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.