex?!). Happy Anniversary to you and your hubby for this month 🙂
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It has to be said, Tanya, that I have yet to make a public appearance in latex (but we shouldn’t rule it out completely 🙂 ) Thanks a lot!
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I’m in love with the penguins too, they are the cutest thing ever, who said penguins can’t fly? What a lovely time you had and perfect weather, it would be a bit different this week. Did you see much of Bristol? And do yo have photos from the evening? I think I would have got a sore neck looking up so long x:-)x
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See my video comments, Gilly? The whole Nightglow and getting home was a saga! I walked my socks off in Bristol on the Monday (didn’t fly home till 9.30pm), Thursday and Saturday, so yes- I saw a fair bit. I will attempt to show some of Nightglow if I can work it out. 🙂
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Ahh I see now. Can you edit it on your laptop/pc? About 8 years ago I joined together a few clips of my granddaughter in utero from her mummy’s scans, even added sound but I have no idea how. It must have been windows media player thingy as I’ve never had anything sophisticated, good luck sweetie 🙂
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Eek! I wasn’t thinking of going high tech, Gilly! I can upload from my phone to the laptop. I’ll probably get that far 🙂
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So much fun! The night before the Thanksgiving Day Parade here in NYC, you can watch all the balloons being inflated in Central Park. That’s a little bit like this, but not nearly as exciting as watching them take flight.
I never knew that hot air balloons could come in these different shapes. Of course my favorite are the two penguins. Too cute! 🙂
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The Bristol event has been running for many years, Jackie, and every year I catch a glimpse on TV and think ‘I wish I was there!’. This year, I was 🙂 🙂
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So much fun. 😀
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Thanks, Cee! You usually have lots of fun over at yours too. Happy you could join me 🙂
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Love the penguin and the balloon balloon! So much colour! You must have got a crick in the neck getting all these shots Jo, but thank you so much for the adventure 🙂
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I wasn’t aware of constant looking up, Jude, but it was spaced out over an hour or two and I was engrossed. Best thing I’ve seen in ages! 🙂
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And sunshine! You were lucky 🙂
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Thanks for this post! I love the pictures from balloon festivals, and have always wanted to go. Seeing your pics led to me looking for one around here. (I’ve never seen one in Calgary itself.) Found one that’s happening at the end of September just south of the city. Yay!
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You’ll have a great time! It really is exciting to watch 🙂
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Wow, fantastic images !!!! I didn’t see any penguins and the dragon never made it up when I was there, but he were very cute – but what a show it was … and the weather couldn’t been better for us.
Thank you so much for the dedication … my heart are feeling so good right now.
The pleasure was all mine – we couldn’t had a more pleasant date anywhere else.
Have to start working on my images now.
Late summer hugs .. from Sweden.
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Hi sweetheart! Saw your email but haven’t had time to respond yet. We were making the most of the lovely weather to go down the Moors today (restless, remember? 🙂 ) The rain and thunder is coming in from the south but haven’t got here yet.
Thank you so much for your company. I couldn’t have had a warmer welcome. Looking forward to your sunrise images. 🙂 I made a video of Nightglow but it’s short and sweet and I’m not sure how to load it. Hugs, darlin’!
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Hi there, I wish I knew how to add a personal video to WP – but I don’t think we are able to … only YouTube. I could be wrong. Would love see your video. Next year I will go in the evening. I will start to work on my images tomorrow. My ass is sad today after all sitting down yesterday. We have lovely weather too, please don’t send any thunder storms our way.
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Sorry to hear about your ass! I think when I’ve used a video before I’ve just put a link in, but only to YouTube. No idea if I can do it with mine but I’m pretty sure you and Jude are right. Will just have to go back 🙂 (sorry- the clouds are here 😦 )
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Good Morning, my morning is warm and sunny …. and been full of laundry. I hope the cloud has passed and that the sun is in your Friday too. Coffee break hug ….
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You must be psychic! I just sent you an email 🙂 Dull and wet here but I have too many jobs to care. Always time for coffee though!
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You have to have a space upgrade or premium blog to upload videos on your site, otherwise you can upload it on YouTube and link to it. But don’t ask me how to do that!
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I’ve linked to a YouTube vid before Jude but not one of my own. Come to think of it, this is the first I’ve ever made (deliberately, anyway- I do sometimes have the camera set to video accidentally 🙂 )
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Ha, I am always doing that. The video buttons seem to be in the entirely wrong place on most cameras! I usually end up videoing my feet.
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I had never thought of hot-air balloons that aren’t shaped like balloons. It’s been too long a time since I’ve been to a festival. Especially love that dragon’s tail wrapped around the underside. Lovely.
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It was such an amazing event, and seeing them take off with a ‘whoosh’ was fantastic, Susan 🙂 Superb entertainment!
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Hi Jo,
I had no idea that hot air balloons came in so many shapes! What a blast! I was in Bristol this summer–my cousin is living in Chew Magna and we stopped by for a quick visit on the way in and out of Eastern Europe. I hope your summer is going well!
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I remember seeing signs for Chew Magna on the way to the airport, and thinking ‘strange name’ Naomi 🙂 Fancy us passing so close! Yes- it’s been a good summer so far, thanks!
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This is really neat – love seeing the animated balloons. I can see why you were so excited! Amazing the numbers of people that showed up to take it all in.
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I was glad I went on the opening Thursday, Mary, because the traffic was gridlocked in Bristol for the Saturday evening. I had the loveliest time and was so glad I finally made the effort after all these years of wanting to go. 🙂
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Oh, how delightful! I’m so envious of you being there amongst all those amazing balloons. You’re right, I couldn’t help but smile at that crazy happy balloon face. Reminds me of that 1967 Fifth Dimension hit song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQVLsvZcr34
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Oh, that’s a good one to sing along to, Ad 🙂 There was such a lovely atmosphere! Definitely blown away with it all 🙂
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I’ve been anticipating this post and Wow!, Jo, what an amazing show. That mackerel sky is tops. I ballooned over the Serengetti, an incredible experience in a camouflage colored one; nothing whimsical like these darlings of the sky. 🎈
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They certainly delivered, Lynne! The last thing my husband said to me at the airport was ‘if you can get a flight, do it!’ I truly wished I’d planned ahead better and took a ride, but I still had a stupendous time. 🙂
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Penguins, minions and trophies, oh my!! This was really fun 😀
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It surely was, Sammy! I want to go back 🙂
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That looks fantastic I am sure you had a great time!
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Really amazing, Ute, thanks! 🙂
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Balloons on a balloon, now how cool is that? What a delightfully colourful post!
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It was a bit of a surprise, A! It wasn’t at all apparent what it was when it was laid flat out. 🙂
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Some of these balloons are absolutely amazing in originality. You truly should fly in one as it is quite a lovely experience. We have done it twice: once in Palm Spring and one in Turkey in the Cappedocia area. Both time were totally amazing…Nice pics. (Suzanne)
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Thanks, Suzanne. 🙂 I wished I’d planned ahead and booked a flight, but they were still a fabulous sight. Maybe another time? 🙂
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Some lovely hot-air balloons, some the penguins, the “balloons” and the Minions. Very cute!!
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It was a spectacular day out, Sami, and I really loved Bristol. My kind of city! 🙂
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fun and exciting day, Jo! lovely balloons; my favorite is the very colorful ‘balloon’s balloon! 🙂
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That one was a surprise, LolaWi! I had no idea what it was when it was laid down on the grass 🙂
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How fun is that?! I can’t imagine how many photos I would have talent! The unusual shaped ones are my favourite but I especially love the dragon with its tail wrapping around the bottom of the ballon!
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I had 700 from the long weekend, Sue, but only a fraction of those are balloons. If I mention Shaun the Sheep, will you know what I’m talking about? Let’s just say it was a fabulous weekend 🙂
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I love Shaun the Sheep! Was there a balloon? I will stay tuned. 🙂
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No but there’ll be a post to come at some point 🙂
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