FIRST ONE COMPLETED!!!!!
Thursday 28th November 2024, a date that will forever live in infamy...the day I officially started ticking things off this list!
It was a relatively easy one to accomplish, but it's more the reason's behind it that make it important to me. Anyone who has known me for any length of time would know that I'm not great with heights, in fact it's a well known fact that I bloody hate them. I remember once, when I used to follow Boston United home and away that the seats that they put the away fans in at Woking made me feel a deep unease and I asked the stewards if I could move down to the lower level, a request that was denied and meant I spent most of the game looking up in the air and therefore missed most of the game, which if I remember correctly ended in a one one draw.
Anyway enough of that tangent.....so as you can guess it was a heights based one, and it led me to our nations capital and to the amazing St Pauls Cathedral. Now my family has a little history with the place, my great nan, Alice, used to be housekeeper for the boys choir. My dad used to stay at her flat around the corner from the cathedral when he was on leave from training when he was in the forces. I know I said it was a little history but as the Tesco's saying every little helps.
So why did I want to climb this, and by climb I mean to the stone gallery which goes along the outside of Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece. Last time I went I froze completely at the first hurdle, the whispering gallery which is only 259 steps (30m from the floor of the cathedral), my travelling companions that day left me at that level while they carried on without me. I was frozen to the spot listening to the audio guide telling me the paintings of St Paul that adorn the top of that first dome. I don't blame them, they wanted to go and I was about as much use as a baby at the time. So when I started thinking of things that I felt I needed to try and do this came to very near the top of the list.
So the idea was a very simple one, go up to that next level and look over the city skyline. Just for the record the stone gallery is another 23m higher and another 219 steps up, I'm glad I've been working on my cardio when I'm at the gym! The day didn't start off well for me, I'd forgotten that it was American Thanksgiving and that the cathedral was closed for visitors until 1pm....which meant a quick trip to the Tate Modern to kill some time and very nearly kill some screaming kids who were there. You would have thought working with kids quite a lot at the bowl I'd be used to them by now but I have to admit I very nearly went full on psycho mode and started throwing things at them.
Anyway after that little side quest and a lovely chat with two women in the line about the Lake District and the fact that they had also turned up early and had to wait around I finally made my way into the Cathedral. So I didn't waste any time, I'd been listening to up psych up music in the queue outside (Kingdom by Downstait if anyone is interested), so I ambled my way down the south aisle and started the ascent. This was where I was glad my training had started to pay dividends, luckily as I was one of the first people in the building and many people stayed in the main entranceway to listen to the introduction on the audio guides I had the staircase to myself.
This was a very good thing as the grunts and groans escaping me wouldn't have sounded out of place on centre court at Wimbledon. But I made it up to the whispering gallery. Now unfortunately photography is banned on this level in case you drop your camera on poor people below. But don't fear I do have proof of me on the next level......
So after a quick rest and a look up at the amazing artwork, knowing this was where I got to last time, I stood up, my legs wobbling a bit as I made the mistake of leaning over the side and looking directly down at the floor, why did I do that? None the less I gritted my teeth, ignoring that feeling in the pit of my stomach and went onwards, luckily the next set of steps was quite tight and I couldn't see anything so was able to soldier on with a renewed pace.
And then I was there, the stone gallery....success! I have to admit it did feel good, knowing that I'd overcome my fears and got to there,
So there we go folks off ticked off the list, a fear faced, not one that I am going to be in a hurry to face again but done!
Onto the next one
Bren
28/11/2024
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Comments
Woohoo!! Nicely done, I know how much this one would have meant to you. Well done