{"id":6015,"date":"2017-11-16T10:38:46","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T09:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/?p=6015"},"modified":"2017-11-17T08:27:36","modified_gmt":"2017-11-17T07:27:36","slug":"a-fear-of-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/6015\/","title":{"rendered":"A Fear of Heights"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the BBC<\/a>:<\/p>\n

An Australian diplomat has died after falling from a New York City balcony while socialising with friends.<\/p>\n

Julian Simpson, 30, accidentally slipped from a seventh-floor ledge of his Manhattan building to a landing on the second floor, the NYPD said.<\/p>\n

US media reported he was playing a “trust game” with a friend when he fell.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is tragic for his family and friends, and 30 seems a bit old to be pulling stunts like this. Then again, I’ve found a lot of Australian men shed the reckless bravado of youth rather later than most, if at all.<\/p>\n

One thing’s for sure, you’d not catch me playing “trust games” seven stories up. I have a very mixed relationship with heights: I am fine in a tall building, I don’t mind being hoiked in the air by a crane while sat in a frog<\/a>, helicopters and planes are okay, and working on the outside of tall structures while clipped on doesn’t bother me (but takes a little getting used to). But put me on a balcony with a low railing, or near a ledge, and I go weak at the knees and start to feel sick. The fear is twofold: I am petrified of someone pushing me over the edge either on purpose or by accident, but also I have a burning desire to jump off which I am never convinced I can overcome. This means I can abseil without much fear, but if I were to visit somewhere like the Trolltunga in Norway you’d not see me taking selfies at the edge, or sat with my legs dangling into the void. You’re more likely to find me a mile away, looking at it through binoculars. There’s something about being up high and<\/em> unsecured that terrifies me, which is why I’d not be hanging out of windows seven floors up in New York.<\/p>\n

Sometimes just for fun I lie in bed and watch videos of those Russian or Ukrainan nutters who climb buildings and cranes with GoPros on their heads. There are two in particular that I like, both in China:<\/p>\n