20.01.12 Cheap Shoes
Do you remember that (UK) advert with Denise Van Outen breaking her heels? She goes into an old lady’s house and I have no idea what product they were advertising but it ends with Denise waving a cheery goodbye while the old lady says to a starstruck young man “I know what you’re thinking; cheap shoes!”

Well. Welcome to the Land of Cheap Shoes. If plastic is your thing, you must come to Asia. I have never in all my life seen such a collection of dreary, badly-fitting, insultingly ugly shoes. I mean come on! Thai girls are so petite and pretty and then they go and ruin their feet with the ugliest shoes known to man. Not only that, but boy do they walk funny. And no wonder! There is a trend (I think) of buying shoes too small so that the toes hang over the edge of the shoe, giving it a kind of malformed claw appearance. And it can’t be bloody good for you neither.
Perhaps it’s not a trend, perhaps they think that is how shoes are supposed to fit. But surely someone must know better? I mean, go to a proper shoe shop and have your shoes fitted by someone who knows a bit about it. Flip flops are the order of the day, especially in Myanmar and you know, fair enough and all that. Plenty of air, cos it gets really hot and you are constantly taking them off and on again as you go in and out of houses and temples. Plus they are cheap as chips but my goodness they are bad for your feet. There is no support whatsoever and I for once certainly can’t walk for too long in entirely flat shoes. Thank the Lord for FitFlops I say.

And don’t get me started on the heels. U – G – L – Y. And plastic. And too small. It just isn’t a good combo. I wonder if anyone anywhere has commissioned a health check on the nation’s spinal problems in later life? I mean ladies, do yourselves a favour. Buy a pair of nice shoes that fit properly and that you can walk in and that won’t ruin your posture. Oh my days, I sound like my mum dragging me off to Clarks for the annual school shoe fight. But you know what? She was right.