A Diary Of a Mesowarrior Living With #Mesothelioma and #Asbestos –Ray is 80 today we went to the top of the Shard !!

Happy Birthday Ray

ray on the naughty step

Love this card he had today xx

Yes he is 80 and we cant believe it. Mr Meldrew is 80.

Harminder Bains of Leigh Day had asked us ages ago would we like to go to the Shard for a meeting and we couldn’t go so she arranged it all for Rays birthday.

Harminder was my Lawyer 9 years ago when we couldn’t make a claim but we have been friends ever since. Her Father died with Mesothelioma that is why she is so dedicated to the cases of the Mesowarriors as she is a Mesowarrior as well.

So we travelled to Chatham where we caught a train direct to London Bridge. This station has been closed before Christmas and has had a rebuild.

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Exiting from the station I asked Where is the Shard ? Oh dear the man just pointed up and look up and up and up and up !!!

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In we went and into the first lift to floor 33. Out of that up then up to the top

Shard facts
The Shard is 309.6 metres, or 1,016 feet, high and is Western Europe’s tallest building.
It is 95 storeys tall, with level 72 the highest habitable floor.
The building is served by 36 lifts, some of which are double-decker.
Its exterior is covered by 11,000 glass panels – equivalent in area to eight football pitches or two and a half Trafalgar Squares.
The length of wiring in the building, 320km or 200 miles, would stretch from London to Paris.
At the busiest point during its construction, 1,450 workers from 60 countries were helping to build The Shard.
Lifts in The Shard travel at speeds of up to 6 metres a second.
A fox was found on the 72nd floor towards the end of construction. The fox, which was nicknamed Romeo by staff, is believed to have survived on food left by construction workers.

My ears popped in the speed of the lift ad when we got out I felt almost seasick but it must have been motion sickness. I walked around like I was on a boat. I said I feel like it’s swaying. Ray said “well it is”” It was windy. the Shard moves up to 20 inches in high winds.

We walked all around the windows looking at London in Miniature. That’s how small everything looked. People were smaller than ants.

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The Belfast, Tower Of London and Tower Bridge.

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Looking to Saint Paul’s Cathedral.

I just loved it all and it was Rays birthday present.

Every one was walking around pointing things out one man pointed out Big Ben to me and Wembley Stadium. The sun came out which made it even more wonderful. The Tower London and Tower Bridge glowed.

We finally came back to earth and went to the restaurant that Harminder had booked on floor 32. It was all amazing the views were nearer then.

The waiter helped us to choose the food and he stayed with us and made sure everything was OK.

Then at the end he bought a candle for Ray to blow out and he and the Manager wished Ray a Happy Birthday and was he really 80 or 18. We had met a young lady with a happy 18 badge on and we all had a laugh Ray said no 80 and we have almost been married 60 years. Now telling a young waiter who is in his 20’s that had him laughing and it was hard for him to imagine that.

We finished and caught our train home It had been a good day. There were so many cards in doors from family and the Mesowarriors everyone has given him a great day xx

asleep