Becalmed at Ally Pally

We had been invited to a charity kite festival in aid of the Prince's Trust taking place at Alexandra Palace Park in north London. So after yet another early start, we turned up on the flying site to find absolutely no wind. This has got to be the most frustrating kite flying October on record.

Well we dutifully pitched our equipment and waited for some wind. Every so often there would be a gentle blow from the east, but by the time I had got the dopero 50 feet off the ground, the wind would disappear again. This was to be the format of the day. The announcer kept apologising for th elack of wind, thanked all th einvited clubs (GOKF; BKF; WHKF and KKF) for coming, an dhoping that if the wind arrived, WHKF would teddy drop and we would KAP.

The day drew longer and longer and still no wind. The display teams did their best, but were also fighting a losing battle. Even Team spectrum seemed to give up! The high point of the day has to be Chris Goff's magnificent display in no wind. It included him getting grounded in a corner of the arena, jumping over the barrier to re-launch his kite, then 360ing back into the arena, again jumping over the barrier without landing. Spectacular, energetic and extremely skilful.

By far the high point of the afternoon was when a helicpter flew down from the north towing a huge England Flag in support of the RWC final that night.I cannot start to descibe how big the flag was, but if there had been any wind, I think the pilot would have found himself in extreme difficulty.

Late afternoon, the wind picked up to the point where I actually put a camera on the line. It floated around a bit before coming back down to earth. I think I managed to get above head height temporarily, I might even have got a photograph. And that was it really. So we packed up and went home, to meet all the crowds coming out of the Emirates Stadium - Arsenal had been playing at home!