The dust has now settled on the 41st edition of the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta 2019, which will sadly be remembered as one severely marred by the weather.
If the festival's organisers hadn't taken the shrewd decision to put on a Thursday morning mass ascent for the first time in the event's history, no balloons would have flown above Bristol at all.
But their last-minute idea, announced on Wednesday afternoon, proved to be an inspired one as wind and rain wreaked havoc for the rest of the weekend, forcing all the subsequent mass ascents scheduled to take place to be cancelled.
Such dire weather would have been cruel at any Balloon Fiesta but it was particularly galling this year as some magnificent special shapes were set to appear, including Darth Vader, which was made in Bristol in 2007 but has never before flown here.
The giant head of the villain floated above Bristol on Thursday morning and even passed majestically over the Suspension Bridge, but many had hoped to see it make further appearances over the weekend.
Following a bright start to the Fiesta, the weather then took a turn for the worse, putting the first of two Night Glows on Thursday evening in jeopardy.
The organising committee battled on, however, and the spectacle went ahead - albeit a scaled-back version with just the bunsens lighting up in time to music and no envelopes.
Sadly there were no further ascents or Night Glows after this, and conditions got even worse on Saturday, when the entire festival site was closed to the public.
It was only the second time in the event's steeped history that this has happened. The first was in 2008, when the site was closed before a Night Glow was due to take place.
The closure remained in place until 10am on Sunday morning, and although the inclement weather continued - interspersed with welcome spells of sunshine - organisers did their best to put on a show for the modest-sized crowds.
The main arena played host to entertainment from the Emoji company and a number of special-shaped balloons were able to tether, including Darth Vader and the Oh Bear, which flew in all the way from Taiwan for its first UK appearance.
It would be hard to argue with the fact this year's Balloon Fiesta has been a bit of a let-down, through no fault of the organisers of course, who should be commended for their efforts, but it still managed to serve up some memorable moments which highlight just why it's so popular.
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