Well, that`s true.  I`ve had my own `issues` over the years, some of which I have confessed to in these pages.  By most people`s standards they don`t amount to very much - a fear of snakes;  an aversion to advanced dentistry and a general reluctance for anything `medical.`  I don`t `do` medical, hospitals, illness - that sort of thing and I suppose I have been more than fortunate to have avoided much to do with the medical world.  I have only had one extended hospital stay and that was 75 years ago when, at the age of seven, I spent six months in Southampton Children's Hospital and missed a year`s schooling with a kidney complaint.  I guess I have just been lucky.

So it`s with some reluctance and surprise that I find myself volunteering for some surgery to sort out my wonky knee.   Years of cricket, football, refereeing, golf, coast path walking and general wear and tear have caught up with me in recent times, movement has become too restrictive and it hurts more than it should so I am booked in to have a new knee in the new year.

Can`t say I`m looking forward to it but needs must and if it means dealing with another personal demon, then I think I`m up for it - I will go with the medical flow and hope it all works out so I can get back to enjoying the great outdoors once again;  I long for the south west coast path, the New Forest and the Pilgrims Way.  I`ve missed all that.   Wish me well.

 A JAB IN TIME ?...

Got to say I was so grateful to receive the call to have my corona virus vaccination.  A good start to the New Year, for me at least.  I went along to the local surgery yesterday, waited patiently for my turn and had the Pfizer Biontech jab with no problems.   I was impressed by the organisation and the professionalism of all those involved, especially so the volunteers acting as `marshals` to ensure that the frail, elderly, vulnerable and bewildered of the parish did not get lost or too confused in the process.  (Maybe the `worst` part of it was having to sit for 15 minutes or so after the jab in a marquee specially erected for the occasion - only problem was the marquee was outside and it was bitterly cold.)

But I`m grateful for having the first jab although controversy rages about the second one. I just hope that whatever the outcome of the arguments - about having the second jab after three weeks or twelve - is the right one.  Don`t know who to believe really - might just be a case of que sera, sera  but if my second appointment for three weeks` time isn`t cancelled I`ll happily go along for the second jab and try not to feel guilty about it.

None of us knows what the future may hold, especially in the current circumstances, so I`ll just carry on taking each day as it comes and be grateful for it.