If you didn’t manage to go to the Bike and Kite festival on Saturday, then try and go on Sunday. It was really something special, as the video above by YouTube user Jadepike4 demonstrates.
There are always two distinct camps of kite fliers: The model fliers, like inverse puppeteers with their enormous hovering cats, people and teddy bears looming over us. And the stunt fliers, flinging their synchronised kites through the air. I wonder whether the two tribes get along. Do the stunt fliers look down on the modellers as tacky and gauche? Do the modellers think of the stunt fliers as showy and macho? Or maybe not. Maybe they’re just happy to be up in the air.
Here’s an idea for next year – one up from the flying cats (great though they were). In the 16th Century, the Chinese invented a man-lifting kite. This would draw in the crowds next year! Okay, it may be a little dangerous, but could be very exciting too… Perhaps I’ll volunteer to get hoisted up. Makes a change from attaching an old Nokia to a kite.
Click on the Keep Reading link below to view my hundreds of photos – apologies for the dodgy quality, there are far better ones inside the Flickr Blackheath collection.
UPDATE: This post has been modified from the original – please see the comments for details.
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- Blackheath Bike and Kite Festival 2009
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2 Comments
June 14, 2009 at 9:48 am
I really enjoy your posts, but feel I must point out that the term you use to describe Aborignal people from North America is not acceptable. The term “Red Indian” is outdated, racist, and offensive. The terms you should look to use (if you’re not referring to a specific band or tribe) are: Aboriginal (Canada), First Nations (Canada), Native American (US), or Native American Indian (US).
June 14, 2009 at 10:10 am
You’re right… I thought about it, it was late at night, and I wasn’t sure what to put… The kite itself was a cartoon representation of a Native American, and I considered writing that, but I thought it sounded too “wordy”… No offense meant, and it’s been altered now! Hope you enjoyed the kites!