August is often a wash out and 2023 is no exception. With ‘high’ hopes, I paid £30 for Blue (closest to the Ashton Court venue parking), for the Bristol Balloon Fiesta. The wind was 12knots when we left, for the two and half drive. (In the Solent sailing friends were dealing with 20 knots.) I realised two hours into the journey to Bristol, it would be unlikely, and it was. We hung around for a couple of hours, like hundreds of others. No balloons.
That is why the ‘waltzers’ were added to the title, we spent £12 on 3 x waltzer ride, a 5/10 compared to dozens of other 8/10 experiences.
Optioning
When a writer with a literary agent writes a book, usually fiction, one of the questions is how much will the film rights make? The hotter the book, the higher the bidding. In one film company I worked for, an important job for Jenny was to ensure the various options on books, owned by the film company, were up to date. Once a book falls out of option, another company can pick it up. It has been know that a film company can be held to ransom by the agent, if they have almost but not quite raised the funds for a film based on the book.
Back to the balloons, I treated this year as recce, only thing to do with no balloons. Next year I shall have many options, only go it if is a sunny, windless day. If it is windy with sporadic rain, typical August, instead I shall go to the New Forest Fairy Festival, or a Folk Festival in Wimborne. Or spend the day in the cinema catching up with block busters.
Or, I shall stay overnight in the south west of Bristol overlooking Ashton Court estate, and view it from the hillside. And if the weather is ‘inclement‘ as the website described we shall head off to Wales or Devon or home. This is a typical of example of what I am calling “optioning”.
Anyway FYI http://Bristol Balloon Fiesta