On Saturday we went to Milton Keynes for a spot of indoor skydiving at Airkix. I didn't know this is what I would be doing in advance as it was a late birthday surprise. The experience consists of a short training session where you are told the safety rules and shown how to adopt the appropriate position in the air stream. Then it's on with the suit, goggles and helmet and off to the tunnel. This is an impressive sructure. You stand on a mesh above a deep hole with some complicated vents. Above you is a 10m stack with some powerful motors on top to suck the air through.

You only get a couple of minutes flying time but it feels like longer. You are supported by a 100mph wind and a little help from the instructor. Everyone managed to fly around the chamber, but without much real control. It's a very strange feeling. The instructor showed off by ramping it up to 140mph and pulling some impressive moves.

It was a unique experience and I may be tempted to try it again, even though it's an expensive one. I've never been that keen on the idea of jumping out of a plane, but so this is a good alternative.

There was a little more 'air time' on Sunday when I took the kids kite flying. The single string flew well until we broke it. A few crashes caused one pole to break through the fabric again. We also have a twin string parafoil that we had never flown before. We gave it a go, but have not worked out how to get it flying yet.

I rounded off the weekend with some African rhythms at Secret Bass. I've not been for a while, so it was good to get into it again.