Balloons

Busy day - started with my foodbank shift where I was hefting pallets about, bagging up soap powder and cleaning the floor. Good warehousing day. P spent the time having a mega climbing session, then we went to the farm shop and garden center.  Quick tidy at home then I got on me bike to catch the evening flying from the Strathaven Balloon festival.  Definitley the right mode of transport to 'Scotland's only balloon festival' in a wee town (parking nightmare) and I reckon I got one of the best views standing across the hill and watching the balloons come towards and then past me. 

As ever, I they were a bit late setting off and just when I was about to give up, the first ballon appeared, then a few more starting rising from the park.  Unfortunatley the first one went down just out of the village.  I thought these two were going to follow suit but they caught an uplift and got an extra few miles under their belts. Not pictured but the 'David Hathaway - Excellence in Logistics' balloon certainly proved it's logistical mettle and was the only one still in the sky by the time I got home, where I could just see it following me along.

You can see the convoy of people following the ballons on the road and some of the dodgy driving as a result. Much safer to follow on a bike where it's easier to stop and look then in a car, though my usual 'bike not car' road had significantly more vehicles on it than usual.

I did feel a bit of a nostalgic buzz when the first few took off and I was reminded of The Great Round-the-World Balloon Race which I loved as a kid, but feel now like it gave me unrealistic expectations of how hot air balloons actually work.  Still a great book though.