A few days before I set off on my Norwegian adventure I unexpectedly took a balloon flight above Bristol, and I was not the only one up in the air. There were multiple balloons. It was an incredible experience and when we came into land I immediately thought of this month’s theme.

The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is one of the largest in Europe; with mass launches happening twice a day over four days, at 6am and 6pm. The first fiesta was in 1979, and with the exception of the pandemic years has taken place every year ever since. The 2025 festival is considered by the organisers to be one of the best ever to have taken place, with more than 300 balloons flying over the long weekend.

So as you might expect my landing shots were not my favourites from my hour in the sky, but so many of those I simply couldn’t make square. However I don’t want you to miss out on them, and the rules allow me to share rectangles if there are also squares. So here’s a small selection and if you look carefully (you may need to click on gallery) you should spot the square box in the sky.

Did you spot the box, and if so did you notice anything unusual about it? It is called the Slick the Dragon as it has an actual dragon on it. You may have noticed some other unusual balloon shapes as there is also Fly Alien, Slither the Snake, Wallace and Gromit Rocket, Buster the Dog, Bella the Bulldog and Oggy the Dragon. Here are some clearer shots in case you missed them.

I am pondering whether we could organise a blogging event at next year’s festival, and perhaps book balloon flights together. The timing of flights means having to stay in the area, and the flights are not cheap unless you happen to know the pilot or balloon sponsor! However it is something to think about . . . . maybe. In the meantime everyone is welcome to join in the fun of Squares, whether you square daily, weekly, at weekends or just the once this month. The frequency of your squares is whatever suits you and your blog.

The tag is NovemberShadows, and using it as well as pingbacks & links in the comments helps me enormously when I am curating the galleries. The added bonus is that doing this also enables more of us to discover your squares. Now here’s that box again.

102 thoughts

  2. Pingback: Shadow #2 (Wordless Wednesday – 5 November 2025) – bushboys world
  3. Pingback: November Shadows: Squares 4 – Marianne Villanueva
  8. Pingback: The Flower Hour #5: Shadows FALL on These – Second Wind Leisure Perspectives
  10. Pingback: Only a shadow of myself | Kamerapromenader
  12. Pingback: The Numbers Game #97 | Graham's Island
  14. Pingback: At night all cats are grey – pictures imperfect blog
  15. Pingback: Shadows lined up | This, that and the other thing

  17. What fun, Becky! There are balloon festivals in the Southwest (US), but I’ve never been to one yet. Not sure I’d go up in a balloon, because I’m not a fan of heights, but I love the seeing balloons.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  18. I’ve really enjoyed the balloon flights I’ve taken but I’ve never been to a balloon festival. I would definitely be up for a meet-up combined with ballooning 😀 Your photos of all the colourful balloons really capture the atmosphere. I love the dragon balloon and other characters but to be honest I think I like best the balloons that look like balloons, like yours (judging by its shadow)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  19. Pingback: Lobster Creels – Ruth Blogs Here

Leave a reply to Toonsarah Cancel reply