I work for Royal Mail, a corporate sponsor of DofE. During the Diamond anniversary of the Award we encouraged those employees who either had not previously participated or who were then too old to try a Diamond Challenge. Mine was to walk across the roof of the O2 in London - a real challenge for me as I have a crippling fear of heights! With the support of my husband and two friends I managed it but by chance, the day of the climb happened to be at a time when the weather was not so kind: it had been snowing, it was extremely cold, the wind was sharp...at one point we thought it would be cancelled but we did it. The view from the top - and the sense of achievement - were beyond description. It was absolutely brilliant. The climb down was a bit hairy mind you as we had to climb down going forwards rather than backwards due to it being so slippery!
If it hadn't been for the DofE Diamond Challenge I would never have done it. I'm still terrified of heights but proved that with the right determination, most things are possible. It is a valuable life lesson, learned even at a far greater age than most who take part in the scheme.