I got home this evening to find a relatively long, narrow and thin package had been delivered today. It was quite heavy and labelled ‘Fragile’ on both the back and the front, and for the life of me I couldn’t think what it could be, as I didn’t remember ordering anything fragile.Anyway on opening the package all was revealed, the contents were hardly fragile being a pair of ground stakes AKA Mooring Spikes, which I do now recall ordering.

Originally I started out using corkscrew dog stakes for anchoring my kites, however after having had several sheer whilst screwing them in I have moved away from using them and instead I have been using Marquee Pegs which I picked up at a vintage rally a couple of years ago. Whilst they are fine for the majority kites due to their relatively short length I have had them move in soft soil and very high winds when flying the bears as a result of which I tend to use two for the main anchor and a third as a safety. Thus it was that I decided to get myself a couple of mooring spikes with ‘D’ rings.

Having nearly given up due to the prices I was getting on chandler’s websites I was surprised and pleased to come across Black Country Metalworks who have a whole range of spikes from plain to ‘D’ ringed with chain rings. I paid less than £5 each for these two plus postage, unfortunately due to the VAT change they are now just over £5. The postage was steep, but covered both spikes and I think I could have got more for the same price.