A humbling experience.....

I devoted a lot of my life to campaigning for the UK Independence Party. However, not being a dogmatic and closed-minded yes-man, I subsequently fell out with the then leader of the party and so found myself the subject of some pretty vile attacks and accusations. He really is a dreadful little oik, and he surrounds himself with even worse specimens.

But it amused me when one of his acolytes suggested, via a blog that seems to specialise in attacking me and my boss - a lovely lady, with more commitment and drive in her little finger than the oik has in his whole apology for a body - that I earn my living as a "Shakin' Stevens lookalike".I am a big fan of Shakey, so I took that as a compliment. But these days I am a bit more "Gene Vincent" than "Shakey", as I have picked up a gammy left leg, just like the Black Leather Rebel himself.

After 7 weeks of limping, I eventually went into one of those nuclear/magnetic things that produces images of the inside of one's body. It was a brilliant experience, somewhat akin to being on the set of a 1950s Sci-Fi movie.

It turns out that I have been limping around with a broken knee-cap these last 7 weeks! Of course, being a rough, tough Bermondsey Boy I laugh in the face of pain, so it never really bothered me so much.

And so now I have a brace on my left leg. When the surgeon produced that brace, that was a hell of a wake-up call for me, I can tell you. I was always blessed with good health, and I never guessed I would be living through such a moment.

I guess I am lucky, I will have this for 4 weeks, and then it will be over. Some folks are not so lucky, and have to spend their lives coping with disability. And so I will take this as a humbling experience, and will try to take on board and remember these somewhat awkward times. One thing is for sure - I will never take good health for granted again.