29 November 2011 (Tuesday) - Teston Kite Festival

I was feeling a bit iffy last night, and so had an early night. I slept for the best part of eight hours. I do hope I’m not sickening for something.

A minor disaster – the “My Boy TM –mobile” has failed it’s MOT. As is always the problem with cars, when one needs to take a car to a garage and leave it there, how does one get home again? This morning before work I collected  “My Boy TMfrom the depths of Kingsnorth after he’d dropped his car off for fixing, but I had no idea how he will collect the thing later.
I hope he sorted something out.

A couple of days ago I mentioned about the recent news that the June kite festival at Teston has been cancelled. I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about what’s been going on lately.
Reading some of the postings on the Internet kite forums, I think the general feeling in the kite flying community is one of frustration with the County Council. Many kite festivals are subsidised by local councils because they are a fun event for the public. However Kent County Council seems to want to have a fun weekend put on for the public, and those who are putting on the event will be charged for doing so.
Apparently last year KCC wanted to charge Teston kite festival’s organisers hundreds of pounds for putting on the event (but they didn’t get any).
Something similar happened with the kiting event at Capstone a few months ago.

Much as I like the kite festivals at Teston, I’ve commented in the past that the attendance of kite-fliers has been dropping off. A lot of kite fliers have not been going to Teston for a few years because it is quite a way off the beaten track: it’s in no way a central location.
And reading the forums, it would seem that the attendance at next year’s only Teston kite festival will be even less because the rank-and-file kiter doesn’t like the council’s greedy attitude.
The organisers have said on their website that rather than having a weekend-long event next June, people might just turn up for an informal kite day. I don’t think people are going to travel the distance just for a few hours. I certainly don’t want to.
I can’t help but feel that the event has had its day. Best to let it be a happy memory rather than being something which will slowly fizzle out as more and more people become disillusioned with a greedy council.

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