#40@40 And so it begins...

So how did I start on my 40@40 list?

Well, the best way to start is with a bit of a bang and go on as you mean to continue, so on my birthday, I decided to cross a couple of things off the list straight away.

First up, something touristy in London, a nice trip down the Thames by boat. Well OK, so I've done that before but this time is was a little different as the boat in question was a nippy RIB speed boat.

So on a grey Monday morning I joined a mixed group of people at Embankment pier. The group including a family doing a birthday treat and a group from Belfast that had done the marathon the day before. We all got kitted out in big waterproofs and were then escorted onto a huge yellow rubber boat with bench seats up front for twelve people.

The first part of the trip was a straight forward tour of London with lots of interesting facts about the buildings on the Thames. We went up river past the houses of Parliament, were we where warned that if we steered too close we would be shot at, and then on up to MI5 and MI6 buildings hearing about their history with the sound of the James Bond theme tune playing on the speakers.
Then we turned back and headed down river past a whole host of landmarks until we got level with the police station at Wapping High Street. At this point we left speed limit zone and our driver could really open the throttle.

Whoosh!!

Wow this is quite fast, a big smile came across my face.
But that was only half speed, next they really put their foot down and it felt like we weren't touching the water at all.

Double wow! and now the smile is a huge grin as we flew along with to the tune of Hawaii five-O and more James Bond.

So we where having a great time rushing along and seeing the sights. It was at this point that they started to make the boat do turns. They started pulling great arcs in the water tipping the boat right over. This caused a fair amount of yelps of alarm and grabbing of safety rails, followed by much laughter. We ping-ponged from side to side down past Canary Wharf and whizzed down the river all the way to nearly level with my flat. It was at this point we did a huge u turn the width of the river and raced on back up the Thames.

The last section of the trip, back in the slow zone, you could see huge grins and laughing in the group as we caught our breaths. We went slowly back to the dock with a medley of music on the speakers. We had chariots of fire for the marathon runners and Stevie Wonder's happy birthday for me.

It ended with a smooth finish and an opportunity to buy the official pics. Then I was back on dry land with slightly shaky legs, after having great fun and memories of a trip I would recommend to anyone.

...And so on to the next item

After lunch it was over to East London for a walk over the Millennium dome, now know as the O2. They have built a walkway which goes 52m high and 350m over the O2 from south to north. As the dome itself is basically a big tent, the walk way is suspended slightly above it so you don't quite walk on the surface and chance a drop through to all the pedestrians down below. The walkway seems to be made from the same material as bouncy castles and it was definitely a bouncy walk in the spacemen style.

The 90 minute 'experience' started with a safety briefing and getting fitted out in big blue jump suits and full body safety harness (which goes over the shoulders rather than just the waist unlike my climbing harness) which is made quite tight, the upshot of which makes you walk a bit bent over. Security was quite tight, as they were worried about damaging the dome. We were just allow to take our mobile phones up with us no other cameras, wallets, bags, etc in case we might drop onto the dome. In fact there is a special pocket in the suit on the shoulder of the jump suit designed just for our phones (can you tell the 'experience' is sponsored by a mobile company).

I was joined for my walk, by a group of ten people from British Gas, who were on some sort of team building trip. It was just me, the instructor and all of them. We started with the group photos, OK a group photo for the BG people and a solo one for me. Then it was on up the stairs and onto the walk itself. The harness is linked to a safety wire and the whole thing feels very secure, in fact despite the height I didn't get any sense of vertigo for the whole walk. We headed north making quick progress despite it being quite windy and had lots of opportunities for a good look at the sights around East London.

We were soon at the round platform at top where we could get our phones out and stop for photos and take in the view. There is even a special official iPhone app, which I used up there, to give you augmented reality at the top so you can see information on the things you are seeing. Of course the app also allows you to 'check in' up there and send out various other social media updates, with maybe a little advert from the sponsors.

To add to the strangeness of the experience of a group of people all dressed in blue climbing up at 52m high tent in the wind, there was also the sounds coming from the dome below. A huge WWE raw wrestling event was happening below and every now and again we could hear the roar of the crowd rising up through our feet at some turn on fortune of one of the fighters.

Eventually it was time to head on down, this time via a steeper slope all the way to the ground. Being careful not to slip and trying to catch a sight of the Olympic stadium we reached the end of the walk. All that was then left to do was return our fetching costumes and buy some souvenirs.

It's another great thing to do for a day out in London, as long as it isn't too stormy, I would heartily recommend a stroll over the O2.

All in all the day was a great success for my list and not a bad way to spend my Birthday. I rounded it off with steak and ribs for dinner and then took my brain off the hook and watched 'Olympus has fallen' at the cinema.

What next I wonder...