I fell off my scooter last week and ended up flat on my face in the road with my 4 year old daughter in tow.

I grazed my knuckles and winded myself but was otherwise unhurt except for my pride and dignity!

I’d been trundling down my road on the way to “Dramatots” with my daughter. We like to walk on a sunny day and we sing our “Dramatots” song as we amble down the hill, saying friendly “good mornings” to people as we go. At the bottom of the hill, at a cross roads, the pavement runs out of dropped curbs so my daughter waits patiently at the end while I drive down a drive way and into the oncoming traffic! I have to keep my eye on traffic coming from 4 directions whilst barking at my daughter when it’s safe to cross. I then can’t get back onto the pavement with her till I reach another drive way flat enough for my scooter to handle. The hill is so steep at this point that I have to judge the turn expertly to avoid it tipping over onto its side which is what I spectacularly misjudged on this particular morning.

The situation the average MSer panics about the most is not the fall itself but not being able to get up again afterwards. As I lay, spread-eagled (facing downhill) a couple of lovely ladies from the school rushed over to help but there was nothing much they could do except sit cross legged on the ground with me while I waited for The Husband to rescue me. He arrived in seconds and heaved me up and back onto the scooter, dismissing the lovely ladies and dusting me off in the process. I blamed myself for misjudging the turn but it occurred to me a few days later that if it hadn’t been for the lack of dropped curbs it wouldn’t have happened and that it shouldn’t be too much to ask to be able to trundle down my road safely without risking my life just to cross the road.

Anyway, I contacted my MP, Caroline Lucas (The Green Party’s only MP) on Twitter, asking her how I go about improving the “dropped curb situation” in my area. I expected her to reply eventually and was hoping she’d refer me to the relevant department where I could write a few heated emails stating my case. I was pleasantly surprised and delighted when half an hour or so later I looked at my phone and her reply blinked at me on the screen, “Really sorry to hear about that – hope you’re OK – which road was it on? Will contact Council & urgently raise”

It exceeding my expectations. It doesn’t even matter about politics when it comes to representation from your MP does it? All you want is for someone to listen and fight your corner which Caroline Lucas is clearly willing to do. We will see what comes of of it but if you don’t ask you don’t get do you!