On Monday evening at 6pm I am going hot air ballooning!

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and I'm scared witless. Excited too, obviously, because it's something I've always wanted to do. But I've just realised I'm terrified of heights and I'm convinced I might fall out of the basket :(

Will it be cold up there? What should I wear? Do you think it's very bumpy when the balloon lands? Is drinking vast quantities of booze (to calm nerves) before take-off a good idea or not?

― C J (C J), Saturday, 13 September 2003 18:47 (twenty-two years ago)

this is awesome, you must take photos if you can - attach yourself to the basket with a strap if you're that worried about falling out ;) i can imagine it being very cold so wrap up, and a LITTLE dutch courage should assist you i reckon. good luck.

― stevem (blueski), Saturday, 13 September 2003 18:58 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm so jealous. And what stevem said.

― s1utsky (slutsky), Saturday, 13 September 2003 19:00 (twenty-two years ago)

This was all organised on the spur-of-the-moment (one of my friends has contacts with a hot air ballooning company). There are two balloons (one with 8 passengers, one with 6) going up .... we are all neighbours in the village where I live. I shall take zillions of pictures and I'll post the best one here next week.

How does one get in and out of a balloon basket elegantly? I have a feeling I'll be the one doing the barrel-roll and looking like a dork!!

― C J (C J), Saturday, 13 September 2003 19:09 (twenty-two years ago)

key to looking elegant - wear a white scarf! i bet you can bumble around like crazy and still look like a graceful aeronaut in one of those. have fun!

― jones (actual), Saturday, 13 September 2003 19:47 (twenty-two years ago)

b-but what if it strangles me?????

(who was that film star who was strangled by her scarf as she sped along in an open-topped sportscar? I forget....)

― C J (C J), Saturday, 13 September 2003 19:53 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah, isadora duncan - but unless these new-fangled hot-air balloons are equipped with wheels and axels for highway driving her fate needn't concern you much i don't think

― jones (actual), Saturday, 13 September 2003 19:58 (twenty-two years ago)

will it be a funny shaped balloon (see my comment on the guitar thread here).

oooh, you might be going over my house. You will rememeber to wave, won't you?

― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 13 September 2003 20:35 (twenty-two years ago)

If we go that way, I will certainly wave at you Mark, and I'll take an aerial picture of your road for you as well, if you like - which end are you? grandpont end or park end?

I don't know if it's going to be a funny-shaped balloon or not. I hope it is!

― C J (C J), Saturday, 13 September 2003 20:47 (twenty-two years ago)

i wanna go!

― smoky topaz (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 13 September 2003 20:49 (twenty-two years ago)

park end. it's all Grandpont, you mean park end or river end!

or as my mother once said, "Mark lives in a road that's a cul-de-sac at both ends!"

― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 13 September 2003 20:50 (twenty-two years ago)

and aerial photo most appreciated, cheers.

oh and CJ, you're not mates with R*ch*rd Br*ns*n, are you???

― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 13 September 2003 20:55 (twenty-two years ago)

take an oompa loompa with you for cushioning.

― Carey (Carey), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:16 (twenty-two years ago)

I've met RB a few times, but I wouldn't really say we're mates :)

So - I need a white scarf, a camera, and a quick snifter of brandy to settle my nerves. I wonder if balloon baskets wobble about much? (if they do, you'll be able to hear my knees knocking v loudly as I pass overhead!!)

― C J (C J), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:20 (twenty-two years ago)

I was always rather scared of the oompah loompahs in the film, you know. They looked a bit sort of creepy.

― C J (C J), Saturday, 13 September 2003 21:21 (twenty-two years ago)

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