Slowing down

I'M DEFROSTING THE freezer this evening, having emptied out the whole contents of the very full chest, and then attacked the inch-thick ice with a scrapper and a kettle of hot water and a cleaning rag.

And at the end of my exertions I have to admit I felt well and truly winded: my back was aching, my arms felt leaden and I was puffing like a grampus.

It's in such small efforts that one shows one's age creeping up on one with the stealth of a sneak thief.

To be honest, I'd become aware of my slowing down earlier - most notably when trying to push My Good Lady in her wheelchair around the eight-mile circuit of Stanley Park in Vancouver last year.

Or even earlier than that, when chest pains had necessitated my going for an angiogram the year before.

The funny thing is one isn't actually aware of growing older - you see the ageing process in others more than in yourself - until one day it falls upon you like a collapsing brick wall.

Anyhow, I've learned my lesson: next time I'll buy a self-defrosting freezer!