Week nineteen

I have this very weird thing where if I watch a film and there is a camera shot of someone jumping off a building or falling I get this terrible twinge in my feet - I wonder if other people get it.  After today, I just get it thinking about me going on a flying trapeze.  Seriously, I've got it now.

When I saw the website Gorilla Circus, offering flying trapeze lessons I thought "wooohoooo", a great week for my blog, I didn't really think any further than that and what I was actually going to do.  Oh dear, there's the twinge again.

There are several circus schools that you can go to in London where you can spend a whole day learning all sorts of tricks from tight rope walking to unicycling to juggling but I only wanted to focus on one and probably the one with the most thrill-seeking factor.  Gorilla Circus offers 2 hour classes in just flying trapeze and during the summer the company set up in different locations outdoors.  I went to Walpole Park in Ealing this weekend and luckily it was a sunny day.

There were 9 of us taking part being led by Ezra and Debra.  From the word go they were a bit matter of fact with us all, which I found a little uneasy at first since this was clearly not an everyday activity.   However, what became more apparent as the class went on, is that actually they really were very sensitive but just not in a mollycoddling way.  I realised that since I was in complete control of this death-defying feat, not overindulging my fears and worries was completely the right thing to do.  As Ezra quite rightly said to me a number of times "no one can do it for you" - I had to make it happen. The problem was I was terrified.

We basically dove right in after a very quick induction - no practise runs, just strapped in, harness on, lets go.  Of course, there really isn't that much danger since you are very safely strapped in and with a safety net below you but you still have to climb a very steep ladder, step onto a ledge, grap a bar that is too far away to reach for, step into the air and then swing and hoist your knees up over the bar, before letting go.  Please let me demonstrate:

Literally, what the hell am I doing?

Had a lot of trouble bringing myself to jump

Ok so at this point, just as you leave the platform what no one tells you (and they should!) is that there is so much weight and power there - I was so shocked by how heavy the bar was and how forceful it felt - you have to grip the bar with everything.  I was literally so scared and relieved at the same time that I hadn't just died that I sort of forgot to kick my legs up and just really swung the first time round.

I cannot explain how much better it is the second time you go up - there is so much fear and unknowing the first time, and of course the fear of death.  Annoyingly, I did much better the second time round but my foot sort of got stuck on the bar and I couldn't get my knees round.  Damn it!

Gutted

Everyone else had mastered it by their second go and I was starting to feel a bit pathetic.  But, third time's a charm and no doubt, with all the flair of a flying hippopotamus I got my legs up over the bar and let go.  Unfortunately, no one took a photo of me so I don't have the evidence but I'm sure it looked spectacular.  I could have actually then gone a fourth time but by that point I had absolutely pussied out and didn't even want to entertain the idea of then doing a catch.  Yes, someone after only 2 hours, everyone else was ready and willing to be caught by Debra swinging from the other side, timed to perfection and looking totally graceful.

I knew I'd regret not going a fourth time but to be honest I think I needed my heart to stop beating and my hands to stop shaking.  In fact, I think I might even go another time and try again without there being so much panic - you need a whole class just to get over the horror of it all!  But I would go again and I would totally recommend it if you are not scared of heights and like to push yourself more than normal.  Yes it is petrifying but it is also exhilarating.  And a good workout - my stomach muscles are killing today!

You can check out where Gorilla Circus is going to be all summer here.  At £24 I think its a steal.

Next time I am keeping my feet firmly on the ground with a drink in my hand where I'll be sampling some of the newest and fashionable gastronomic cocktails at The London Experimental Cocktail Club.