Wedged Heels

Are you observant? Are you aware of people around you? I ask because I notice how people walk, what they look like and what they are carrying. I often hear parts of conversations from which I create stories that turn in to full-length feature movies in nanoseconds.

At least once a week I walk from Covent Garden to the South Bank via Hungerford Bridge. I walk in high-heel shoes and on every occasion I remind myself to walk carefully and not get my heels stuck between the paving stones. And every time I fail.

I can’t tell you how many times I have ruined a pair of shoes on the Bridge. I can’t tell you either how many times I have left a shoe stuck between the cracks as I march on to a Board meeting at the South Bank Arts Centre.

I mentioned this annoying experience to a friend and she confirmed that I was not alone. Recently I stopped on the Bridge pretending to look at the Thames River but secretly watched how many other women lost their shoes for a brief moment. Like me the women were walking purposefully. And like me they hobbled back two steps to collect their shoe in a nonchalant way as if nothing had happened.

One day I am going to take photographs of wedged heels and then tweet about it. I might also try to walk slowly and count all of the holes in the cracks. There again, people might notice me!