Who to write to?

By my reckoning I am unlikely to get a response from the first "celebrity" I write to and the whole point of this challenge is to get a response.  Stage one, therefore, is to come up with a list of people to write to.  I am planning on going the whole hog and actually handwriting a proper letter.  I was also planning to write to people that I would be interested in hearing back from, i.e. people I like.

This means another list.  This is who I have so far and hopefully letters (personalised not generic) will be going out soon:

Paul O'Grady
Eddie Izzard
David Walliams
Ant and Dec
Kirsty Allsopp
Gok Wan
Jenson Button
David Tennant
Michael Buble
Richard Hammond
Davina McCall

Paul thinks I should also write to people I don't particularly like so there might be subsidiary list.


 

Batophobia

The sharp-eyed amongst you will probably notice three towers in the list.  I have a fascination with towers; this is because of my batophobia, or fear of tall structures.  I have had this as long as I can remember but have also spent a lot of time visiting them.  Why I like to make myself suffer like that is anyone's guess - I haven't worked it out.

Although I do also have a fear of heights, this is mainly about high balconies, cliffs and bridges. Who can forget that memorable occasion when Paul "forced" me on to the Clifton Suspension Bridge to test this out.  The main problem I have is that I worry I might throw myself off and have to hang on for dear life.  It is almost as if I can feel myself being dragged towards the edge.

Yes I know this is irrational, possibly almost crazy, but that's what phobias are.

The towers on my list I will probably be okay climbing (although the Spinnaker tower has a glass floor I understand which might test me a little). Once I am at the top in a tower I'm usually fine as long as it is enclosed  - I can't fall off you see.

The main issue for me will actually be walking towards the towers and standing under them.  Paul didn't really believe I was telling him the truth about this until we went to Prague and visited the TV Tower - you know the one with the weird babies climbing up it.  We could see it in the distance and decided to walk to it.  As we got closer it was obscured by buildings but every now and then there was a glimpse.    We got to the point where we knew it was around the next corner.  My reaction convinced Paul that there truly was something a little wrong with me.  I physically could not move around the corner.  My heart was pounding, I was sweating, breathless (and not just because of the long walk) and, on the verge of tears, had to be dragged around the corner.  

Towers are horrific; I am convinced they are going to fall on me.  Nonetheless I constantly like to visit them and push myself to the limit of terror.  

It is for this reason that there are three towers on the list but I do have my limits.  There is no way on this earth that I will ever visit Dubai.  The massive towers there are the stuff of nightmares for me and I cannot even look at photos of them without feeling petrified.

My "favourite" towers that I have visited are, I think, The Eiffel Tower, the TV Tower in Prague, the AMP Tower in Sydney, the Emley Moore TV Tower near Leeds and The Peterson Tower in Sway, Hampsire.  These are the ones that freak me out the most.  Here they are for your delectation: 

Casablanca

"of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world..."  

No.2 done!

Let's get started

Welcome to my first ever blog post - I can straight away tick off one of the 50 challenges - to start a blog.  Please read through the list of 50 challenges I have given myself (over on the left).  One of the challenges is to raise at least £1,000 for pancreatic cancer research and that will be a common thread through this with me asking for support as I complete the challenges particularly the most difficult ones.  

The one that I think will be the most difficult is to break a world record.  Had a go at two last night involving jelly beans and smarties - no chance.  It is going to take a lot of practise.

If anyone wants to help me out with ideas for world records or any of the challenges please let me know.  Or if you have access to anything on the list that will make it easier for me to set some of these up - again please speak up.

First things first - what will I do next?  Might start War and Peace - have you seen how thick it is?