The overnight re-freeze of slushy streets is the worst bit of winter for the urban commuter. The morning journey is fraught, battling the combined perils of glassy pavements and the law of gravity. It's an annual trial that can't be avoided. Or can it?
I have been converted to clip-on ice grips for shoes. I won't be winning any awards for 'winter style'. At best I look like someone who enjoys outdoor activities a bit too much – worst like I've escaped from somewhere. A colleague tells me they look a bit "50 Shades".
But do I care? No more clinging to the inside edge of the footpage. The slopey bit of pavement at pedestrian crossings holds no fear for me. I stroll confidently down our newly opened high-street skating rink.
Celine Bijleveld models her shoe grips. Photograph: Guardian
There are load of brands out there but I've been using YakTrax's Walker grips since the UK started getting whumpped with snow. Made of stretchy rubber, they pull easily on and off over my shoes or boots.
Ice grips don't look beautiful, it's true, but they can be liberating on a night out. Where I'd normally have to spend an evening dragging a pair of tractor-tyred trainers round with me for the journey home, I can stow these low-rent crampons in my handbag.
So become an inner-city mountaineer and forget winter-fashion footwear such as pink polka-dot wellies – they won't save you on slippery sidewalks. Sure, they look cute – but considerably less so when you're flat on your back.
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