The Atomium

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The nineteen fifties saw the building of some remarkably odd and somewhat kitschy buildings and the Atomium in Brussels is no exception.  It represents a single crystal of iron magnified about one hundred and sixty five million times.  Only one of the spheres at the top is open to the general public for health and safety reasons.  Even though the others are supported there are fears that the structure could topple in a severe wind.

That’s not very tall, so what.  It does still have to be cleaned and renovated however.  Here is your first “OMG” moment.

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Y Stadiwm y Mileniwm

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Y Stadiwm y Mileniwm or, in English, The Millennium Stadium houses the Welsh National Rugby Team and is one of the symbols of the resurgence of the capitol city of Cardiff.  Opened in June 1999 is a hugely popular sports center and has hosted not only rugby but football, Speedway and Madonna.  It has a retractable roof and is the largest stadium in the world to have one.  With a capacity of almost seventy thousand it is a big stadium.

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Like any building of this size it needs constant maintenance, particularly of its rigging.  Here, one particularly brave gentleman can be seen setting up the rigging on the South East corner of the stadium.

The Cromwell Building, Brisbane

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A few ropes and pulleys are all that is needed when it comes to cleaning the windows of smaller buildings.  Brisbane, Australia isn’t known for its high buildings, after all.  Is it?

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As Shaggy would say – yikes!  Someone once said “Working together, ordinary people can perform extraordinary feats. They can push things that come into their hands a little higher up, a little further on towards the heights of excellence.”  I don’t suppose that they intended it to be taken literally.

The National Aquatics Center, Beijing

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The National Aquatics Center in Beijing was built in one of the most consistently polluted cities on the face of the planet.  So it seemed a really great idea to pursue the dream of a bubbly building as it was bound to need a good clean on numerous occasions.  Its gentle bubbles serve of a constant reminder that it must be cleaned constantly.

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Fortunately, China has incredibly rigorous Health and Safety policies, to which these four gentlemen cleaning the outside of a building in Shanghai will no doubt testify. 

Seaford, USA

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These guys helping to restore and paint a water tower in Seaford, USA, no doubt feel safer.  After all they have a cradle from which to conduct their work.  The old saying ‘keep your feet on the ground and your thoughts at lofty heights’ echo the sentiments of this author.

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Let’s zoom out and see the top part of the water tower.  Most people, cradle or no, would not feel safe at this height.  They are way too wuthering for most.  Haley Joel Osment once said “I like normal stuff people fear – like spiders and heights. I’m frightened by the unknown, by things that are hard to figure out and get a grip on.”  Get the kid up there and see if he still agrees with himself.

Some People Do It without Payment

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Alain Robert is legendary for climbing buildings, just because he can.  In order to bring the message to the world of the threat that climate change poses he regularly climbs incredibly tall buildings.  The French Spiderman is here seen taking a break during the climb of the Cheung Kong tower in Hong Kong.  It looks as if he is having a casual conversation with his mother… “Oui, Maman, I will fly over later.”

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And off he goes again!  Amazingly he is now forty six years old and he climbs these buildings with nothing but a bag of chalk for gripping purposes and a pair of climbing shoes. Oh, and the clothes on his back of course.  Despite his now doubt lean and muscular figure, he would probably be arrested on a second count should he ever climb naked.

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To give you an idea of what he was climbing, here is the Cheung Kong Tower.  It towers at sixty two storeys and has a height of almost three hundred meters.  It seems that Monsieur Robert almost fell at the sixtieth floor when a woman (on the inside of course!) became hysterical at the site of a man risking life and limb so high up.  Fortunately he regained his composure, unlike the poor woman who is no doubt in therapy to this day.

The Wisdom of Youth

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Some people, however, prefer their heights from a safe distance – and from the inside!  The Calgary Tower in Canada affords this young man a marvelous view – he even thinks he can see his house from there!

Strictly for the Birds?

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Some things, ultimately, are best left to the birds.  If there is an all sentient being and he, she or it intended for us to fly, he would have given us wings. Perhaps a little cowardly, but, reader, the writer here is getting dizzy on his chair.  With a slight greenness around the gills it is perhaps time to ascend to that little room at the top of the stairs. This Empire State Pigeon is welcome to his lofty perch.