Shirley Tinkles From a Great Height to Raise Even More for Charity

Published on: 5 Feb, 2013
Updated on: 7 Feb, 2013

Shirley - doing what comes naturally after a fright - raising money for charity, of course

Shirley West – doing what comes naturally after a fright – raising money for charity, of course

Even the Queen knows that Shirley West, will do anything for charity. That is why Her Majesty awarded her the BEM recently.

So, true to form, Shirley has taken on the challenge of confronting one of her worst fears – heights, to raise yet more money.

And where better to do that than the newly built 1016 ft high Shard in London? Europe’s tallest building.

The plan was for Shirley to be sponsored by supporters to ascend the Shard and visit the ladies and do what came naturally. Presumably easy, if she was really frightened.

Enough to give some a heart attack, you might say, but it is preventing and treating those with heart disease that Shirley was aiming to help by raising funds, once again, for the British Heart Foundation as part of their Rock Up in Red campaign.

Shirley said after her exploit: “What a challenge. The shard is an amazing place – if you like heights! When you get to the top it is like walking out into space. We were lucky and saw ten minutes of daylight and then the rest in darkness as London lit up. We could see for over 40 miles. It was out of this world.

“I felt very disorientated when I came down. My legs were like jelly but after a large medicinal gin I was on my feet again.”

Anyone who wishes to sponsor Shirley following her exploit should send a cheque payable to the British Heart Foundation to Shirley West, 15 Broomfield Close, Guildford GU2 3AW. She has already managed to raise over £500.