On 7 April 2015 I walked over Sydney Harbour Bridge. What’s so special about that I hear you ask?
The next bit of my story is that I flew off to Sydney in Australia for Easter to visit my son, who I hadn’t seen in two years and so it was a very exciting time for me.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the world’s largest (but not the longest) steel arch bridge with the top of the bridge standing 134 metres above the harbour and I set myself a challenge to walk over it. I then thought that if I could raise some money for a charity in the process, it would give me the incentive to complete the challenge!
So which charity? Well, my father had a form of dementia and my mother always said that it was “the long goodbye”. I lost my father long before he passed away – a very sad time all round. So I chose the Alzheimer’s Society.
I felt that, apart from helping a very vital charity, the money raised would help me conquer the terror I would most definitely feel when I took the first step on the long walk over the top of the bridge. I thought it was a good job I wouldn’t be holding hands with anyone – they would be badly bruised!
So I got the ball rolling by setting up a Just Giving page and the donations started to come in.
On 7 April I did it!!! It was pretty scary but there were only a couple of moments when I really felt bad. Massive thanks must go to the guide who led us on our walk. He kept my mind off the height with his jokes and my daughter, Natalie, helped me enormously too by making me focus when it all got a bit too much and I found it hard to breathe. That was right at the top when we had to wait by ourselves while our guide was taking photos.
Many congratulations were offered to the two young women who became engaged to be married right on the top of the bridge. A perfect setting with the sunset and a wonderful view.
My current total for the money raised is £420 and I would like to thank everyone who donated. It’s not too late to donate and my Just Giving page can be found online at http://www.justgiving.com/owner-email/pleasesponsor/Rosemary-Walker
Raising money for charity was good fun and I am spurred on to do something similar again at some point.
This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.