No, not a new flavour of ice-cream.

So there I was, a couple of days ago, removing the rust from a rear hub of my Land Rover rebuild with a wire brush on an angle grinder. Not a problem; I was wearing a dust mask, goggles, and hearing protection. I switched the grinder off, removed the various protective equipment, and bent down to look at the results. I blew the rust dust away from the hub, and that’s when it happened.

I didn’t notice it at first. Later that day my right eye started feeling a bit irritated as though a speck of dust was under the eyelid.

I tried eyedrops; no result. Stood with my head under the shower; no result. A close inspection in the mirror revealed that a small flake of rust had embedded itself in my cornea.

So the following morning off to the Ophthalmology department of the local hospital where I was seen pretty much straight away. After a couple of anaesthetic drops into the right eye, the surgeon approached the eyeball with – a needle.

Well, fortunately he had very steady hands. Under a second later the flake was removed.

I’m pleased to report there is no damage apart from a small rust-coloured spot on the cornea. Maybe it will fade over time. Still, lesson learned.