Well, winter is most definitely here. With such cold daytime temperatures I wrapped up warm before going out for my lunchtime walk today.

Despite the bad weather there seemed to be lots of people in the town centre.

Walking past Woolworths I could see long queues of people waiting to buy items in their 50% off sale. Sadly I fear the shop will soon be passing on like an old friend and the sale is more of a funerary event than a chance to grab a happy bargain.

As you will know my lunchtime walk is the highlight of my day indeed walking is an activity that I quite enjoy.

The other morning it was so frosty that a layer of ice had formed over the road where I live. Being a careful sort of person it seemed like a good idea to walk to work rather than risk having an accident in my car on the icy surface.

Leaving my house a few minutes earlier than normal I pulled the front door up behind me and made my way down the icy garden path towards the road.

Very carefully I walked along the untreated pavement until I came to the main road. Now the main road had been treated and the cars were driving along at speed but the pavement was still covered in ice.

It wasn’t very nice walking on such an icy pavement with cars racing past. One false move on the ice and there was a danger of me falling down into the road and being run over by a passing car.

To make matters worse the pavements in my area are covered in smooth tarmac so there is no chance of getting any grip at the best of times.

Is it right that only the roads are gritted? Surely the pedestrians are more likely to be injured on the ice than the car drivers who are protected in the safety of their cars? Perhaps the powers that be should start treating the pavements or at least put down a surface that gives grip in cold weather.

Next time I am driving on an icy morning I shall keep an eye out for pedestrians walking on icy pavements after all it would be awful to have someone slip over in front of my car.

One thing is for sure; I won’t be walking to work many more times due to the risk of falling over on an untreated pavement.