Fragility and dexterity. Robust and reliable. Ankles, they are amazing anatomical structures, it's a wonder we can walk at all. Many small bones, complex joints and connections laced together with ligaments and tendons, yet we treat them like sledgehammers, repeatedly smashing them with almost complete disregard, yet proud to expose them, presented fashionably in a tight sock or a strappy shoe. It's hardly surprising when they break down. There's plenty of time to gaze at them and acknowledge the obvious.
Yet I make a curious comparison with a Land Rover gearbox. Built well and fit for purpose. Pete knows how to treat it with respect. The steep uphill T junction and a balletic execution of a challenging right hand turn. There are rods and levers, mechanical instruments requiring deliberate inputs. Yet there is precision, co-ordination and a degree of delicacy that lifts this ageing machine across the hazard. My ankles are in pain. Unable to oil them, I have to stretch, strengthen and respect what I have and how I use it.
