Even dragons have to shop, especially a vegetarian dragon such as myself. Normally I shop locally here in Ebbw Vale, such as Country Choice greengrocers for my leeks and Steve’s Savouries for my bread (nice dragons on the sign… I approve!)

But after my unfortunate summer holiday, my bank balance was a bit depleted, so I went to Cheapo Supervalue to save a few pennies. Unfortunately for me it wasn’t just their products that were cheap – the whole store seemed to be falling apart.

The shelves were half-empty, there were crates scattered around the place, and the roof was leaking. One poor woman was on the till trying to serve half a dozen people, but apart from that I could see no other staff to look after the place.

I pushed my trolley along, wings flapping behind me. Stopping in the refrigerated section, I picked up a Supervalue Cheese Pizza. It had “cheese-flavoured” topping – not very reassuring. But I added it to my trolley anyway.

I turned round the next aisle, and WHAM! The trolley skidded, sending me flying in it wake – not controlled flying, but smash into first of all the eggs and then down onto the floor. Crunch!

“Are you alright?” asked another customer, an older lady with a very fetching woolly hat.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I said, dusting myself down with my claws. I tried to get up and… owww! Sudden pain shot through me.

 “My tail,” I said. “I think it’s broken.”

Much to my embarrassment, I simply couldn’t get up. All I wanted was my weekly shop, and I ended up needing an ambulance. They drove me off to the hospital and wrapped me up in bandages.

Later, in the hospital...

“You are an unlucky dragon. First your accident abroad, now this,” said Mr Meadows, coming to visit me with a bunch of grapes a couple of hours later. “What next, an accident in the workplace?”

“Well, I work for you, so hopefully not!” I said. “Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be back at work soon.”

“Don’t worry about that,” he said. “But think about it: you’ve been badly hurt, and it wasn’t your fault.”

“What do you mean?”

“You could be entitled to compensation, you know,” he said. “Was there any sign to warn you?”

“No, I just turned a corner and slipped.”

“Had the shop taken care to make sure the place was safe for you as a customer?”

“Well, I’d like to think they did their best, but to be honest…”

“I thought as much. Look, you’ve had a serious injury. Both public and private organisations have a duty of care towards you. Make sure you write down all the details while you remember it, and we’ll get you sorted out soon, okay?”

“If you say so, Mr Meadows!” I said gratefully.

“I just want to help you, Ivor. That’s what I’m here for,” he said with a friendly smile. “Now, you eat those grapes and get better quickly, and we’ll see if we can get you the compensation you deserve.”

If you've had a trip or slip that's had an adverse effect on your life, you might be entitled to make a personal injury claim. Get in touch with us now for your free consultation.If you're based in the Ebbw Vale area you can always pop into our office to speak with us directly.