May has been a somewhat chaotic month at Zebedee, with no landline or email at our Hungerford HQ for two weeks whilst BT re-erected one telegraph pole demolished by a car on 9th ….!
Several balloons meanwhile have sold including a C-80 envelope and an oldish 250 envelope. A couple of balloons have also been withdrawn from sale.
New for June are a complete 77, 80, 130 and 180, and a pair of 77 envelopes together with more bottom end equipment and four fans from Koen in Belgium plus a trio of trailers from Exclusive Ballooning. Andrew Holly also advises us that he is running an online pin shop – see www.exclusiveballooning.co.uk/balloon-pins
See Cameron’s special offer Concept 70 package – a really good offer if you are going down the new balloon route.
Also reported to us by Nick Purvis at Cameron Balloons is the ‘unlawful capture’ of 2 Ukranian balloons UR-URH an O-77 s/n 10540 and UR-UAR an O-90 s/n 10541 from Simferopol Airport in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea. We think it unlikely that they will be offered to western countries but just in case ….
The last weekend in May (actually 31st May/1st June) saw the first “Little (and Large) Solo Balloon Meet” held at Sackville Lodge, Beds and enjoying good weather – all four slots being flown with 20 different one-man balloons making 55 free flights – and 3 more inflated only. Winner of (the last) pair of Zebedee mugs was Tim Ward who has restored and flew G-BOYO an Annexe II Cameron V-20. Well done to Dave Such for organising this successful new event in the UK calendar.