Dignity dented thanks to a slip-up on morning walk

RECENTLY had the dubious delight of slipping and falling on the ice.

- Peter Mortimer

Ice floored our columnist

One minute I was striding out, the next minute I was flat on my back. Apart from the danger of injury - which increases as a person gets older - there is a certain loss of dignity. In truth I felt a bit of a prat.

Even in the act of falling, I had this instinct to look around to check if there were any other pedestrians in close proximity.

Luckily there were not. Yet here I was lying on my back on that pavement with several motorists passing by, some of whom slowed down. Not to come to my aid, you understand, just to get a better look.

I tried to get up, tried to make myself vertical and not horizontal. I partially succeeded, yet each effort was doomed to failure.

That very ice’s same treacherous surface which had brought me tumbling, now meant my legs were slithering and sliding. How best to describe this experience?