Image by stilldavid via Flickr
People do some funny things. Whilst watching the evening news, well it was more to do with the weather, I saw a young man holding his jacket over his head to catch the wind. We have been experiencing some very high winds these last few days and on Thursday in particular it was blowing 60 to 90 mph depending on where you were. The young man could have been lifted off his feet and thrown backwards a few yards (metres) perhaps injuring him but he was going for the moment. In a later program we were shown a huge open-structured tower similar to electricity pylons but much taller. It was, or is, the only one of four that stood in the area and was used as an early warning radar aerial during the war. We were told that it was built in 1939 but it looked perfectly safe standing there in a remote part of Lincolnshire. Today it is being used by the Royal Airforce as a training utility testing cadets capability working at height. The camera showed the view from the top of the tower and I felt insecure just looking at the television screen! I’m afraid I couldn’t attempt climbing that height even with the safety gear the presenter and RAF members were using. I get nervous at height but strangely enough in certain circumstances I lose all fear, for example when in an aeroplane or building (as long as look down out of the windows in the case of a building), ridiculous as it may seem I was never frightened when climbing scaffolding but I get nervous if climbing too far up a ladder, say more than fifteen feet. I was amazed to find that parascending was thrilling and I wasn’t in the least scared of climbing so high even though the parachute might have developed a fault. A few months ago I went up in a basket suspended from a hot-air balloon and felt quite safe. Strange isn’t it? Some of those fears are irrational I know but there is always an element of danger in any of them. It just seems peculiar that some things I am not happy doing yet others, equally as potentially dangerous I don’t mind. When I transitioned I was told that I was brave doing what I did but I find some of the things mentioned here require much more a certain amount of bravery. Me? I am not really brave at all, when something needs doing I do it if I am able or if it is necessary but I refuse to do things I am not that happy doing. No I’m not brave at all.
Shirley Anne
