Harewood House Kite Festival 2012

First, an update on the cycling. My brother has finally made it all the way to John O'Groats, the end of the road at the Northern tip of Scotland, on schedule. Please read their blog and support the Cotswold Care Hospice.

Harewood House is a magnificent setting for a kite festival, on the North lawn of the great house. This year, we were lucky enough to have a visit from Lord and Lady Swift:

The wind came from the North, over the hill and over the trees, making the flying conditions very challenging. Kathleen and I reacted by flying high, using every inch of the 1000' heigh clearance to find clean wind. The Manta Ray could be seen from miles away, however, the ground wind was all over the place, causing the bear to preform some amusing antics:

Aside from our stack, it was largely a weekend for Revs and fighter kites:

But that didn't stop everyone else from enjoying themselves in the beautiful surroundings.

Harewood marked a goodbye to our beloved gecko. Our largest piece it has served us well but has now found a new home with Sue and Craig Harby. This gecko is the kite that first attracted them to kite flying, when they saw it at Solfest seven or eight years ago and now they get to fly it for themselves. We don't have a picture of it at Harwood, but here it is at Berck: