Wind and Kites

Just as I was feeling totally fed up with all the wind we’ve been having, I discovered that the 37th annual kite festival was being held further up the coast at Berck-sur-Mer. Although I couldn’t make the 2hr journey to visit it, I’ve been enjoying the many photos and videos which have appeared online throughout the event. It also reminded me of the time I went to a similar (though smaller) kite festival in Dieppe almost 14 years ago.

On the day that I was there, the weather was mainly cloudy and there were a lot of aquatic kites in the air. If you look closely at the above photo, you can see the pincers of a crab against the backdrop of white cliffs, his body concealed behind the ‘friterie’ (food stall serving chips and other hot snacks). I can’t explain the presence of the teddy bear amongst the various squids and fishes, and that’s maybe a stripy land snake rather than a sea snake.

Here’s another photo of the same group of kites taken from a different angle. A grey ray can be spotted with its mouth open in an expression of surprise at finding itself airborne.

Continuing the aquatic theme (and possibly my favourite that day) were these clown fish being pursued by sharks:

Different competitions are organised during a kite festival. The synchronised kite flying events are always impressive. I’ve seen photos of larger than life superhero kites. You can wander around stalls showing various kite-making techniques or kites from different countries. Some areas are marked out on the ground for garden kites or musical sections. The wind is really harnessed in many different ways.

I took photos of flowers made from recycled materials:

This last photo returns to the aquatic theme with ‘Le Monde de Nemo’:

Whilst the Berck-sur-Mer festival has been held every year since 1987 in April (in 2025 it will be from 12th-21st April), the Dieppe one is normally every 2 years. When I looked to see the dates for 2024 however, I discovered that they’ve postponed it due to the Paris Olympics and the next one will be in September 2025. I hope I’ll be able to attend and take more photos to add to my collection.

Here’s a 30Words30Days piece I wrote last week inspired by the kite festival for the prompt ‘wind’:

The boat tossed about amongst the clouds, the wind filling its sails. A black cat floated nearby, one paw waving in greeting. At Berck’s annual kite festival, anything could fly.

Whilst we’re discussing the wind, I’d like to mention an art exhibition I went to at the Muma gallery in Le Havre in October 2022. The title of the exhibition was ‘Cela qui ne peut être peint’ (‘That which cannot be painted’) and it posed the very interesting question of how can artists paint the wind. Whilst we can feel the wind on our skin and tugging at our clothes, hear it whistling down the chimney or rustling the leaves of a tree, it’s not actually something we can ‘see’.

The exhibition contained lots of examples of paintings where we know for sure that the wind is present. Often, the trees are bending or the artist has included washing blowing on a line or a windmill which we can imagine to be turning. Seascapes depict rough waves and boats in full sail. Of course there were examples of paintings which includes clouds with faces blowing hard, their cheeks all puffed out. Some made use of the arrows we see on the weather forecast.

I must try to remind myself of the uses of wind rather than dwelling on its destructive powers. After several years of glass panes blowing out of my greenhouse, I finally seem to have found a solution with a secure clamp on one side and a piece of wood on the other wedged between frame and sliding door.