I got a call from John Q to say that the access gate at Agnew's Hill had a new padlock. This would have been a first for that site. It turned out later that the lock is on another gate and not the access one. Problem solved.
I had a student coming out and opted for Big Collin as the forecast was for the wind to be ESE in the afternoon. That turned out to be the case and I had a quick soaring flight as my student, Ian Ramsey, arrived.
The windsock in the landing area was having a bit of difficulty making up its mind as to wind direction and kept switching from ESE to SE and back again regularly. The wind at takeoff was 16mph as Ian went off for his first flight in a while, having done part of a CPN course in Morocco some time ago. This was a straightforward soaring beats with bottom landing which he nailed beside the windsock as planned.
We then took the lazy way up - via the track from the windfarm using Ian's four wheel drive Range Rover. Ian's next flight getting plenty of lift, he practiced big ears and as the wind at the bottom had gone Easterly he landed further along above the lane, promptly falling over in his excitement.
I had another soaring flight as Ian decided that was enough for one day. As we packed up, Dermot Lagan arrived and climbed the hill to be rewarded by an excellent soaring flight in the easing wind, finishing with a standup landing at the bottom. See https://youtu.be/O67eesS5Amk.
After putting his wing into his car, Dermot discovered that his ignition key had come apart and the main metal part was missing. Without that - and not being a professional car thief - his car would not start. We searched for a good while, including opening and shaking out his paraglider until I happened to glance into the recess in the inside of the back door and there it was! Hard to explain how it got there but Dermot was very relieved.
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