That happened to our dog. We heard cries of pain. Fortunately the wound wasn't infected. Peckham is long gone, but I shudder to think of the suffering if we hadn't been at home at the time.
We had these sorts of philosophical debates with my (blind) father - what is worse, not stepping down a step that is there, or stepping down one that isn't? (he reckoned the latter was more jarring but the former more likely to make you fall over), and which tastes worse, tea that you think is going to be coffee, or coffee that you expect to be tea? Apparently both are horrible - he had no sense of smell either to give him warning. How could he taste anything when he had no sense of smell? No idea, but we tested it - rather unkind children's experiments like giving him bisto instead of tea. He definitely could tell the difference.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
When I was a lad I stood on a six inch nail on a makeshift raft we were playing on. We had just launched from a handy sewage outfall pipe which discharged into the Clyde estuary downstream from all the shipyards and other polluting industries of the day long before any controls. Was disappointed to not even get tetanus.
Not as bad as that, but I knelt on a rusty tack. The only thing you think of is getting it out. You can think about the pain later. I think your brain prioritises.
All the gang were playing war - one lad who was a sort of self appointed doyen of realistic falling down after being shot and other hero type stuff - he jumped over some stuff without looking and then cried out ARHHGGGH! I had to hand it to him - that was really good. When he kept on..... and on... we all went over and discovered a big nail completely through his foot and out through his lace holes. As boys will be boys, we soon got fed up with his screaming and stuffed a snotty handkerchief in his mouth while we carried him and his attached lump of wood home. And if that wasn't bad enough and after his example - another lad threw himself over a pile of sand on the half of our estate that was still a building site - only to rise up again very quickly.... and just stood there shaking. He had a piece of reinforcing rod jammed in his stomach. Ambulance took about two hours to pick him up (1958) Shortly after that, an older boy was practicing with a very powerful bow and began shooting arrows almost vertically. One of my mates ended up with a 3ft arrow stuck in his eye. As my mum was one of the few mothers at home all day, this poor lad was brought in to our kitchen, two or three of the other lads pulled the arrow out like they'd seen on Saturday morning pictures - along with much of his eye. Pandemonium. I remember it like some of those half riot burials in foreign parts - it took my mum months to get over it. Of course, the lad lost the sight in that eye and there were fears about him going blind altogether but he went on to play in goal for the county - with two eyes he'd have probably played for England.
Forecast said rain, here, I got up super early, did washing, dried in tumble dryer (which I hate!!) economy 7, and guess what, it's blooming sunny and windy grrrrr
2 years ago, I was staying at my daughters' babysitting while she was away on a course,she is shocking for leaving piles of washing, toys etc on the stairs. I came down, there was a pile of clothes on the bottom step, thought treading on them would be dangerous, so, tried to step over them,just one step, height, but am only 5ft 1, landed awkwardly on my right side, the side of it, the toes were black by the evening, had a job to get my shoes on. The following day, I am limping, went out to get washing basket, very thick Nordic slipper/boots on, thick rubber soles, stood on a tiny stone. Course, normally you wince, and move quickly. I couldn't put the foot to the foot at all. Went to my lovelly Podriarist, who said i was part foot problem, yes, and I had back problems with the limping, which caused more back problems!
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“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
As boys will be boys, we soon got fed up with his screaming and stuffed a snotty handkerchief in his mouth while we carried him and his attached lump of wood home.
And if that wasn't bad enough and after his example - another lad threw himself over a pile of sand on the half of our estate that was still a building site - only to rise up again very quickly.... and just stood there shaking. He had a piece of reinforcing rod jammed in his stomach. Ambulance took about two hours to pick him up (1958)
Shortly after that, an older boy was practicing with a very powerful bow and began shooting arrows almost vertically. One of my mates ended up with a 3ft arrow stuck in his eye. As my mum was one of the few mothers at home all day, this poor lad was brought in to our kitchen, two or three of the other lads pulled the arrow out like they'd seen on Saturday morning pictures - along with much of his eye. Pandemonium. I remember it like some of those half riot burials in foreign parts - it took my mum months to get over it. Of course, the lad lost the sight in that eye and there were fears about him going blind altogether but he went on to play in goal for the county - with two eyes he'd have probably played for England.