AUTUMN 2012 EDITION 8-11

(My last issue so it's my balloon on the cover!) Beautiful Bedale saw the PRBA contest the ‘Olympic’ games! Photos of Bedale and Naburn Lock inside. We’re also now en route to the AGM and the Humber Bridge meet. Please join our committee! Editor’s Envelope - opening for the last time…………………. Summer has almost certainly left us bereft of tans as we now head full tilt into Autumn, but the ‘season’ didn’t end without a triumph for the club in the Naburn Lock meet, well done Malc, it was a lovely, relaxed and enjoyable event…..and we flew! Alex and Duane had a hairy little flight where a series of dying thermals sent them pirouetting across a potato field, and there was I in the retrieve vehicle (Dora the Explorer), thinking that Duane was practising landings! No damage done to man, beast, potato or balloon so all good for the learning curve. This summer has also seen one of our club members checking out, well done to Steve O’Boyle! …and good news for those traveling abroad by ferry, DFDS now allow some full cylinders, I will have copies of ‘that’ letter nicely laminated for you, ask me at the AGM. AGM’s are a point to reflect, so this issue I have gone way back to 1985 with a Scoop from March, makes interesting reading with lots of familiar names in there too. Scoopy Doo No. 2 is going back to college to learn a new skill, he hasn’t decided what as yet but he knows that he has to give his newshound role up very soon. In fact all he is doing so far is hanging around the catering department looking cute and hoping for titbits, and then making his way to the dog grooming department in the hope he will meet some glamorous young lady on her way out. Along with Scoopy Doo No. 2 hanging up his notebook, I will be too. I have enjoyed pulling together some bits and pieces for Scoop, but it is incredibly difficult to fit in amongst full time (and more) working, full time social secretary for teenage boy whirlwind, dodgy computer hardware kindly losing me lots of work, housework (of the larger variety), and trying to get people to write bits and pieces (almost impossible!). Over my term I have had some lovely comments from club members and beyond – even getting a mention in Aerostat for ‘standing out from the crowd’ of regional newsletters. I hope that I have managed to put a bit of fun back into the magazine, which it seemed to be brim full of in some of the past incarnations. Thank you to those of you who sent me comments, photos, and more importantly, articles and snippets. Thank you all, over and out.

and (who says he is more than happy to make guest appearances in future editions, for a juicy sausage or two!)

Chattering Chairlady, Janice Stace; (chilly Naburn morning to blame)

After the rather dismal summer, we were very lucky with the weather for Naburn Lock, although it did come as rather a shock to find the car totally iced up on Saturday morning! However, it was flyable, and was particularly slow on Saturday evening, Tom and I retrieved for Harry, and we sat on the launch field for most of his flight, and John Russon eventually came back to land in the campsite. The only moment of any drama was when a motorcyclist turned up at the campsite saying that Alex was 'stuck' - he had been captured by a thermal nearly at ground level and wasn't able to go anywhere. I also had a flight on Sunday morning, thank you Malcolm, and also thank you for organising the meet. Timing was obviously of the essence for this meet, it started raining on Sunday night, and the bottom fields of the campsite were flooded a couple of days later, and as I write this, it's raining again.

We are fast approaching the time of the year for the AGM. Details of this and the Humber Bridge meet at Leven are included in this edition of Scoop. Under the three year rule, Richard will be stepping down from his post as Meet Co- ordinator, and Elaine will passing on the editorship of Scoop. Elaine is giving details of these and other roles, so that hopefully we will be inundated with interested people wishing to be involved with the running of the club. Any help will be gratefully received.

Hopefully I will see many of you at the meet and the AGM.

Cheers,

Calling all Pu/t’s If you have any particular training needs, please contact Paul.

After reminiscing over my P.P.L. training I realised that attaining your written exams can be a major hurdle. Many years ago Cameron’s, amongst other sources, used to hold ‘crammer’ weekends where you could have tuition and then take the exams, there was of course a cost implication but it was a very successful way of attaining your written papers. Recently the Pennine and the North West Regions have held training weekends and these have been very good and well attended.

At our committee meeting in Bedale I proposed an idea for a club funded training weekend, or weekends. The committee thought it was a good idea in principle so we have decided to ask the membership what they thought and how many Pu/t’s would be interested.

The plan is to hold sessions on each of the subjects followed by taking the exam, therefore potentially over the course of weekend a Pu/t could gain all his/her written papers. We also thought of running a Landowner Relations course as a final event for the weekend, so the attending Pu/t would then have completed all their written parts of training and would be able to concentrate solely on the flying.

The P.R.B.A. would sponsor the cost of the examiner[s], trainer[s], venue, lunch/tea/coffee[s] and the Landowner course. The Pu/t would pay for the exams they take [though the P.R.B.A. might look at subsidising this] and will have to provide their own equipment. We could also invite other regions if they had Pu/t who would like to attend, but they would be expected to pay.

In closing I would like to add that this is intended for any Pu/t who has a realistic possibility of checking out within the prescribed time frame. This would be in essence, sponsorship of, and investing in our Pu/t's.

Please contact me at [email protected] with suggestions, ideas and interest, then I can start to organise the event.

Alex Braund-Smith

Safety by Elaine If you have any issues over safety, please contact our safety officer; Terry Chamberlain [email protected]

Safety must be the bottom line in everything, and slightly higher comes training. The PRBA is very proud to boast that we have one team who consider crew training as paramount and as with any sport or difficult skill, it is crucial to start them young. 1. locate glove bag 2. find a pair 3. ensure perfect fit

Modelled by Rosie, the gorgeous granddaughter of Graham and Margaret Cannon

C H A U

B e l l a

! Recognising power lines By Elaine Smith The first transmission of electrical impulses over an extended distance was demonstrated on July 14, 1729 by the physicist Stephen Gray. The demonstration used damp hemp cords suspended by silk threads (the low resistance of metallic conductors not being appreciated at the time). Today, we all expect to switch on.....

Typical 400kV –275kV Transmission Line

Towers with three or six double wires are 275,000 Volts (275kV) Towers with three or six quadruple wires are 400,000 Volts (400kV)

Metal towers carrying a set of single wires (usually three plus an earth wire on top) are 132,000 V, but these are gradually disappearing.

Typical 132 kV overhead line

Wooden poles with three bare wires on multi-plate insulators are 45,000 V between phases – these are usually on higher and more substantial poles, and sometimes poles are used in pairs. (see example under Pole Mounted Auto Reclosers, below).

Examples of 33kV Overhead Lines Often mistaken for telephone lines. Wooden poles with two or three widely-spaced horizontally aligned bare wires on large insulators having one or two plates. These lines are 11,000 volts - often used for distribution in rural areas. Left shows a top earth wire and an additional wire lower on the pole.

Low Voltage Overhead Line Again, often mistaken for telephone lines. Usually wooden poles carrying up to four wires, vertically aligned, on small ceramic insulators, or bundles of insulated cables twisted together. These lines are usually 400V between phases, which directly provide the domestic 230V supply. Most of these follow roads and paths.

Overhead lines are also occasionally used to supply transmitting antennas, especially for efficient transmission of long, medium and short waves. For this purpose a staggered array line is often used. Along a staggered array line the conductor cables for the supply of the earth net of the transmitting antenna are attached on the exterior of a ring, while the conductor inside the ring, is fastened to insulators leading to the high voltage standing feeder of the antenna. A simple way of recognising whether a pole carries telephone or electricity cables is the presence of ‘steps’ to be utilised from the top of a ladder – if these are present, then you are likely to be dealing with a telephone wire. But also please be aware that this is not set in stone as some poles carry both, a yellow warning sign should be present on all poles carrying conductors, at whatever voltage. In the annotated photograph below, a pair of 11kV conductors and an earth can be seen horizontally aligned at the top to the pole, with the lower voltage conductor pair aligned vertically below. The higher voltage conductors are always the highest sited.

11KV OVERHEAD LINE COMPONENTS INSULATOR: PREVENTS THE POLE AND CROSSARM FROM BECOMING LIVE CROSSARM: SUPPORTS THE INSULATORS & THE CONDUCTORS CONDUCTOR: CABLE WHICH CARRIES THE ELECTRICITY JUMPER: CONNECTS ONE PIECE OF APPARATUS TO ANOTHER TRANSFORMER: REDUCES HIGH VOLTAGE to LOW VOLTAGE Earth wire Aluminum conductors reinforced with steel (known as ACSR) are primarily used for medium and high CONDUCTOR voltage lines and may also be used for overhead INSULATOR services to individual customers. Aluminum cable is used because it has about half the weight of a JUMPER comparable resistance copper, as well as being cheaper. Some copper cable is still used, especially at lower voltages and for grounding. TRANSFORMER Sample cross-section of a high tension power line. CROSSARM The sag of the conductor (vertical distance between the highest and lowest point of the curve) varies depending on the temperature. A minimum overhead clearance must be maintained for safety.

Modular suspension insulators are used for high voltage lines. Insulators must support the conductors and withstand both the normal operating voltage and surges due to switching and lightning. Insulators are broadly classified as either pin-type, which support the conductor above the structure, or suspension type, where the conductor hangs below the structure. The number of disks is chosen based on line voltage, lightning withstand requirement, altitude, and environmental factors such as fog, pollution, or sea salt spray.

Classification by operating voltage Overhead power transmission lines are classified in the electrical power industry by the range of voltages: Low voltage – less than 1000 volts, used for connection between a residential or small commercial customer and the utility. Medium Voltage (Distribution) – between 1000 volts (1 kV) and to about 33 kV, used for distribution in urban and rural areas. High Voltage, used for transmission of bulk quantities of electric power and connection to very large consumers. Extra High Voltage – over 230 kV, up to about 800 kV, used for long distance, very high power transmission. Ultra High Voltage – higher than 800 kV.

A single-circuit transmission line carries conductors for only one circuit t

Structures for overhead lines take a variety of shapes depending on the type of line. Structures may be as simple as wooden poles directly set in the earth, carrying one or more cross-arm beams to support conductors, or "armless" construction with conductors supported on insulators attached to the side of the pole. Tubular steel poles are typically used in urban areas. High-voltage lines are often carried on lattice-type steel towers or pylons. For remote areas, aluminum towers may be placed by helicopters. Concrete poles have also been used. Poles made of reinforced plastics are also available, but their high cost restricts application.

Each structure must be designed for the loads imposed on it by the conductors. The weight of the conductor must be supported, as well as dynamic loads due to wind and ice accumulation, and effects of vibration. Where conductors are in a straight line, towers need only resist the weight since the tension in the conductors approximately balances with no resultant force on the structure. Flexible conductors supported at their ends approximate the form of a catenary (the natural curve of a suspended chain, rope, wire, or suchlike), and much of the analysis for construction of transmission lines relies on the properties of this form.

For a single wood utility pole structure, a pole is placed in the ground with three cross arms extending from this, either staggered or all to one side. The insulators are attached to the cross arms. For an "H"-type wood pole structure, two poles are placed in the ground; a crossbar is placed on top of these, extending to both sides. The insulators are attached at the ends and in the middle.

Lattice tower structures have two common forms. One has a pyramidal base, with a vertical section above, with three cross arms extending out, typically staggered. The strain insulators are attached to the cross arms. Another has a pyramidal base, which extends to four support points and on top of this a horizontal truss-like structure is placed.

OVERHEAD LINE APPARATUS - POLE MOUNTED AUTO RE-CLOSER (PMAR) Purpose – to protect the line against faults.

In electric power distribution, a re-closer, or auto re- closer, is a circuit breaker equipped with a mechanism that can automatically close the breaker after it has been opened due to a fault. Re-closers are used on overhead distribution systems to detect and interrupt momentary faults. Since many short-circuits on overhead lines clear themselves, a re-closer improves service continuity by automatically restoring power to the line after a momentary fault. For instance, a tree branch that is blown off a tree during a windstorm and lands on the line may cause a short circuit that could cause damage. However, the fault will quickly clear itself as the branch falls to the ground. The control system for a re-closer allows a selected number of attempts to restore service after adjustable time delays. This is particularly pertinent if a balloon should hit wires, therefore do not assume that if the power has tripped out that it will stay out. For example a re-closer may have 2 or 3 "fast" reclose operations with a few seconds delay between each, then a longer delay and one reclose; if the last attempt is not successful, the re-closer will lock out and usually require human intervention to reset. If the fault is a permanent fault (downed wires, tree branches lying on the wires, etc.) the auto re-closer will exhaust its pre-programmed attempts to re-energize the line and remain tripped out until manually commanded to try again. About 80-90% of faults on overhead power lines are transient and can be cured by auto reclosing. Distribution Network Operator (DNO) Companies

Covering an area of 25,000 square kilometres, Northern Powergrid’s network extends from north Northumberland, south to the Humber and northern Lincolnshire, and from the east coast to the Pennines. The network consists of more than 31,000 substations and around 91,000 kilometres of overhead line and underground cables.

Northern Powergrid is a wholly owned subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company and comprises:

the electricity distribution business, operating through its subsidiary companies Northern Powergrid (Northeast) Ltd and Northern Powergrid (Yorkshire) plc.

the subsidiary Integrated Utility Services (IUS), which operates independently of the distribution business and provides engineering resources, including strategic and technical design of In an emergency, call (24 hours a day); electrical distribution systems, through to construction, North East 0800 66 88 77 Yorkshire 0800 375 675 installation and commissioning of assets for all system voltages up to 132kV.

In a nutshell, large pylons give us a very visible mnemonic about their ability but wooden poles seem somewhat innocuous, put very simply, a vertical alignment of wires on a wooden pole mean that lower voltages are usually present, but a Horizontal alignment of wires on a wooden pole (without foot rests) – almost certainly High voltage. Don’t forget the street lighting and traffic signals too, all run by that stuff called electricity. Consequently any damage to street lighting, over-lit traffic signage or traffic lights could be potentially fatal. ~volts jolt and amps kill ~ 0.5mA = just a tingle 12mA = muscular contractions including involuntary spasms 40mA = respiratory paralysis and ventricular fibriliation 200mA = cardiac arrest

and finally, unbelieveable! Mark Pacan has been a world renowned hot air balloon artist for a long number of years – 28 to be precise, and his work is recognised by its sheer brilliance of imagination and precise detail.

Mark tells the first part of his story on his journey into ballooning;

Once upon a time, there was a young lad who lived in the ordinary town of Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England.

One Easter Sunday afternoon, he was staring, bored, from his bedroom window when suddenly he noticed a light flickering in the sky. He had seen something similar before, in a Nimble bread advertisement and the last ever episode of the children’s TV series, Catweazle. It was the burner of a hot air balloon. Even though the mysterious object was three miles away across the Nene valley, he and his brother jumped on their pushbikes to investigate. And so the adventure began.

Of course, that young lad was me, back in April 1972. The balloons had taken off from Stanford Hall on the Northamptonshire/Leicestershire border in the days before thermals were invented. I spent a magical afternoon chasing balloons around pretty Northamptonshire ironstone villages as balloon after colourful balloon flew low over the fields and hedges. I even got a close up look at a balloon that had landed near the village of Twywell. I rode home, filled with great excitement and my dreams that night were peppered with balloons. The next day I did it all again! I was hooked! Money was saved from my paper round and with it I bought a pair of binoculars that cost a small to a fourteen year old. Any hint of balloon activity in the local paper and I would be scanning the horizons, hoping for a repeat of the best experience of my young life. Running alongside the new ballooning obsession was my love of drawing. I spent lots of time in my bedroom copying pictures I liked and as I gained a reputation at school for being ‘a good drawer’ so I did more. My early renditions were mainly of churches and pop stars. Balloons didn’t feature in my work at all, apart from one oil pastel drawing of Jumping Jack Flash.

When the time arrived to leave school, I was offered a job on a farm where I’d spent the previous three summers helping to shift tractors from field to field during the harvest. The job offer focused my mind. I loved the farm, but I really wanted to be an artist. Luckily (thanks to the then Labour Government) my secondary school had just become a Comprehensive and this meant for the first time in the school’s history we had a sixth form and so a path opened up to a career in art.

After leaving school I completed a year-long pre-degree art foundation course at Nene College, Northampton. Free from the restrictions of school, it was a fantastic experience to be able to concentrate just on art and my learning curve was steep. My future I felt lay in the commercial art sector and the next three happy years were spent on a Graphic design course at Birmingham Polytechnic. I graduated with my degree in 1981, slap bang into a recession! So after six years of further education I became a government artist. I drew the dole.

In the months after graduation I often travelled to London, showing my portfolio to anyone who would see me. Design agencies said I was better suited to advertising and advertising agencies said I was better suited to design. One day an advertising executive said to me, “Mark, I think you really want to be an artist”. I realized she was right. I wanted to paint what I wanted to paint; I’d had enough of fulfilling briefs.

So I gave up on a career in London and began to paint some pictures, just for fun. I’d had a couple of images knocking about in my head, which were mainly of the Nene valley near where I lived and spent a lot of time. I put a tiny balloon in the background of the first one…. in the second painting the balloon was a little bigger and in the third, the balloon, a pair of jeans, was dominant enough to alter the feel of the painting and give it a surreal twist. Suddenly it dawned on me… I will be an artist, but I would specialize in painting hot air balloons. The penny had dropped!

“Why paint balloons” is one of the most asked questions I’ve fielded over the years. Well, here’s why. I like them. No, I love them! Balloons are colourful, surreal and for me symbolize freedom. They float almost randomly over countryside on pleasant days, dreamlike. A Balloon is the perfect vehicle for my child like imagination. From a commercial viewpoint, balloons sported advertising and then there were the people who owned balloons; surely they would want a portrait? And balloon fiestas were beginning to grow, an outlet for my work I’d yet to produce. These were all considered factors that made me decide to - using a 1980’s expression, go for it! After roughly two years of unemployment, I was going to be a proper artist. As mentioned, early 80’s Britain was in a recession and unemployment stood at 3.5 million. I had another stroke of luck to rank alongside my school turning Comprehensive. The Manpower services (thanks to the Conservative government) would, for a year, pay anyone who wanted to go self-employed and could fulfil certain financial criteria, mainly £1,000 in a business bank account. This would help entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground and thus people off the dole. I didn’t need asking twice!

So, I had my business idea, I had a temporary financial cushion. All I needed now was a studio to work from. My farming connection came into play again. Whilst I was at Birmingham Polytechnic, I had worked during the summer holidays on the farm that I was originally offered a job. In fact, I spent almost a third of my time of unemployment working on the farm too. As I needed to raise £1,000 it seemed sensible to go tractor driving and stubble burning again. When I told the farm owner, Mr Bilson my plans, he came up trumps and offered me a rent-free office too!

And so it was in March 1984 that I became a self-employed artist specializing in balloons. I really felt that for the first time strands of my life were coming together. My love for balloons and art had become one. Farming, which was also been a big part of my life, helping me too. I hated being unemployed so to have found my life’s vocation gave my self-confidence a massive boost and I felt that I’d “arrived”. However, my first day in my little office in an egg storage warehouse felt very lonely. This was the big wide world, without the luxury of a reliable wage, no laughs and moral support from fellow students that I had enjoyed at art- college. Ahead lay an uncertain future with just my paintbrushes for company. As if to emphasise the grimness of the times, it was a very overcast March with a cold, cutting, continental wind that our part of England is sometimes exposed to. The colour of spring, ballooning and money seemed a very long way off. But I was determined, focussed and dedicated. As I poured my ideas onto canvas, my confidence in my own painting ability grew. The images became larger and more intricate and I would often work until 10pm when I was into a painting. I had as yet no real outlet for my work, but I was making contacts.

It was fortunate that the 1984 British hot air balloon championships came to Northamptonshire for the first and only time so I had a chance to meet some ballooning movers and shakers.

During the week of the championship, the wind direction brought the balloons over Irthlingborough and I had proof that my balloon painting fame had spread as far as the top of our street as the neighbourhood kids shouted at my bedroom window for me to see the balloons. Just as well they did otherwise I’d have slept through the whole thing! There is something special about seeing balloons flying over your home territory on a beautiful sunny morning and it took me back to that fateful day in 1972. Mr Bilson also offered me part time lorry driving, delivering eggs to hospitals across the country. I needed regular money so that I could continue to progress with my painting as I had few commissions in the early days and the Manpower money was soon to end. One of my first sales of an original painting was of the Champion spark plug balloon to balloon pilot John Mansell.

John drove from Bath and I from Northants in a borrowed car to meet at Oxford and seal the deal. It felt good!

Another first for me in 84 was getting my work on the front cover of British Balloon magazine ‘Aerostat’ for the December issue. I later published the image as a Christmas card and it’s an image that sells well to this day.

In the 1980’s Thatcher’s Britain was changing fast. The miner’s strike was entering its second year and house prices were rising fast, not that I stood a cat in hell’s chance of being able to afford one. I was still living with my mother! In fact had I been a house owner and married, as many of my fellow twenty five year olds were, I would never have “afforded the luxury” of being an artist. But with the experience of growing up in a large family that was never awash with cash, I managed to get through the early years of self-employment without incurring any debt. I even bought my first motor vehicle in 1985. While the yuppies with their ‘loadsamoney’ city bonus’s and even bigger shoulder pads and mobile phones were driving brand new Ferrari’s off the forecourts, I was running out of petrol on the A6 between Burton Latimer and Finedon in my battered old yellow ex BT van. But I didn’t care.

In ‘85, the little van took me to spectate at my first Bristol balloon fiesta where I was introduced to the wonderful world of balloon pins by Patrick and Judith Edwards. I marvelled at Pat’s stall and seeing how busy he was made me convinced that I’d chosen the right career path. But I needed more paintings and knew also that I would need small souvenir priced items before I could meet the ballooning public.

In the days before Google, it was very difficult to glean information about ballooning and balloon events. I eventually managed to join the British balloon and Airship Club, mainly to get my hands on the magazine ‘Aerostat’ which contained a mine of information. A name that seemed to crop up in many an article was the exotic sounding Albuquerque. I’d seen the most inspiring photo of an Albuquerque mass ascent in Dick Wirth & Jerry Young’s book “Ballooning”. To me the photo looked liked it was snowing balloons out of a deep blue sky. I say snowing balloons as opposed to raining balloons because I think that balloons float about randomly so much more like a snowflake than a raindrop. I even called one of my 1985 paintings “Albuquerque Snow” in honour of this apparent ballooning Shangri la. Albuquerque was a place I wanted and now felt I needed to visit. As luck had it, Tony Knight, a fellow Birmingham Polytechnic graduate, rang me with a nice little job illustrating a very expensive London house for an estate agents brochure. Payment for this commission paid for my ticket to the States and in the October of 1986 I made my first trip to New Mexico. I’d never travelled abroad alone so was feeling somewhat nervous as well as excited about the impending adventure. On arrival in the Albuquerque, I was very impressed by the Sandia Mountains and I asked the taxi driver if Albuquerque, on account of its 5,000ft elevation, got a lot of snow in the city. “We get a little in the winter” came the reply. The weather wasn’t that fantastic and the fiesta itself seemed so huge and I felt like a lost little boy far from home. Concession row however was amazing, so many ballooning artefacts and strange foods for sale but I particularly liked the official balloon posters. I spoke to Polly who ran the stall and expressed my desire that one day I would like to be the official fiesta poster artist. The mass ascent of the penultimate day was blown out and on the Sunday, I awoke freezing cold in my hotel only to look outside and get a massive surprise!

“Albuquerque snow…the title of my painting,” I thought as I walked to get some breakfast, snow being the last thing I expected to see. Little did I know then that the “Albuquerque Snow “ painting would turn out to be a bit of a lifesaver sixteen years later, but you’ll have to wait to find out why. The five weeks I spent in the States were fantastic, almost life changing in some respects. But I didn’t feel ready for Albuquerque and a few years would pass before I was to return.

Between 1984 and 1988 my ideas for paintings were not really influenced by the ballooning scene specifically and were very much from the heart. In some respects I felt I was re-creating a surreal version of my childhood. I had lots of ideas and I was proud of my career, especially after being told at Birmingham Polytechnic that I’d never be technically good enough to illustrate. Well, with practice and determination I felt that I had proved that particular tutor wrong. I was used to negativity and people doubting my ability because as a sixteen year old I was asked by my Career’s Officer what I would like to do after leaving school. When I told her I wanted to be an artist, her reply was “Ooh no, you have to be good to be an artist, have you ever thought of working in a shoe factory”? Well, there is very little left of the Northamptonshire shoe industry so it’s just as well I didn’t take her advice!

After four years of relative isolation in my studio in the middle of nowhere I was ready to take my work to balloon fiestas and the wider world. I rolled up at Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire in May 1988 to exhibit my work at a balloon Fiesta for the first time. On my own in a studio painting was so different from taking that work and trying to sell it as it called upon a completely different set of skills as I was to learn. But the weekend will be remembered for the realization of a long held dream. Courtesy of balloon pilot Mike Willoughby, I took to the skies in a wicker basket for my first balloon flight and what a great experience it was!

Although I’m scared of heights, flying in a balloon held little fear and I was grinning like a Cheshire cat as we flew over Cannock Chase along with twenty or so other balloons. I can still hear Mike saying “I wanted to be the first person to fly you.” Thanks Mike! The fiesta was memorable for another reason. Although trade that weekend was disappointing, one couple seemed to be taking a very keen interest in my work. They informed me that the company they worked for, which printed stamps, cheque books and other high quality work had started a fine art department and that they wanted to sign me up! As I couldn’t afford the £1000’s it cost at the time to publish my own work, this was fantastic news. So, seven of my best paintings were published as posters which was just the break I needed if I was to sell affordable items at other balloon fiestas.

Buoyed by my relative success, I booked to exhibit at the Southampton and Bristol balloon fiestas. 1988 was the first year since 1979 that I didn’t work on the farm during the summer months. There was an obvious clash of interests and I had to put my art career first. Mr Bilson decided to sell the farm in 1989 and I was asked to work once more, but just for the duration of the harvest only this time I was to drive a Combine harvester. It was another unusual ambition that I fulfilled because as a child, it was something I always wanted to do. The work was hot and dusty and the days were long but I loved every moment. How I miss those farming days!

1988 was the beginning of what I call the glory years. But I’ll tell you more about that later.

Looking back to when I first decided to specialize in painting balloons, I had little inkling at the time that balloon fiestas would be popping up all over the place by the decade’s end. This was obviously great for me as a balloon artist and one such one new event was the Southampton balloon and flower festival. I borrowed a market stall and in 1988, set off south with some trepidation for a big show. Anyone who has created work and then tried to sell it to complete strangers knows how difficult and morale sapping it can be. Trade was tough and the weather was wet so sales didn’t come anywhere near my over inflated expectations. I was feeling a very long way from home when I espied the familiar face of balloon pilot Ian Chadwick. At the time Ian lived, as the balloon flies in a twenty knot wind, about two miles from my house in Northamptonshire. We had a conversation that went something like this………

Me; how come the balloons are not taking off Ian? Ian; the wind direction is wrong; we will end up on the Isle of Wight. We couldn’t fly this morning because we would have over flown the New Forest and we can’t land there. And yesterday evening the direction would have taken us up the coast and it’s all built up with no landing places and yesterday morning we lost our slot with the Airport. Me; Southampton? What a stupid place to have a balloon fiesta! We ought to have one in NORTHampton! No coast, no airport, hardly any ballooning so no PZ’s, (prohibited landing zones) a big town in the middle of England where nothing much happened. Hold it in August when all the fields are cleared of crop………it would be perfect!”

I remember thinking on the drive home how great it would be to have a big balloon fiesta in Northampton and I even had an idea for a poster!

The following year, 1989, we had exactly the same conversation in Southampton and Ian repeated it to Northampton businessman and balloon pilot, Ronan Harvey. If he thought an idea was a good one, Ronan was a man who would do something about it. Northampton Borough council were approached and so out of Southampton balloon and flower fiesta, Northampton Balloon festival was born.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

1988 was also the first year I took my stall to what is acknowledged as Britain’s biggest balloon fiesta, Bristol. I don’t remember too much about it apart from making my live TV debut, interviewed by Jenny Powell for some Saturday morning BBC1 kid’s programme. It was amazing how many people saw it as I had comments all weekend. No one recognized me, just my work, which is all that mattered. I do recall another incident, just in case you think its all glamour. I was awoken at 3am in the morning by a drunken yob throwing stones at my tent and shouting ‘Oyll fights ya!’ I got out of the tent to see a bare-chested drunken oik staggering towards me. My heart sank as I visualized my soon to be re-arranged face. Suddenly one of the fairground fella’s who had also been woken up by the drunken threats came striding across and told the lout in words of one syllable what he would do to him if he didn’t clear off. Phew!

The late 80’s was a time I did some of my most creative work, such as “Snowbow” but once I started showing my work at balloon fiestas, the style and content of my paintings changed. I was picking up more and more commissions from the balloon world and so had less time to self indulgent. I still needed to be creative, but I had to work with specified balloons and keep to a brief. For instance, one painting commissioned by Flying Pictures specified that The Unipart, Land Rover, Jaguar and Rover balloons had to be together in the centre of the picture. Other car related balloons had to be as far away as possible from each other. Fosters, Guinness and Budweiser balloons couldn’t be next to each other either and none of the aforementioned could be near Rupert!

I had to try and achieve some sort of colour balance too. I used to work out the position of the balloons on a mock up, shifting one here, and another there, making one a little smaller and another slightly larger until I was satisfied with the layout. Of course I would have to come up with an idea too and the pre planning might take quite a few days. A twenty by thirty inch piece of artwork featuring say fifteen sponsored balloons could take approximately twenty one days to paint.

My preferred medium is gouache, a glorified version of the powder paint you used at school. It is great for getting the bright colours I wanted. It is also a versatile medium in that it dried quickly, but wet it and it could be altered afterwards. Watered down gouache could also used in an airbrush and that’s how I did skies and the light and shadows on balloons. But most of the painting was done using paintbrushes of various sizes. It was very fiddly and requiring lots of concentration and far from the relaxed image that most people have of artists. I used to find it difficult to switch off from a painting into day to day stuff, until a commission was complete.

As well as meeting the demands of balloonists, I also had to try and satisfy the souvenir collectors at the balloon fiestas. When you get asked a hundred times “Have you got anything with Rupert on it mate”, you try and make sure that next time you have!

So it was inevitable that I would have to compromise my own ideas to meet the need of clients and the general ballooning populace. But with my commercial art training and the fact that I had wanted to work in advertising, it was no hardship really.

If you remember from earlier, I began my art training at Nene College, Northampton, which was situated on St George’s Avenue, overlooking the town’s “Racecourse” park (thus named because they used to hold horse races on it). Often we would we sent on to the Racecourse for drawing or photography activity. I never dreamt that one day I would be back there, selling my work!

The first Northampton Balloon festival in 1990 threatened to be a huge flop. The press morning was bright, but too breezy for any flying and Friday evening was wiped out by rain. It was a start so low key I suspect most of Northampton wasn’t even aware that a Balloon Fiesta was even taking place.

Saturday, however, was to change all that. A glance from my bedroom window in the morning revealed a cloud base more reminiscent of November than August. A light drizzle was falling so I didn’t particularly hurry myself the sixteen miles into town. Usually at fiestas, I have my stall set up by 6am ready to trade with the early birds but it was midday before I arrived on site. Balloons usually fly early in the morning or late in the evening as the cooler air around these times makes for safer flying. As the warmth of a summer’s day builds, thermals are created which can push a balloon in unpredictable directions which is especially dangerous when landing. So I arrived at the Racecourse in the middle of the day to the very unusual (so unusual, I’ve never seen it happen since) and exciting spectacle of balloons taking off! The air was so slack that I watched two balloons take off and go in opposite directions! This piece of good weather fortune was the making of the balloon festival.

About 30-40 balloons fanned out over the town while the unsuspecting townsfolk went about their day- to-day business and the impact was huge! The town centre ground to a halt as people leapt from their cars to watch the colourful spectacle. I set up my stall and had certain reservations, being on home turf and all that. I needn’t have worried. I did a roaring trade and continued to do so even when it got dark, despite having no lights. I wanted to pack up so I could photograph my first balloon glow. Even though only a few balloons participated, it enthralled me, and the 5000+ crowds. The Racecourse had seen nothing like it since the European final of ‘It’s a knock out’ in 1974.

Sunday was very wet and windy which meant a premature end to the inaugural Northampton Balloon Festival but the Saturday afternoon planted the seed from which the Festival would grow to pulling in 250,000 crowds from all over England within four years. I was proud to have played my small part in its formation.

Another balloon event I started attending in 91 was the Black Horse balloon club ‘All Fools Meet’ at Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire. It was this club that invented what I call “pay and display” balloon art. The club wanted a limited edition balloon print to sell for charity. To raise the finance to cover the cost of the printing, balloonists were asked to pay a fee if they wanted their balloon featured on the painting. I then painted the image and my payment was a free pitch for the weekend and a quantity of prints that I could sell. It was an arrangement that lasted four years and I copied the idea to finance some of my future work.

The summer of 1991 was a very busy one. I took my artwork abroad for the first time, to Metz in France, trading for nine days instead of the usual three. There were lots of international pilots attending and one such American pilot and his huge entourage visited my stall and bought quite a bit of stuff. “Have you ever been to Albuquerque?” I was asked. “Yes, in 1986” I replied. “Did you like it?” I did I explained but I didn’t feel part of it. “Well, if you would like to come again, you can stay with us.” and a phone number was given to me. As my career was building up, I felt I was ready to go back to Albuquerque, five years on from my previous trip. So the following September, I took up the gracious invitation of Dave and Marcia Fox and I had a fantastic week of ballooning, sightseeing and making contacts. Albuquerque was definitely the place to be and I really wanted a stall on concession row and I sensed there were lots of opportunities but I couldn’t see a way in…….. Oh, not more rain! RAVENSWORTH NORTH YORKSHIRE 131.0 mm PATELEY BRIDGE NORTH YORKSHIRE 103.2 mm

The table right shows the LEEMING NORTH YORKSHIRE 100.8 mm amount of rainfall in millimetres BINGLEY WEST YORKSHIRE 97.6 mm from midnight on the 23rd BAINBRIDGE NORTH YORKSHIRE 95.6 mm September to midnight on the 27th September. TOPCLIFFE NORTH YORKSHIRE 92.4 mm FYLINGDALES NORTH YORKSHIRE 85.6 mm Putting this into context; if you take the average BRADFORD WEST YORKSHIRE 83.6 mm monthly rainfall for September as roughly DISHFORTH NORTH YORKSHIRE 78.0 mm 40mm to 80mm, depending on height, then SHEFFIELD SOUTH YORKSHIRE 76.0 mm most parts had at least a month’s worth of rain EMLEY MOOR WEST YORKSHIRE 71.2 mm in three days or less. Investment tip; brollies BRAMHAM WEST YORKSHIRE 65.8 mm and wellies! LINTON ON OUSE NORTH YORKSHIRE 61.4 mm RYHILL WEST YORKSHIRE 57.2 mm CHURCH FENTON NORTH YORKSHIRE 54.2 mm HIGH MOWTHORPE NORTH YORKSHIRE 47.8 mm LECONFIELD HUMBERSIDE 42.2 mm SCARBOROUGH NORTH YORKSHIRE 35.0 mm NORMANBY HALL HUMBERSIDE 32.6 mm BRIDLINGTON MRSC HUMBERSIDE 29.2 mm HULL, WEST PARK HUMBERSIDE 25.2 mm HULL, EAST PARK HUMBERSIDE 22.4 mm

Jonathan Riley 31 August The summer of 2012 has been the wettest for 100 years, according to Met Office data. The worst hit regions have been the north west of England and north Wales with 475mm of rain, representing 171% above the seasonal norm. The West Country has also suffered badly, recording rainfall at 450mm or 184% above average summer figures. Summer 2012 is also likely to be one of the dullest summers on record, with just 399 hours of sunshine up to 28 August. It is the dullest summer since 1980, when the UK saw only 396 hours of sunshine. The only region to have escaped the deluge is the far north of Scotland which recorded just 85% of its summer rainfall. The wet weather has hit harvest efforts. Northumberland farmer Glen Sanderson, Eshott South Farm, Felton, has been left fighting a battle with slugs. "It's miserable - we're all getting really grumpy and fed up," Mr Sanderson said. "It's definitely the worst harvest we've ever had, as it's a triple whammy. Not only is it wet, but we've got really poor yields and penalties for low bushel weights. Financially it's going to be exceptionally difficult. We've managed to get some rapeseed direct drilled, as the land is too waterlogged to plough, and it's now a fighting battle between the seed and slugs in their millions. It's all a bit worrying." And, Flooded out near York - Olivia Cooper 28 September Torrential rain is making life hard work for Catherine Thompson at Holme House, Holme on Spalding Moor, Yorkshire, but at least she has finished harvest. “I had to bring a poorly calf in in the most atrocious weather, and then we had another 5-10mm last night (27 September), so we have had to house all the rest of the cows,” she said. “The cows were marooned this morning, so are housed now – they were galloping through the floodwater to come in. So it’s going to be a long seven-month winter at least,” she added. “Fortunately, there was a cracking straw yield, which helps. “We have a small river running through the farm and it’s backed up the dykes to come out all over the fields. I drilled some winter barley on Saturday and now it’s flooded – the only reason we drilled that field is because we couldn’t travel on the fields it was meant to go into,” she added. “We’re on heavy clay here and it’s far too wet to plough now – I don’t know what I’m going to do. Harvest was pretty dreadful, with the exception of oilseed rape, which was about average, and winter barley, which was surprisingly good. Usually we’re pleased with 7.4t/ha, but the Volume yielded a good 8.6t/ha, so we were very happy.” However, wheat yielded well below 7.4t/ha, compared to the more normal 8.6t/ha, and spring crops were dreadful, said Mrs Thompson. “Spring peas, vining peas and oilseed rape were an unmitigated disaster. It’s a real shame as my father’s been here 50 years this year and it would have been nice to have a harvest to celebrate”. Please bear in mind this sort of news, especially when speaking to the farming landowners…….

DFDS Seaways Operations Department Dover Eastern Docks Dover Kent CT16 1JA

Tel: +44(0) 1304 218400 Fax: +44(0) 1304 218420

August 2012

RE: Carriage of hot air balloon & related equipment on DFDS English Channel ferries

To whom it may concern,

DFDS Seaways permit any tourist vehicle to transport upto a maximum total gas weight of 47kg of propane or butane gas in any number of cylinders. This exemption is granted on all of our English Channel routes (Dover<>Dunkerque & Dover<>Calais). The cylinders are not required to be purged before travel and are permitted to be transported with residual gas within the cylinder.

The maximum limit of gas that is permitted to be carried per vehicle is 47kg (excluding the weight of the gas receptacle)

Equipment which accompanies the use of a hot air balloon, such as a small fuel jerrycan to power equipment (envelope inflation fan), all fire extinguishers (for use in balloon operations) and a helium canister (weather balloon inflation) are permitted to be carried, on the condition that they are used in connection with the operation & safety of the hot air balloon.

This exemption has been granted by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) under Marine Guidance Notice (MGN) 340. A copy of this Marine Guidance Notice can be obtained from the MCA website at http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/mgn340.pdf

If the amount of gas needed to be transported exceeds the exemption limit of 47kg then you will need to comply fully with the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code and provide DFDS with a dangerous goods declaration. More information on these regulations and our processes can be obtained by calling us on +44 (0)1304 218400 or emailing [email protected]

If you are at any of our ports and experience a problem then emergency information can be obtained by our Duty Operations Manager on +44 (0)1304 218451 or by calling myself on the number below.

Kind Regards,

M att J ackson

Matthew Jackson Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor DFDS English Channel [email protected] Tel: +44 (0)7833 504 316 NOTICE OF THE 2012 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE PENNINE REGION BALLOON ASSOCIATION

Notice is hereby given that this year’s AGM of the Pennine Region Balloon Association IS TO BE HELD AT; The Recreation Hall, East Street, Leven, East Yorkshire HU17 5NG on SATURDAY 17th NOVEMBER 2012 at 11am prompt.

AGENDA 1. Apologies for Absence (Please submit apologies to the Secretary before the meeting commences) 2. Minutes of the AGM held on Saturday 12th November 2011 3. Matters arising from the above 4. Chairman’s Report 5. Treasurer’s Report 6. Election of Committee. (Nominations for election together with the nominee’s consent must be sent in writing to the Secretary before the 10th November 2012) 7. Discussions. (Agenda Items should be submitted, in writing, to the Secretary before the 10th November 2012) 8. Any Other Business. Any other business items may be notified to the Chairperson before the meeting opens and will be accepted at her discretion.

Secretary: Mrs Elaine Braund-Smith, Little Rock, 12 Rockwood Rise, Denby Dale, West Yorkshire HD8 8SN Telephone: 07974 316123 or 01484 862713 Email: [email protected]

Committee roles; Chair (usually in conjunction with another role) - To act as figurehead for the club and have casting vote should a tie arise. Secretary/Regional Representative - To receive and disseminate correspondence, take contemporaneous notes at meetings, and produce agenda for forthcoming meetings. Treasurer (linked to Membership Secretary) - To be responsible for all the income and expenditure for the club and security of the bank books etc. To produce a profit and loss account for the members at the AGM. Membership Secretary (linked to Treasurer) - To receive applications from potential members, chase membership fees when due, update the website with members details. Land Owner Relations Officer - To act as liaison between local club pilots, incidents and the National LRO. Keep all the clubs maps up to date with the latest SA information and advise members accordingly. Meet Organiser (Must hold CPL, PPL or CAP611) - To find suitable venues for meets, liaise with the landowner over dates/prices, advertise meets and accept registrations, act as point of contact on site for all housekeeping, appoint appropriately qualified help to run meets if necessary. Social Secretary - Organise social events both in and out of season for the members.

Nomination for election to the committee of the PRBA;

I, ……………………………………………….……………………wish to nominate ……………………………..…………………………………………………… to stand for election to the committee of the Pennine Region Balloon Association for the year commencing after the AGM on Saturday 17th November 2012. Please indicate which role your nominee would be interested in holding; ………………………………………………………………………

I have spoken to the person nominated above and I have their express consent to make this nomination. I confirm that both parties mentioned above are current members of the British Balloon and Airship Club (BBAC) and the Pennine Region Balloon Association (PRBA).

Signed …………………………………………………………………………………..……….. Dated ………………………………………………………………….

Contact telephone number ………………………….………………………………….Email address ……………………………………………………..

Please ensure that this nomination is received by the Secretary by Saturday 10th November 2012

Pennine Region Balloon Association Minutes of the AGM held on Saturday 12th November 2011 At The Recreation Hall, East Street, Leven, East Yorkshire HU17 5NG

Present: 21 members Apologies: 13 members

The meeting opened at 11.00 am, chaired by Terry Chamberlain.

Minutes of the Meeting held on 13th November 2010: The minutes, previously circulated by email and post, were taken as read. Janice Stace proposed that the minutes be accepted as a true record and this was seconded by Jan Mitchinson.

Matters Arising : There were no matters arising from the previous minutes.

Chairman’s Report : Well here we are again, I am sure the years are getting shorter or maybe that I am getting older and slower. The club has had a quite successful year with plenty of flying although the weather has tried its best to stop us on more than one occasion. We have held all our usual meets where possible, although we did decide to drop the Primrose meet this year. We started here at Leven with two lots of flying and that finished 2010. The next was the Brass Monkey meet which was unfortunately poor weather but once again Gary Davis did get a flight in by getting up very early and down before the weather closed in. The Flying Man meet was a last minute arrangement because the weather was not looking favourable, but Malcolm did call it on and flying did go ahead, this time from the caravan park. Most people do enjoy coming to Pocklington even when we don’t fly. The Bedale meet was a huge success once again with lots of people getting some great flying. One of the highlights of the weekend was Andy Marshall and his team bringing the Lindstrand disabled person basket with them, and giving Sean a lovely flight. The Thirsk meet was as usual a wonderful meet, with no problems this time with people walking off with the toilet key! The Driffield meet was smaller this year, owing to restricted numbers but everyone who went said they had a good time, and flying was achieved. This brings us to September and the Naburn Lock meet which was expected to be no flying as the forecast was so bad, but as the fog cleared on the Sunday morning we got a flight in, so seven meets and someone flew at them all. On top of our own meets, a lot of our members attended Metz and this gave them a chance to do a lot of flying and training. One of our members, Craig Westwood, qualified at Metz. One of things from the last AGM was training and a very successful weekend was achieved jointly with the North West group with a lot of people asking for it to be repeated in the future. The club has got a few new things this year, these are the new shirts organised by Rita and I must say they look great. Thank you Rita. We were getting short on advertising leaflets so we have changed it to a post card size and business card size, these should be easier to hand out to people. Anyone wanting any please see Elaine. We are also looking at buying a small marquee to take to meets for people to gather in and car stickers to boost our advertising. We are losing Paul Wade off the committee this time and I would like to thank him for all the work he has done for the club over a lot of years. And lastly, as you know I am coming off the committee this time and I would just like to thank everyone for their support while I have been chairman. Terry Chamberlain

Treasurer’s Report : Paul Wade presented his accounts for the year. The club had, intentionally, made a loss in the year of £188.79, with the overall balance standing at £4,691.34.

Paul was thanked for his treasurer’s work for the past years. The acceptance of the accounts was proposed by Tony Thorndike and seconded by Malcolm Skilbeck.

Page 1 of 2 PRBA AGM 12 November 2011

Election of New Committee : There were seven nominees for the six places on the committee. However, in order to expedite matters, Nicola Bowater offered to withdraw her nomination. This was accepted and the new committee will be formed by Janice Stace, Elaine Smith, Alex Smith, Richard Bowater, Duane Charles and Wendy Hill.

Any Other Business :

Malcolm Skilbeck reported that the PRBA have been invited to attend at the Pocklington Flying Man meet in 2012. However, as the organisers have moved the date of the event, Malcolm is unable to act as organiser. Malcolm will pass on all his information to the meet co-ordinator on the new committee. The date is the weekend of 25 th – 27 th May. The new committee will consider these dates when planning the 2012 meets.

Tony Greensides suggested that instead of attending the Driffield Steam Fair in August 2012, a meet be organised at Thirsk as there would be more opportunity to fly due to crops being harvested by that time. It was reported by Terry Chamberlain that, at the time of the AGM, the committee had not received any invitation to attend Driffield in 2012 in any case. The new committee will again look at this.

Jan Mitchinson asked that the dates for meets in 2012 be arranged and publicised early so help people plan their year ahead. This was acknowledged by the committee.

The subject, raised by Terry Chamberlain in his report, of the PRBA buying a marquee/gazebo for use at meets was discussed. It was reported that the previous committee had asked Elaine Smith to research this issue and report back with prices before a decision was to be made. Whilst Tony Thorndike and others supported the idea in principal, Rita Marshall thought this was an unnecessary expense and was against the proposal. With a show of hands, the majority of attendees at the AGM were in favour, with one against and three people abstaining because of not knowing enough details. With this in mind, it was agreed that more work would be done on the proposal and when prices were available, the findings would be circulated to all members for their approval/rejection before proceeding any further. Elaine Smith will follow up the costs.

Helen Greensides asked a question about the lack of Scoop issues during the year. Elaine Smith apologised for this and promised to rectify the situation in the future. Terry Chamberlain pointed out that a issue with less pages would be acceptable to all in order to keep information flowing to members.

Phil Traviss wanted to record the fact that he is still in possession of the lock and chain used at meets to secure the gas cylinders.

A reminder that the Trans-Pennine Challenge runs all year for anyone wishing to enter by flying from one side of the Pennines to the other. This is also open to the North West Region. Entries for 2011 close at the end of December. To date, there has only been one entry in the current year.

It was commented that the attendance at the AGM was declining.

Phil Traviss thanked the retiring committee for their work on behalf of the PRBA during their term of office and also wished the new committee good luck for the future.

The meeting closed at 11.45 am.

Page 2 of 2 PRBA AGM 12 November 2011 Pennine Region Balloon Association – Meet Registration Form Meet: Humber Bridge Balloon Meet Linley Hill Airfield, Linley Hill Road, Leven, East Yorkshire Location: HU17 5LT 01964 544994 Date: 17th and 18th November 2012

APPLICANT DETAILS (please complete all boxes highlighted in yellow below) Name: Address:

Post Code: Phone Numbers:Home: Mobile: Email: BALLOON DETAILS Registration: Make/Size: Insurance Company: Insured Amount: PERSONS ATTENDING (Total numbers in party) Adults: Children (under 18): TOTAL CATERING (if applicable) Meal choice: see additional dinner booking form

TOTAL AMOUNTS (* when applicable)1 unit = 1 tent, caravan, or motor home. NB some sites require direct booking. Meet entry fee: £ 10 £ 10 * Food (each): £ n/a Total number meals required: n/a £ - * Camping fee: £ n/a Total number of units: n/a £ - T O T A L A M O U N T P A Y A B L E : £ 10

To make payment via a direct bank transfer, please contact; [email protected]

Terms and conditions of meet attendance. I confirm that I am the holder of a valid licence to fly the above noted hot air balloon, and that this hot air balloon is currently certified as airworthy and is covered by an insurance policy of minimum amount specified by the BBAC for taking part in such events.

I will use a PRBA landing card for all flights taken at this meet (these can be obtained free of charge at each briefing)

I will not fly from the launch site without the express permission of the meet director via each briefing. (N.B. Failure to attend the briefing may disqualify a pilot from flying that particular slot.)

I will not vent or refuel any propane cylinders unless in the designated areas. I agree to abide by the above terms and conditions, and any other directions given to me by the Meet Director or PRBA committee member. Please initial. Further details regarding required maps/RT etc. will be sent out to all registered parties after the closing date. Underlined text contains hyperlinks to websites and/or email addresses. Please send your completed form to: Mrs. Wendy Hill Closing date for entries: 59 Lancaster Park Road 10th November 2012 Harrogate HG2 7SN 07940 423140 [email protected] www.bbac.org www.prba.org.uk The Pennine Region Balloon Association is affiliated to the British Balloon and Airship Club and all meets are run in accordance with the rules and regulations thereof. Membership of the PRBA costs only £10 per year, for single or family membership, if you would like to become a member please contact [email protected]. All other enquiries to [email protected] Pennine Region Balloon Association The New Inn, 44 South Street, Leven HU17 5NZ www.newinnleven.co.uk A n n u a l 'H u m b e r B r i d g e M e e t' D i n n e r Saturday 17th November 2012 7pm for 7.30pm PRBA club members £10 per person. Non members £16 per person. Starters; 1. Vegetable soup 2. Chicken goujons 3. Haddock fish cakes 4. Battered Brie wedges Main Courses; 1. Home made steak & ale pie with choice of home made chips or new potatoes/fresh vegetables (Please write in the choices box '1 c' for chips, or '1 p' for potatoes/vegetables). 2. Roast Lamb with new potatoes/fresh vegetables 3. Chicken breast topped with bacon & Stilton with home made chips & salad garnish 4. Salmon fillet with citrus & Dill cream sauce with new potatoes & fresh vegetables 5. Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni with side salad & garlic bread Desserts; 1. Home made fruit crumble & custard 2. Jam sponge & custard 3. Ice cream sundae 4. Fruit cheesecake 5. Cheese board

Name Starter Choice 1 to 4 Main course Choice 1 to 5 Dessert Choice 1 to 5

TOTAL AMOUNT (PLEASE MAKE CHEQUES PAYABLE TO 'PRBA') £ …...... Please send completed form and cheque, by 10th November 2012, to; Richard Bowater, 12 Kensington Rd, Oxbridge, Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland TS18 4DQ

Olympic Quiz winners; The Cannon’s and the O’Boyles who received gold medals and a bag full of goodies including super items kindly donated by Lindstrands, Thank you Lindstrands!

Phil with his runner up prize of arm bands to help him start his Olympic swimming career! Rio here he comes!

Hope I have managed to get everyone somewhere on this page, photos courtesy of Paul Wade and Barnie Smith. A great weekend of flying!

Olympic Quiz second place to the Black Sheep (Rob Clements & Co), and third to the Yorkshire Belles (Wendy Hill and Helen Greensides), should I include Graham and Tony as ‘Belles’?!

Naburn Lock Trophies went to; John Russon for 3 flights, Alex Smith for shortest flight (just over the road!) and Harry Stringer for the shortest flight with the longest retrieve! Thank you Malc for a great weekend, and for getting the weather just right!

Photos courtesy of Harry Stringer and Tom Bulloch.

And finally, I don’t know or care if this photo has been ‘photo shopped’ but as it stands it evokes a huge sense of awe in me and a thought that if this little chap can inflate such a huge balloon, what is stopping any of us adults having a go?

…..and all I have to say now is good luck to the new editor, I’m sure that who ever you are, you will make a better stab at it than I have done!

Over and Out…………….. Oh, that’ll be a yes then!

© 2012 Elaine Smith, Little Rock, 12 Rockwood Rise, Denby Dale, West Yorkshire HD8 8SN