This afternoon produced an unusual amount of war commentary. Mr Mitchell returned at 2.50 saying that Mr Moffat had told him that he had been told by the porter at Dunblane station this morning that the officials at Fife had told him to beware of what appear to be children's balloons. These balloons are full of poison gas. Anyone seeing one should refrain from touching it, but should call a policeman instead.

I said I thought the Germans would hesitate to use such a method, because the direction of the wind is west to east and we could so easily retaliate, and there was a risk that their own balloons would blow back on them. Mr Mitchell did not agree.

At 3 p.m. Miss Bousie returned from lunch saying that there were bills about saying 'Small balloons, don't touch'. Miss Bousie wishes to know why the Government have not told us how to handle such a balloon. Should one put water on it? Mr Mitchell's advice was to call a policeman. She rejected this as there may be no policemen in the vicinity. Mr Mitchell said, 'Then just go on and forget about the balloon.'

Miss Bousie: 'There may be people in the vicinity who could not know that it was dangerous. No. I would stand beside the balloon -- no matter how long I had to stand -- until a policeman happened to come that way. Go on and forget that it was there? Good gracious no! There was too much of that sort of thing in this world. People just thought of themselves.'

I began to tell Mother that there was a wild rumour going about on the subject of balloons. She said she knew of it already for the BBC had issued an official denial at six. Mother's words were: 'This fool put a lighted cigarette against the balloon.'

'What fool?' I said.

She said, 'In the factory where they were making the poison gas. There were a lot of balloons with gas in them and this fool went in with a cigarette which he had no business to be smoking and puts one up alongside a balloon, and it exploded. No damage was done.'

Thankfully 'local boys' AC/DC are playing here, so that dealt with any annoying eighties Fraulein.

In 2003 'world leaders' were trying to raise excitement over meteorological balloons:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/jun/08/iraq.foreignpolicy