A spot of Saturday afternoon retail therapy ...

Once upon a time, I recall, Saturday afternoons used to involve hitting the High Street with a wad of notes and a determination to come home with carrier bags full of clothes I was never likely to wear more than once and shoes in which I could barely stagger from one side of the room to the other. Remember those days? Yes, I thought you did.

Although having wads of notes is now naught but a fond memory, yesterday afternoon I decided to hit what passes for the retail superstores in Saint Girons (no, don't laugh) for a spot of retail therapy. As an indication of how times have changed, however, it wasn't high fashion I was searching for. It was - and I can scarcely believe I'm writing this - a new pair of safety boots. Oh, how the mighty are fallen ..... but when your old ones are well and truly crevées, and you've dropped the thousandth piece of rock, or plaster, or tile, or brick, onto what once passed for your toes, well, what to do?

Amazingly - and I bet you can't do this in Clapham High Street - I walked straight in to one of our major shoe chains, La Halle, and found that not only did they sell safety boots in women's sizes, but also that I had a choice. Can you believe it? So here, gentle reader, is a sample of the latest fashion, Grillou style:





Aren't they lovely?