The Joys of a White Christmas

The snow that plagued us all before Christmas may have looked pretty, but it made everything that much harder - and when I was rushing around sorting out all the last minute arrangements I really don't need the extra aggravation. On the Wednesday before Christmas we woke up to a deep carpet of snow, I begged Robbie not to go to work because I was afraid of him falling over but he wouldn't hear of it. There were no buses running and there was no hope of a taxi so we took 20 minutes to dig the car out and I set out to get Robbie as close to the station as possible. It was a scary journey and I left him to walk down the station because I didn't want to risk it in the car. On my way back I skidded when stopping at traffic lights but I stopped just in time to avoid colliding with the traffic on the main road, it was so scary.

Robbie made it safely down the hill but when he was close to the station he slipped and had a close encounter with the ground. He must have hit the ground with a lot of force because the side of his knee and his thigh was badly swollen. He was in agony and struggling to walk, but he still got to work!

I had lots of errands to do but most important of all was a trip to the model shop to buy the Merseyside Express (prototype Deltic). As I walked back to the car I complemented myself on getting the last one in stock for a very good price when suddenly my feet started misbehaving and the next thing I knew the side of my head thudded against the low metal car park fencing and I was sprawled in the snow. I had to lay there until the ground stopped spinning, but eventually I got back to the car and safely home. My daughter later commented on the irony, I am teetotal, but I managed to fall down outside a pub, complain of blurred vision and struggle to stand up without a drop of alcohol passing my lips!

I rang Robbie to tell him what had happened but he was busy so it was just a brief call, then my daughter Emily rang and seemed concerned that I was not making much sense. I thought I was just a bit dazed but it seems I probably had concussion and Emily organised a succession of 'minders' until Robbie got home to keep an eye on me. Apparently I was talking rubbish and being very difficult about seeing a doctor, but I don't remember much about it now. I do remember noticing later that evening that Robbie could hardly walk and couldn't cope with the stairs at all - he was walking like Spotty Dog from the Woodentops and I about as coherent as a Flowerpot Man, what a pair!!

Musings on Feet and Fashion 17.01.08

On Tuesday Robbie was limping when he got home, when I mentioned it he claimed that he had probably tied his new boots too tight that morning! I know when I am having the wool pulled over my eyes, but I decided to indulge him, if he really wanted to believe that tight shoe laces were the cause of his predicament. As always Robbie abandoned his clothes in favour of PJ's within a couple of minutes of getting home and it became clear that the limp (and the pain) remained even when he was plodding around in bare feet, and he grudgingly admitted that it had nothing to do with his new boots. By yesterday the pain and the difficulty in walking had increased and his frustration with the situation was reaching boiling point. He did a fair bit of walking in the course of his trip to and from Cardiff and by the time he got home at 8pm he was really struggling; his leg is being just as troublesome this morning. I cant help worrying about him, but hopefully he will get his hospital tests soon, once they understand what the problem I hope they will be able to sort him out. We can't have him walking like Spotty Dog for the rest of his life!

I'm not sure if Robbie's painful leg is affecting his brain, but he sent me the most bizarre text when he was heading home yesterday. It read, "I had a random conversation with myself about people who wear turn-ups and their associated footwear, today. It was rather funny!" He was a bit put out because I didn't reply, but how do you answer that, I was speechless. I may be a mine of useless information but my knowledge of the trouser turn-up is very limited, I am aware that they first became fashionable around 1912 and I think turn-ups and pockets in new garments were banned in the second world war, beyond that I pay very little attention to them. I do tend to notice men's footwear and socks, it is amazing how many people wear odd socks or socks that scream out at you because they clash with their trousers and their shoes.

Robbie's text reminded me of an embarrassing episode years ago when I worked in Plymouth. I had to take a lady to the dentist, she had spent a number of years in a mental hospital and her social skills were somewhat lacking. We sat quietly in the waiting room and there was a middle aged man in a suit sitting opposite reading a newspaper. Suddenly she leaned forward, tapped him on the knee and said, "oh, I do like your socks". The poor man was horrified, but shortly afterwards he was rescued when the dentist called him in.