Taken for a ride

​I honestly believe the older you get the more of a wimp you become.
Just days away from my 60th birthday I climbed on board the Star Flyer at Bahrain International Circuit and moments after taking off quickly realised what an awful mistake I had made … it was terrifying.
As the sunshine bounced off my balding head, I sat next to a British visitor called Glen in a two-seat contraption.
It quickly sailed high into the sky and I would like to go on record and publically apologise for screaming like a hysterical teenage girl at a Jonas Brothers reunion concert in Glen’s ear and holding tightly on to his hand.
I can’t believe my tummy made such strange noises as I squeezed my eye-lids closed. Remember, this is the same journalist who in his younger years once fearlessly carried out a charity parachute jump and happily plunged 3,000ft from a stunt plane all for a good cause … and walked away in one piece.
It didn’t get any better after the Star Flyer decided to return to the ground from its 60m-high flight as it seemed to suddenly tip my gondola forward. Sorry again, Glen, for piecing the skin on your left hand with my sharp nails.
Definitely not a ride for wimps but if you’re anything like our photographer Honey Sharma, and the thousands of other thrill-seekers, it was out of this world.
I think I’m better off with my feet firmly planted on terra firma holding on to high-flying Honey’s bag full of camera equipment.

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