Up, Up and Away!

Just realised that in most of my balloon photos that actually featured me my feet were on the ground. So here is one just to prove I was in the air. Just in case you can't find me under my hat I'm in the back row to the right of the pilot! (He's the one in the middle!).

Safe on the ground

And a glass of champagne to celebrate! When can I go again?

A Perfect View

I love this photo with the church and the shadow of the balloon, can't remember which little village it was but I was prepared and had my GPS watch on so I've got the whole flight mapped! We covered nearly 11 miles in 1 hour 20 minutes.

Rewley Road and Port Meadow

We flew away from Oxford, (not much choice in that matter!), and followed the A34 over our bungalow, Kennington, Radley, towards Wittenham Clumps and Wallingford. We skimmed over the Thames in a daring bit of flying a few metres from the water then up and over the opposite bank and tree tops! The views were fantastic and the peace and quiet just serene. What a way to see the countryside.

In the basket

It was a bit of a squash and because I was so excited I didn't really notice the take off. One second the ground was there the next it wasn't.

Inflation

Didn't seem to take long to blow it up as it were! First the balloon is inflated with cold air and then at the end the burners are used to continue to fill with hot air, then with the balloon tethered to the truck everyone has to leap in and prepare for take off.

Unpacking the balloon

Next job to lay the balloon out on the ground and spread it out like a giant tablecloth. The tiny splot on the left is me showing how enormous the balloon was.

Balloon Flight over Oxford

Finally on Good Friday the wind and weather conditions were perfect for my 40th birthday balloon flight from Oxford. First job,(no easy ride here), was to drag the basket off the back of the trailer. Made in Somerset from English willow it was reasuringly sturdy and very heavy.

and after!

Well not too bad for 5km later and one massive hill right at the end. I made it in 37 minutes 41 seconds!

Before........

Would like to pass this off as my after shot but.............

5km Resolution Run

So here we go again after a long blog silence I know! High on our success at the Santa run I immediately came home and entered this 5km race for the Stroke Association at Shotover in Oxford. Attempts to persuede dear friends to run with me fell on deaf ears when the location was known. In the words of a five year old in my Year 1 class the hills, "Are like little mountains!". He was right. So on a fine Sunday morning my support team and I arrived at Shotover for my solo attempt at mountain running. Here's Elliot with his poster "Run Tash Run". It was alright for him he got pushed everywhere!