Do the Bungee Jump

Have you ever looked out on a sheer drop and asked yourself, “What would it be like to fall all the way down?” Have you ever stood on the edge, looked forward towards the distant hills and leapt off into space?

I have. In 2002 I jumped although not particularly willingly as it’s a crazy thing to do! Reading over my post from that time I still remember the fear that numbed me, how I looked straight ahead when the crane had raised me up to it’s fullest height of 50m and then the surprise when time stopped still as I dived off the platform.

For a few moments Matt Munday shared that experience as he dived off the Verzasca dam in Switzerland to recreate the jump scene from Golden Eye!

Look over the other side, however, and you’ll find it’s 721ft straight down onto a cold, hard knuckle of jagged rocks — the frightening equivalent of jumping from a 70-storey building.

Doing a bungee jump is the craziest and most stupid thing I’ve ever done but don’t worry Life Assurance people, I have no intention of doing it again!

Would you like to see what my bungee jump at Star Beach in Crete was like? Here’s a movie made by a girl who brought a video camera with her. Look at those distant hills over the resort. That’s the last sight I saw before I jumped! (do not ajust your volume, there is no sound unfortunately)

This BASE jumper does some crazy jumps. Be prepared to suffer vertigo watching this!

AIDS – Don’t Die of Ignorance

Today is a very important day in world health. December 1st is World Aids Day and each year is dedicated to a different theme. This year’s theme is “Stop AIDS; Keep the Promise – Accountability” and you can find out more about how the theme is chosen and who chooses it on avert.org

Irish television viewers will see a “high-profile television campaign warning about the rise of the Aids pandemic in Ireland” over the next few months and that may hopefully encourage people to get tested and improve awareness of the disease according to breakingnews.ie.

Some charities would prefer a softly-softly approach because the viewing public has become immune to distressing scenes but I can’t bear to hear the opening score of the following drink driving advert because of how it ends.

If you’re wondering, bloggers all over the world are talking about AIDS. Get into the conversation and make a difference.

It’s also my birthday today, and in a selfish sort of way, I wish they’d picked another day to raise awareness of AIDS! It’s a bit of a downer hearing about the AIDS epidemic in the media on my birthday, each and every year on this day. I guess the message is getting through, somewhere, hopefully.