This public domain image of the center of Baildon, Yorkshire, England, shows my flat above Martin’s Newsagent on the left of the photograph. It is reached by steps that are just out of shot, but you can just make out where the top of the steps are by following the balcony wall on the extreme left. The steps were ‘guarded’ by a steel and wooden fence, which I now realize was past it’s best.
By the white door is a zebra crossing, which has dimpled concrete paving which helps partially sighted people determine where the pedestrian crossing is.
In April 2011, the rotten barrier gave way as I leaned to hail my wife who was crossing the road. The dimpled paving that is so kind to the blind is brutal to a falling GoutPal.
Local friends from Baildon, and global friends from the gout forum have been very kind and supportive. I can never thank you enough. One positive outcome was that I put off years of dithering about allopurinol as I did not want my recuperation and rehabilitation hampered by continuing gout flares and joint damage.
Though head and back were broken, my spirit and sense of humor remained intact. You may see references to ‘a fall into allopurinol’, my inability to fly, and other seemingly strange references in the forum. Now you know why.