New Year, New Shoes

Bear needed new shoes.  He didn't need them because he had outgrown them but because he wore them out.  As today was a training day, we took the opportunity to go in and get them. 

In the past we have always gone to Clarks, all through bear's life.  Clarks have the reputation of being wonderful for kids shoes, properly fitted, well made and generally the store all caring parents would go to for their children's best outcome.  Bear got his first shoes from there.  I have also had some of the toughest arguments to protect bear's interests in there.  It's been so hard trying to get them to listen to bear when they are telling me that he has plenty of room and bear is clearly uncomfortable.  They haven't even lasted that well.  Today we went to Clinkards.

Clinkards is scarily expensive, though bear's shoes cost about the same as they would have in Clarks, and seem very traditional.  I got the impression that you wouldn't get six inch heels but you could get a nice pair of hush puppies.  And when we mentioned the fitting to the assistant, they were fine.  They were lovely.  They couldn't do enough to help bear choose.  He actually came away with two pair which were painfully expensive but they seem very good quality, were leather and one pair was definitely dress shoes.  They weren't quite winkle pickers but were definitely sharp.  I thought it interesting that bear suddenly had an opinion on his shoes more than, 'It fits, it'll do!'.  I'm going to encourage it, within reason, as if he is interested in looking good it will no doubt help me a great deal through the teenage years. 

We had a quick trip to the supermarket where we picked up a few bits, then got soaked through on the way to the bus stop and home.  The beck is really high at the moment.  Then I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get through to Scottish Power.  I will have to spend a lot of tonight trying to get the kitchen in some sort of order as it is still in a heap.  It was on the list!  It's just now a little higher.   They come tomorrow and hopefully we'll get decent hot water after that!