The team has some exciting news to share in our latest blog post, we can now officially confirm that we have partnered up with the British Balloon Museum and Library to help raise awareness of the awesome work that they do help preserve the history of ballooning in the UK.

Firstly for those who don’t know, who are the British Balloon Museum and Library or BBM&L for short?

The BBM&L was formed in 1979 with the purpose of trying to preserve the many items associated with the very popular activity of ballooning. As a registered charity, it is run entirely by volunteers and is funded by subscriptions from its members who are referred to as “Friends” as well as donations.

Since its inception the BBM&L has saved dozens of historic balloons and built up a large collection of equipment such as balloon burners, baskets, instruments, and a wide range of ballooning memorabilia such as stamps, posters, prints, cards, models, photographs, trophies, badges etc. They have also amassed a comprehensive collection of books, technical papers and magazines.

The museum is currently “virtual” and a fantastic archive full of interesting information, photographs and other media can be found on their website, https://www.bbml.org.uk/ . The museum does however have a display in the reception area of Cameron Balloons Ltd. in Bristol, which demonstrates the varied nature of items in the collection.

Every two years, the BBM&L hold an Inflation Day. Many of the older envelopes are taken out of storage and inflated. As many as 100 balloons at Inflation Day make a spectacular sight. The team has attended this in the past and it is in our calendar for 2026 (dates to be announced).

So how will Molly Mae Ballooning help support the museum? The museum has entrusted the team to look after one of their historic envelopes with the aim of getting it back in the air so it can be flown again. The balloon in question is G-BVBJ, Maxwell House 1. This amazing balloon was built alongside its sister balloon G-BVBK in 1993 to promote Maxwell House Coffee. The balloon stands at a whopping 100 feet tall and weighs nearly 200KG. In its commercial life it was operated by Flying Pictures and following the balloon being used for an incredibly impactful TV advert it went on tour for several years until it was retired from service at the end of its contract. The BBM&L was then donated the balloon where it remains in their care until this day. The balloon was last flown by the Museum in 2018 and after a long period in storage will now be displayed again in the coming months. The team hopes to take G-BVBJ to the Northampton Balloon Festival and possibly a couple of other events too where we will also be promoting the excellent work the museum carries out.

Below are a selection of pictures taken this morning 13/07/2025 of our test inflation of G-BVBJ before taking it into our care.

Please consider joining the Museum. Membership is £15 per year paid for by standing order, for this you get a limited edition lapel pin badge, a quarterly magazine delivered straight to your inbox, a certificate and the knowledge that for less than £1.50 a month you are supporting them to continue preserving the history of ballooning for generations to come.

Lastly here is the link to a Youtube video of the original Maxwell House TV advert from the 90’s. https://youtu.be/3j3rDCWwoxw?si=5CfD9HujszjH_obj