Sunday 11th May 2003

Weather conditions for the weekend were less than ideal - overcast and gusty, as you can probably tell by the pictures below - the banners nearly blew away! Here are some pictures - click on the thumbnail to get a better view, then click Back to return to this page.
	This was a busy weekend for Poole Kite Fliers Saturday May 10th we were invited to fly at a church fete. Here is Roy showing the local clergy a bit of "Nearer my God to thee..."
	Then the Sunday was our Poole Kite Picnic on Baiter Park. More overcast and gusty conditions - never mind!
	Roy Menage was in his element at both events, showing members of the public the power of his Firecrest power kites (designed and made by himself)
	Avon Kite Fliers once again did us proud, coming all the way from Bristol with their two new geckos and "Big Ted" Thanks guys - your generosity is an example to us all.
	One young man was "converted" to power kiting right away. Let's hope his young lady allows him "out to play" occasionally! And here is "Our Harry" looking well, in case you wondered.

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Sunday 19th May 2002
This was a big day for Harry - he was booked into Poole Hospital that afternoon,
for a gall bladder op - good news, it all went well and he is feeling much better now.

A fair old time was had by all, despite lowering clouds and on-off threats of rain. Here are some pictures - click on the thumbnail to get a better view, then click Back to return to this page.
	Albert Ross flying bravely at Baiter Park on a grey and blustery day There are not many people in this shot, but we had enough visitors to make us feel wanted.
	Avon Kite Fliers turned up in force - thanks guys and gals for making the trek from Bristol. It means a lot to our little club, when the "Big Boys" come to play in our back yard.
	With a sometimes tricky wind, it was "all hands on deck" to get Albert Ross airborne.
	This brave Avon lad wanted to show us how tough he was..... Anybody brave enough to bring legs like that out in public, deserves respect!
	[left] John and Jean Higgins came down from Sunbury and helped brighten the day. [right] Two of our local members, always there come rain or shine. (usually to be found on the beach at Swanage or Studland Bay)
	The wind blew up from almost nothing to a respectable South-Wester..... so we were glad of our little cabanas!
	Club banners flying bravely against a very dull background
	One of my work-mates gave in to temptation and bought a small delta from James Hartley. He is now seriously addicted, and has recently bought a Flexifoil Stacker as well!
	Roy Menage did us proud with some great "teddy-bunging" though the fresh breeze meant some of the "little darlings" had to run quite far to retrieve their fearless ursines. This nice lady is actually my dentist, with her little boy!
	By about 3.30pm most of us had had enough, the threat of rain seemed imminent and Roy's flagpoles were approaching the horizontal! So we all went home for tea, except for some die-hards, who had a fine time with no rain after all.

Our thanks also go out to Nicolas & Eva Wadsworth, and Katie, Bill & Mike Barker who did their stuff, and helped spread the word on kiting to the surprising number of visitors on that grey day.
Nicolas was also approached by a member of the local Amateur Radio Society, to ask if he could give a talk on the history of kites as used to lift radio antennae.
A fairly quiet day, but pleasing all the same, and we made some new friends along the way, as well as letting quite a few complete beginners "have a go" with a Flexifoil Stacker, which they enjoyed very much.

Sunday 20th May 2001
Almost a repeat of last year's idyllic scene - the wind was a little more fitful, the sun played hide-and-seek, sometimes behind cloud, sometimes blazing from a bright blue sky - I went home with various parts glowing pink, despite lashings of high factor sunscreen and large (very silly) straw hat!

We did not see anything of the "youth activities" this year - they seemed to be going on at the BMX track, and the newly built Skate Park, both out of sight of the flying area - but there seemed to be lots of young people with kites, so I think we benefited from tying our picnic to the Poole Youth Services event.

Perhaps the most wonderful part of the whole day was the sheer number of people who came to this "low-key" local event - some from a great distance. As a very small kite club, we feel a deep sense of gratitude to all kite fliers who made the journey to Poole. You know who you are - you have once again humbled us with your generosity, and brightened our lives with your good hearts.

With my appalling memory for names, there is no chance of a comprehensive list of all the lovely people who came and joined in the fun - please forgive me for that? There are a few whose names I am pretty sure of...
Pat & Ron Dell made the pilgrimage from Enfield, by way of Brighton where they picked up Simon Hennessy (happy birthday Simon), with his delightful wife and pair of rug-rats (why are little girls so bossy?) and some other nice people from Brighton, whose names I missed.
John & Jean Higgins from Sunbury on Thames, and so many familiar faces from Avon Kite Fliers that I completely lost count! Now, one thing about the Avon mob.... it seems that wherever they go, they take some large kites.... and other very large things that are not really kites as you or I know them....

It only takes one word to describe what they brought this time.... Roly
Until you have helped launch and "fly" this behemoth of the deep (60 feet long and holding 2 tons of air), you have no idea of how majestic it is, when the wind is just right and there are enough people on the rope to hold it without fear of a disaster of Zeppelin-like proportions. I had seen Roly in action before, and helped with some of the AKF "baby whales", but this was the first time I helped assemble the tail spar, turn the beast the right way up, and then hang on to that rope (I soon found that leather palmed gloves are not much flipping use, when the leather is shiny and slippery).

It was awesome, and Roly did his (or her?) bit perfectly - a real tribute to the careful design and many hours of construction that went into the making of this airborne king of the sea. Heartfelt congratulations to all at Avon Kite Fliers responsible for Roly and all the other fine (very large) kites they brought to Poole - I saw four large Pyros (converted from Paul Morgan mega deltas, I think I heard somebody say), a "top half" footballer and SCUBA diver, as well as a massive flowform with one of the longest tails ever seen at Baiter.

There seemed to be a good number of "foreign" fliers this time, an old-time flier from New Zealand, Robert Brasington (who used to live in Dorset, and helped found the Poole club) and a couple also from down under (I think) with a wonderful collection of large cellular kites - they must get around a bit, they joked that the sand on their kites was from Cervia (sp?) in Italy. We were also delighted to see Betty Sacree again, with her family.

As it was a fairly "low wind" sort of day, we ended up with a great many single-liners in the sky, which proves (even to me, as a confirmed two-line addict) that single-liners should be a welcome part of every kite event. There were a few large power kites (mostly 4-liners) but the buggy pilots kindly restrained themselves, which was just as well with all the visitors wandering around!

All the PKF regulars played their part as usual, "Thank You" all - Roy Menage for parachuting teddies, and bringing his giant 4-liners - Nicolas Wadsworth for his tumbling boxes and beautiful Codys in all sizes, the Barkers and all their kites, the Palmers with their roks & diamonds, Harry Douglas and his fighter kites - nobody will forget the sight of him trying to get one to fly up Roly's "rear vent"!!!

James Hartley did very well, selling his own brand kites to the public, and we look forward to his donation of a stunt kite, to add to the club collection.

Thank you, thank you all from the bottom of my heart. You helped me out of a very gloomy period (I have been redundant since the end of March) and your kindness will stay with me forever. Thank you to all the lovely people (especially those in silly kite trousers, like mine) without whom this would have been a non-event - I wish I could remember all your names.

Please remember those who could not be there due to illness - especially Roy Stevens who is waiting to go back into hospital to have a knee joint replaced after a bodged operation - our thoughts are with you, and we look forward to seeing you and Daisy out and about again.

And finally... everybody seemed to have such a good time, they were saying "pity it's only once a year..."
Well, if there is a convenient hole in the UK kite calendar (maybe due to a foot-and-mouth cancellation) then we can think about a second picnic - watch this space! (never happened - blame the Autumn weather)

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Sunday 7th May 2000
Quite Amazing - the less effort we make to organize anything, the better it all goes, and the more fun everybody has! It could not have been more laid-back, went very smoothly, and even the weather smiled on us.
The day dawned grey, damp and windless, but by 10.30 we had blue skies, bright sunshine and a steady Southerly breeze about 10 - 15 mph.

This year, we shared Baiter Park with an event organised by Poole Youth Services. There were several bike interest groups represented, with lots of tight Lycra, and the mountain bike boys doing their stuff, riding over two wrecked cars and mountains of pallets.

As usual, we had no trade stalls, or formal timetable, and the Poole Council PA system spent most of the day commentating on the bike events, with occasional asides about the kites when I went and twisted his arm.
Car parking had been free, but typically the covers came off the ticket machines on 1st May, so most people parked in the road, which remains free so far!

I managed to trap quite a few non-flyers into having a go with a Flexifoil Stacker, and they all seemed to enjoy it, so we hope for a few new members out of that. We managed to get just two Flying Galleons in the air together, so the idea of a "Flying Fleet" came to nought, but they stirred up a lot of interest as usual.

We actually had no need of the arena ropes, in spite of the amazing number of people who strolled by for a better look at the kites and bikes - just "a flag at each corner" seemed to work fine, with no casualties, and very few "near misses". Baiter is a great site for flying and relaxation, with clean air and plenty of room for all types of kite.

We saw a grand turnout of "old friends" from near and far, Pat & Ron Dell made the trek from darkest Enfield, Joe & Flo Barnes from Ormskirk, John & Jean Higgins from Sunbury on Thames, Mac Macleod & Ron Moody from Southampton way, and many more. Our old friends from Airstream Kites found time to come - nice to see you all! We were very glad to see many of the "old-timers" (Roy & Daisy Stevens + many others whose names I missed) from the early days of PKF, who put on a show with some pairs flying, thanks again.

Finally, to all the PKF regulars who played their part, a sincere and humble "Thank You" to you all - Roy Menage for parachuting teddy bears tirelessly and letting some brave souls have a go with one of his enormous 4-liners - Nicolas Wadsworth with his wonderful creations, Mike Barker with his trick flying, Eddie Palmer with his beautiful single-liners, Harry Douglas and his fighter kites.

Did I forget anyone? Probably! Seeing the effort you all made, that makes me very sure we made the right decision to fight to keep the club alive, when it could so easily have disappeared without trace.

I salute you all and look forward to the next gathering - see our News Page.
Look out for photos of PKF activities HERE

Best wishes from Poole Kite Fliers


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