My word

I've never been happy about vertigo - that's a lower case 'v', in case you think I'm referring to the Alfred Hitchcock film, which is one of my favourites. I have a problem with heights - looking up at as well as looking down from tall buildings.

Even the big Christmas tree at the Mailbox touched on by a fellow blogger taxes me, and when we had to park at the top of the Navigation Street car park the other day I was very stressed. My condition is actually called acrophobia: a fear of heights.

I looked it up you see, feeling that at my age I ought to be able to describe my problem accurately. There is a whole, unheard of world of words to describe our phobias. Near mine in the alphabetical list, for instance, are ailurophobia (fear of cats), alektorophobia (chickens) alliumphobia (garlic) and allodoxaphobia (opinions).

Go here to check it out.

The end section is great for word games when you're trying to find things starting with 'z'. How about zelophobia (fear of jealousy), zeusophobia (God or gods) zemmiphobia (the great mole rat) and zoophobia (animals)?

I hope no one with sesquipedalophobia looks it up. It's the fear of long words.