I returned home from work yesterday evening, to an empty house: Mrs M had taken the mini-Mashers swimming.

I went upstairs and changed out of my work clothes, then came down again.

Just as I reached the bottom step, I heard my mobile phone ring and turned to go back upstairs to retrieve it. Then I realised it was actually downstairs as I’d already put it in the study. So I turned back round and stepped off the bottom stair. Without looking.

I stepped onto a McDonalds toy that had been left on the floor by either Harry or Amelia. It was a small plastic coffin with a mummy in it, from the terrible Scooby Doo 2 movie.

And just like in a scene from Scooby Doo, the plastic toy, with my foot atop it, skidded across the wooden floor of our hallway and I - arms flailing and with both feet in the air - landed flat on my back.

As I went down, I caught my head on the banister rail but, fortunately, not very hard.  But I partly broke my fall with my elbow, which is feeling quite painful.

I lay on the floor listening to the phone ring. It rang two more times then cut off.

I’d have gotten to it too, if it hadn’t been for those pesky kids.