www.theblisspages.com - ardingly autumn show 09
www.theblisspages.com - ardingly autumn show 09
I went to the Ardingly Autumn Show and Game Fair on the 3rd and 4th October 2009, and highly recommend it.
I have been to the South of England Show before - not recently, as it's expensive and crowded, but this is a much more pleasant experience.
I mainly went for the kiting, but found the rest of the show interesting too.
There were food halls, all sorts of domestic animals, and masses to buy, from ladders to 'country' clothes,
gel lights from gelburnercollection
and galaxynine, to membership of organisations such as The National Trust
and Sussex Wildlife Trust.
I enjoyed trying my hand at archery again after a gap of over thirty years.
I'm glad to say that after my first sighting shot with a left-handed 28-pound bow, all the other arrows hit the bull - though I have to admit that the target was only eight yards away.
I watched the dogs running the agility course, which was also a test of the owners' fitness.
The terrier racing was also fun, and I captured one race on video - see terrier race.
At lunchtime on both days, I had a cheese and mushroom crepe, resisting the temptation of chocolate and maple syrup.
On Saturday, I spent a pleasant hour chatting to an attractive Tasmanian over lunch - I think her name was Marcia, but I'm awful at names.
In the food hall, I bought some duck pasties (one of which I ate for lunch on Tuesday) and a game pie, which was delicious, and on Saturday, I treated myself to a sinful hot chocolate, which was to die for (and as a diabetic, that's no idle threat!).
We had to ground the kites whenever the birds of prey were flying, as they could get spooked, or worse, injured by the lines.
But my main focus of the weekend was the kite flying...
I decided not to stay overnight, as Ardingly is so close to my home, but might get out the tent next year.
There were some interesting kites aloft.
At the recent Margate Kite Festival, I bought some kites, but had yet to fly them much.
I started with my Rev, and with some advice and assistance - and the loan of some four-wrap spars, as my race spars were too light for the wind on Saturday - I was soon flying it, if not yet expertly.
I now just need to practise. See my Rev being flown - though not by me.
I also managed to fly my Prism parafoil and my EO Atom.
The EO is very entertaining, swooping all over the sky.
See my EO Atom flying.
Lastly, I flew - briefly - my Micron stack, though the wind on Sunday was really too light.
Overall, it was another fun weekend, and the other kiters were, as usual, all very friendly.
updated Tue 06 Oct '09 give feedback...
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: © Mike Bliss 2009