Q. What is the most unusual or beautiful experience you have had while ballooning?

A. There is a very special pinkness to the light of a Tuscan dawn . It suffuses slowly out of the greys and deep purples of pre-dawn, and anticipates the arrival of a special moment : the Dawn Rush. (This is not a stampede of late balloonists!) It is a little rustling of leaves on trees, a gentle movement of air as the first rays of the sun strike the ground. This is the perfect moment to be airborne, a gentle swelling of the balloon envelope and the first indications of which direction we are going to take. It happens regular as clockwork here in Tuscany, and is part of our daily cycle of living here, in tune with the seasons and the waking and sleeping of the wildlife in the area. It is a humbling moment, rather as when Mole has his Vision in "Wind in the Willows"!

Q. Did you ever see anything funny or bizarre, or just beautiful, that you could not have seen from the ground?

A. The first time that I saw a jet flying below the balloon was terrifying, but also bizarre. Us in an open basket at 20,000 feet, and 250 passengers hermetically sealed in a tube flying at 500 mph and 5000 feet below us and unaware of our existence! This strange experience came as we were flying over the Alps, a breath-taking event that remains engraved on my memory : 280 miles in just under 3 hours, and we landed without a breath of wind 150 yards from a restaurant after a 10-minute vertical cold descent from 12,000 feet! Whew!

Q. Have any of your clients had unusual or quite vivid fears of flying? Have you had to deal with any panic-stricken clients? If so, how do you do that?

A. Most people have a little nervousness to deal with if it is their first balloon ride We spend a few minutes giving clear instructions on what to do and what not to do ("Don't get out without telling the pilot," etc!). This allows most people to come to terms with their fears. The first ten minutes of a flight is usually so entrancing and breath-taking that they forget their nervousness and by the end they say, "I'm so glad that you persuaded me to go. I wouldn't have missed it for the world," or similar. My admiration, however, was for a stout German who had won a prize flight in Tuscany His wife wouldn't come anywhere near the balloon but he was determined to overcome his fears - and he was terrified! He spent the whole flight with gritted teeth holding on with both hands, his head fixed in a grimace, eyes on the horizon! It was only on his second glass of fizz (the "Survivors' Toast") that he relaxed enough to say, "Thank you,that was great!" Great guts I think. I particularly remember a delightful American couple. She a fun-loving dizzy blonde and he a gun-toting detective with the narcotics squad. He was almost paralysed with fear! She kept on saying, "Come over here and let's have our photo taken," and he would say, "I can't move my head!". However, the sequence of delicious views and perspectives finally loosened him up and he was able to enjoy the last half of the flight fully. They sent a lovely thankyou note! The fear seems to be a combination of things - the unknown, the fear of flying, the lack of brakes and a steering wheel, etc. People generally know if they suffer from vertigo, and they often suspect that they will do so in the balloon. In fact, this hardly ever strikes. And there is an easy solution if you do begin to feel strange. Just look out at the horizon as if from the top of a hill. I think that there has to be a moment of transference, when the passenger places his or her confidence in the pilot. Until this happens the passenger will probably continue to be nervous at the expense of properly enjoying the flight.

Q. Have you seen people visibly relaxed and calmed by the ride?

A. The stability of the basket in flight is a surprise to many. It is an ideal platform for film cameramen for example. After the noise and kerfuffle of take-off the immediate peace and gentle movement through space is a great surprise. One vicar in England described it thus : "It was as if we stopped moving after a bit, and God started to crank the little wheel that moved the whole Earth along below us." Rather apt I think, as there is no wind on your face (you go with the wind) and little impression of speed. One party of English wives (their husbands wouldn't come!) told me that I had to persuade one of their number who was wobbling. I did so and they all got up at 3.30 AM in order to drive 100 miles and be at the launch site for dawn. There were general nerves amongst the assembled company of husbands, wives, and children, and squeaks of excitement as we took off; but the extraordinary peace and gentleness of the dawn light and landscape calmed all the ladies down, and we had a memorable flight over forests and valleys until we landed in a clearing into the arms of the families and chaos ensued again!

Q. What is it like to be a balloon pilot?

A. I remember a moment with a German TV company, as we brushed through the tree tops and back down into a valley to look at some deer. The interviewer asked me, "So this is all you do, just fly around in the sky all day?". To which I replied rather too glibly, "I had to work hard to get a job like this." It was meant in a slightly ironic sense, as obviously it is a very pleasurable way to earn a living. However, rather as when you sit down in a great restaurant you are not aware of the large number of people that make it possible for your dish to be served so exquisitely and so perfectly by your waiter, so with ballooning we try to mask the mental and physical effort involved in getting four people airborne on their chosen day, with the champagne breakfast all perfectly ready for presentation at the drop of a hat in any field, vineyard, or forest clearing! From strict control by Civil Aviation Authorities, Air Traffic Control, manufacturers tests, pilot checks, medicals, and all the bureaucracy involved, to the efficient administration of bookings, to the nitty gritty of gassing up every day, keeping the kit in good order, and simply being pleasant and accommodating to a seemingly endless string of new faces and characters - there is never a dull moment! But of course the great plus is the daily challenge of having to face up to yet another perfect dawn, another exquisite flight over a legendary landscape, and yet another glass of champagne. Life grinds on!