The left shoe

Complete with ‘power disc’ – ideal for office relaxation. Simply tighten for more strenuous activities.

The right shoe

Classic simplicity, elegantly babouched to display a comely ankle. Plant pot featured in the foreground is part of the B&Q Basics range.

My filthy shoes

Have you noticed that we are currently bombarded with a wave of propaganda everywhere we look?

The current hysteria threatening to overwhelm us by sheer weight of media is sickeningly green in flavour: Recycle. Save the Polar bears. Only flush your toilet once a day. Turn off your computers and printers at night. Use energy saving light bulbs. Make a compost heap and dance round it to keep warm. Cycle to work. Holiday in eco lodges and grow your own tomatoes by eating salad and shitting in your own back garden. The options facing us all can sometimes be bewildering.

In my quest to ‘do my bit’ for future generations I have been recycling shoes. Finding a matching pair for under £1 has proven difficult but with persistence and a bit of compromise I have been blessed with a result that is not only functional but extremely stylish too.

If we could all lower our footwear standards, perhaps there would be no need for shoe banks or fuel guzzling cargo planes full of old sandals making return trips to Burkina Faso or wherever they are eventually dumped and set upon by famished natives who are ignorant of Western shoe fashions.

Let’s stop these wasteful exports to ungrateful third world countries and in doing so save our planet, our conscience and our exquisite shoe design heritage.