Ooh, floaty light

Oh yes. I finally had my birthday balloon ride on Monday and it was wonderful. However, due to technical reasons, I can't give you an actual photo from the big event just yet so you'll have to make do with this one for now.

Anyway, what a fantastic time I had. This despite the fact that it was in the high 80's (even at 7pm) and that there was nil wind. A breeze of some description is kind of a pre-requisite of ballooning and so the the distinct lack of even the faintest breath of wind was a cause of mild concern.

Eventually, however, we got it up (pause for sniggers) and slowly began to see the green fields sinking below us as we started our flight. The very still air did provide the odd puff of air which ensured we didn't just go straight up, hang there for an hour and then come straight back down. We actually managed to travel about 5 miles over the baking Derbyshire countryside as the sun began to set. It was truly beautiful and extremely peaceful as my seven fellow passengers and pilot entered a quiet reverie for much of the hour-long flight.

The only thing that shattered the peace was the bloody propane burners that kept us aloft. The noise was pretty loud, but the heat was the real culprit. For those of you that know me, the top of my head has a small clearing on it which means that it is rather good at feeling the heat. Well when you have four bloody great flames roaring inches from your balding pate you tend to notice it. Coupled with the fact that even at 6000 feet (1,828m) up it was still 86 degrees, my bonce felt like a par-boiled potato at times.

Despite the slight head-heating issue, the whole experience was just amazing. The landing was superb - two small bumps and we were sitting pretty in a large field filled with thistles and cowpats. Perfect. The post-flight champers wasn't bad either, especially as it got everyone a bit jolly for the hilarious return journey to the launch site in the back of a steamy Land Rover.

Same time next week then...