The Search For Enlightenment

After a day of low key retail therapy, shopping for knickers and a bikini for Josie, we were all looking forward to a pleasant early evening picnic up on the hill just along from the Dower House in Stapleton.

We were expecting to watch the balloons launching from Ashton Court, and the weather was beautiful, bright and sunny with nice cooling breeze. So with picnic packed and arrangements made with the rest of the team, we set off on the short walk to the hill.

By the time we made the climb to the top, Sam, Georgie, Nigel and little Merrin had already set up camp and were tucking into their picnic. We laid out the blanket and tucker and made ourselves comfortable while we waited for Charlotte, Rob, Zach and Oliver to arrive.

Now it isn’t the easiest place to find, even though you can see the big house for miles around, and the Savage clan took the circuitous route to get to us. But it was worth the wait. Sam, Rob and Nigel had fun climbing onto the monument on the top of the hill, the rest of us sat and chatted while we munched our way through the sandwiches and other goodies.

But the wind was getting up and the temperature dropping as the sun sank behind the hill to the East. We sat and sat, waiting for the balloons to launch but nothing appeared. Rob and I went off to the cottage to get the binoculars and another bottle of water, but by the time we returned, the team were decamped and clambering down the hill.

It was way too cold for the children and way too windy for the balloons, so although we had a great family picnic, the main reason for being there never came to fruition. Still, fun was had by all, families were introduced to families and all in all it was a success, even though we had a failure to launch.