Kites

I took Frodo for an Educational trip to the rubbish tip on Sunday i.e. he hadn't been to a rubbish tip before, and he enjoys watching diggers and lorries, and hearing things go crash! thump!, plus he gets to learn about recycling. I also got rid of a rotten old garage door that I've just dismantled.

We noticed loads of kites flying above Otterspool promenade. The kites were all sorts of different shapes and sizes. Parachutes, teddy bears, dogs, snow flakes, stunt kites, 2 sets of 5-at-a-time stunt kites, box kites, japanes fighting kites etc. Otterspool prom is just opposite the tip site, so we drove over for a look.

The Northern Kite Group were hosting an event. Apparently it was some sort of international kite day, on which kite groups from all over the world gather, fly their kites, record how many they've flown and then tot up the score to make some sort of world record.

We spent a pleasant hour walking under all the kites, looking up and avoiding the strings (many were staked into the ground). One particularly nice bloke gave Frodo a go at flying his kite - which was shaped like an Octopus. I was a little worried that Frodo would let go, but he held on OK.

I didn't have a camera with me, but I've found some pictures of the sort of stuff that we saw on the group's website.

Bought a couple of ice-creams and sat munching them, watching the kites. Lots more arrived whilst we did this, as people were being encouraged to bring their own and join in. I noticed that a lot of the amateurs were getting their lines tangled with "the professionals". Decided not to nip home and bring our as yet unflown Dragon kite, but made a mental note that the prom looks like the ideal spot for it's maiden flight, when there's not so many other kites about.