Slipping And Sliding

I had to venture out of the house this morning. There were the parcels to collect and I was in dire need of certain necessities. I wrapped up well in multiple layers of clothes, put on my sheepskin lined boots, a hat on my head and gloves on my hands, and armed with a shopping bag and my walking stick (I'm having problems with my hip again at the moment).

I left via the back door (it's the one I use most) and marched across the snow-covered lawn. Actually, it was a bit more of a shuffle that a march. It only took me the few yards to get to the pavement to change my mind about picking up the parcels, but the shopping was absolutely necessary so I continued on my way to our local Tesco Express.

The pavement of the first road that I had to walk along was still fairly well covered with powdery snow so there were no real problems. I turned the corner and things became a lot more scary. Where the pavements had been well-trodden they were very slippery but there was some soft snow at the edges so I tried to stick to them as much as possible. I managed to get along this road without any mishaps and then I turned into the road where the Tesco Express is located. There had been much more pedestrian activity here so it was almost like walking on clear pavements.

Once in the shop it was apparent that they have not had deliveries of certain basics such as milk, although there was a good selection of bread. But this didn't cause me too much of a problem. I did need some milk and there was sufficient for me to be able to get some, but it was in one pint containers rather than the larger size that I wanted. I also managed to get a couple of tins of soup, and the loo roll that was an absolute necessity.

On leaving the shop |I made my way down the road and then turned the corner. I knew that it was going to be much more difficult to get home without a mishap because I was now carrying a full shopping bag rather than the empty one that I set out with. I was right to be concerned for I managed to slip over twice.

The first time wasn't too bad because I felt myself slipping and I managed to catch hold of the railing running along some one's front garden. Even so, I went down on one knee and gave myself a bit of a shock. I was helped up by a young lady who made sure that I was alright. I slipped for a second time about 30 yards further on. This time it was a full-blown slip with me falling face down to the ground. I banged my already bruised knee hard as I fell and felt my chin and nose make contact with the icy ground. This time I was not so quick to raise myself because it the fall had really shocked me. Fortunately, two ladies were walking along the other side of the road and saw me fall and came to my rescue. They helped me up and made sure that I was okay. I thanked them both and warned them that both pavements along this road were very slippery.

I only had a few more yards to walk before I turned into the road that leads to my house. By trying to walk in untrodden snow as much as possible I managed to make it home without further mishap.

The shopping is now unpacked and put away, and I am consoling myself with a bar of chocolate. I'm hoping that it will take my mind off the painful knee as I wrap myself up warmly under a blanket and watch a DVD for a while before settling back down to my studying.