Sinister

I’ve always been more dextra than sinistre. Right-handed, very right-footed and very left-brained. But I worry for my son. With no left foot he’ll never make the England football team. Plus he’d stand a better chance of becoming a test batsman or bowler if he was a ‘cack hander’.

So a few weeks back I resolved to only dribble and kick footballs left-footedly to set him an example. I’ve also started brushing my teeth with my left hand. I’m slowly becoming quite accomplished.

Still, I was roundly beaten in a trial of strength at left handed handwriting by my daughter. She very much has the upper left hand.

When I told a friend about left-handed tooth-brushing, he smiled. Transpires he’s a left-hander. But he owned up to standing on one leg while brushing his teeth – very good for balance. Ronald Reagan famously said he always put his socks on balancing on one foot to keep him young.

This morning I brushed left-handed, balanced left-footed and burst out laughing as I did my teeth. A perfect example of the joy of ‘flow’ – being immersed in an engaging challenge, however small. Certainly nothing sinister about that.