Put your best foot forward. Keep your feet on the ground and don’t go in feet first.

Feet have been on my mind this week (not literally) because at the start of my annual leave, I cleverly broke my right foot; that seems to solve the puzzle of who wins a fight between a foot and a motorbike.

After two days of hopping and hobbling (I honestly thought it would just get better on its own), I went to the marvellous A&E and was furnished with a stylish boot to wear for six weeks.

It is itchy, has Velcro galore (which I might add has a mind of its own and gets stuck to things that you would not believe), but it does the job of giving my foot time to heal.

So some injuries and disabilities are visible.

It’s obvious I have broken my foot: the big black footwear; the limping; and the occasional “ouch” which I do mostly for effect. But some challenges are invisible. So the group of deaf people who gathered by the River Severn on Friday, were frequently the recipients of tutting.

When people said, “excuse me,” and the deaf person didn’t respond, there was huffing and puffing and looks of displeasure.

One man said “excuse me” several times to a deaf friend’s back getting more and more irate. “He’s deaf,” I said, “just tap him on the shoulder.”

“Oh sorry!” said the man sheepishly. Another challenge that is invisible is that of mental health.

As the crowds mill around in town it is impossible to tell who is facing mental health issues just by looking at them.

Now imagine if you have two of these challenges at the same time – like being deaf and having mental health issues. Well that explains why a group of us were in town. We were there to welcome two deaf men who had walked from John O’Groats, aiming for Land’s End and were arriving to a proper Worcestershire welcome.

Daniel and Mark (not forgetting driver Chris) are doing this to raise funds for deaf mental health organisations.

And now they have raised upwards of £17,000. In each place they stop they are greeted by people cheering and applauding. And so it was in Worcester. Which brings me back to feet.

My foot was now sore; there feet, I guess, were sore; but sometimes we have to look underneath the surface to what is really going on in people’s lives.

Not all disabilities are visible.