Safety in the balance

The demolition is a memory, the foundations are long since covered over, the building exteriors are done and waiting to be weathered, the windows have had their protective coatings stripped off and inside it’s fitting-out time: wiring, plumbing, plastering, checking, meeting international safety standards.
 
On the bank of the Thames two minutes’ walk away, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something acrobatic happening on the footbridge over the river. I watched – yes someone cavorting on the metal frame three metres above the footway and a good ten metres above the fast-flowing water. People coming off the bridge towards me were muttering about a bloody idiot. By the time I got up onto the bridge he was just walking along the top frame (extra). He seemed in control and I didn’t want to say anything in case I disturbed his reverie, or balance or whatever was going on. Then he swung down and I caught his eye. Impish.

‘I was going to ask if you were OK but you’re fine aren’t you?’
Big grin. ‘I’m fine.’
 
Health and safety legislation has saved hundreds of lives in the construction trades and many among users of buildings. I wouldn’t do away with it but I’m glad to come across someone happy to assess risks, have confidence in what his body can do, break the rules and share the exhilaration.