Yes, well, obviously they are very important! Let me tell you this is not, simply going to be a moan wrt the condition of my knees. The truth is, I know I am so very lucky to be able to walk, cycle, but sadly not run, the way that I do. We all have to thank our blessings when we see the suffering that others go through just to survive, on a daily basis.

No, I am simply going to describe what is, has been going on in these two very important joints of mine. My knees were perfectly healthy up till I suffered a very bad twist of my left one, whilst playing in a friendly football match at the age of fifteen, that’s back in 1966 in real money. Now I really loved my football and rugby, I longed to be Bobby Moore, the majestic world cup winning player, or Arthur “the crash” Lewis the hard tackling centre for Wales. I blame my failure to rise to such heights on this injury lol. It had created a serious weakness in my crusciate ligament, which basically I never recovered from. I tried to play both games on many occasions thereafter, but the knee would simply collapse, with me following in a heap to the ground. The ignominy reached it’s climax when I was bowling an over in cricket, when just at the end of my slow run up, and as I half turned to deliver the ball, whoops I was on the floor, with my left knee hurting very badly. I had to drive home with the knee swelling up painfully and I was off work for three weeks!

Both married and with young children by this time, I simply couldn’t risk such occurrences so I hung up both pairs of boots, I didn’t have cricket pads!

So what? I hear you say my faithful reader, where is all this going to?

Simply that times have changed and much for the better, the thousands who suffered such an injury 50 years and more ago, could now have the problem remedied by surgery and physio. Today the surgeons would be able to remove the damaged part of the crusciate ligament, and stitch in some teflon material, which basically is unbreakable. Both professional footballers and rugby players have even had both knees renewed in this way.

Again, faithful reader, I hear your impatient call, so what?

Well, it is this. I had been waiting for an appointment to see a specialist about my troublesome left knee, which nowadays gives me nagging pain, arthritis has also set in. That appointment was held a week yesterday, and just kind of fell flat on it’s face. There was I hoping for a knee transplant or other minor miracle, that would see me sprinting, jumping, side stepping, volleying, skipping and so on, but no! Mr. Specialist, had a good look at the x-rays that had been taken of said joint, and explained to me that he could give me a new knee, which would stop the pain, but it would probably be better to continue as I am for at least another year, because post operation, it could be I wouldn’t recover all the movement I currently have?

Consequently, increased agility, even scoring a goal or try for Wales is not on the cards!

Doah!!!

But I can still pedal, so why complain?

Ever since I saw the x-ray the specialist showed me, the name Garrincha has come to my mind. He was a world cup winning Brazilian footballer of the fifties and sixties, I have only seen him on film, he was known as “the little bird”. Very small of stature, he had a deformed left leg that bent in, quite remarkably, at the knee, yet he became a phenomenal winger for the best team in the world at that time. It is amazing what people can do if they are dedicated, hard working and determined enough.

Not me obviously, lol.

Cheers.