A couple of friends of mine from the camera club were doing a sponsored zip-wire leap from the top of the Cow and Calf Rocks in Ilkley. I went along to watch and cheer them on. It was to raise money for the Sue Ryder charity, an organisation that supports people through terminal illness, neurological conditions and bereavement via its network of centres, hospices and home care. A very worthy cause; charity fundraising has been badly hit by the Covid pandemic.
The photos I'm showing are not my friends, but they will give you some idea of the nerve they needed to do it. It was a long wire, from the top of the rocks down beyond the café at the bottom and they certainly did 'zip' along it!
It was a really dull day so I found taking photos was quite a technical challenge, to get a high enough shutter speed to capture the movement - and the figures looked more like silhouettes against the sky. It was fun to watch though and it confirmed that many people are a whole lot braver than I! I'm not sure you'd get me doing it, even for charity.
Sue Ryder was the wife of Leonard Cheshire of Royal Air Force 617 Squadron fame. A very complex man, and founder of the Cheshire Homes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for watching the event...most amazing to me as well. My friends sometimes do "Walk for the Cure" and other kinds of walks for various charities. Our Hospice is just called that, and has at least one center where people can be cared for, but it has a waiting list. Many people are given the care of Hospice workers/care givers in their last days/weeks/months. I've worked with the Hospice nurses who come to nursing homes, or assisted living residences. They are a dedicated and special breed of person.
ReplyDeleteI would rather give money to the charity before I would ever do that zip!
ReplyDeleteThat looks fun!
ReplyDeleteThis is not something, I personally would have done either, but kudos to those who did so for a good cause. My preference would have been to make a donation.
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