In the last few weeks of my brother’s life he talked a great deal about what he wanted me to remember, what he wanted me to pass on to the children and what he wanted me to do.
Through the simple incidence of being my little brother Jimmy knew that I would struggle with losing him to leukaemia especially after we had only lost our Dad to cancer just five months before.
Through love, he knew that I would need focus to keep me going.
Through nature, he was a bit of a bossy sod.
His solution for me?
When my brother told me to have more adventure I don’t know if he quite meant this.
I did try abseiling when I was very much younger and, as I recall, I enjoyed it greatly so when Wire and Sky very kindly offered me the opportunity to make a memory in Jimmy’s honour by participating in a free-fall abseil from the top of the ArcelorMittal Orbit, I was quite excited to accept.
My excitement is slightly more questionable now that I’ve actually booked my abseil, something I wouldn’t have even dreamed of doing before I lost 60lbs. I do hope that my memory of enjoying my abseiling experience all those years ago hasn’t been softened by the years that have passed. Or that I didn’t confuse it with a memory of eating ice-cream or something.
Yes, that’s right. I am going to be dangling from a piece of string 80 metres off the ground from the UK’s tallest sculpture. Apparently, the views all around will be breathtaking. My breath will be focused on not hurtling into the ground 80 metres below me.
So yes, that’ll be me.
This is a thing that is seriously going to happen.
27th May at 12.30pm.
Feel free to come along and show your support*.
*Or talk me out of it.
Good luck, not that you need it. I used to do abseiling as a teenager and although nerve wrecking at the top it is amazing as you start to descend