Small pleasures and unwritten rules

For pretty much the first time in my life I have recently had my shoes cleaned by a professional show shine man. In fact I have had three pairs cleaned on three separate occasions.

I noticed a guy had set up his pitch just outside our building. I am guessing he is Turkish or similar given the tiered array of brass Aladdin style pots that bracket the foot rest. That and the black leather waistcoat, the mediterranean skin tone and his accent.

The first time I used him was last week when I looked at my shoes and admitted to myself that a) I had neglected them and b) they looked dirty. I decided to invest in a proper clean (priced at little more than a large Starbucks coffee!).

A short while later I was the proud owner of a pair of gleaming leather toe caps (plus the rest of the shoe), but by then I realized I had a new set of rules to learn, yet no instruction booklet. There had been various subtle taps indicating a change of foot. I had been politely told off for not putting my foot flat (apparently it creates lines in the folds). I had watched the ritual of e various layers polish, three to my recollection, being applied; been buffed twice by brush and velvet cloth and protected by carefully selected plastic sock guards.

This is something few ladies will have experienced and set my mind thinking to the rules if the road regarding getting your haircut and (forgive me ladies) the occupancy pattern of urinals in a male toilet. I don't recall my father ever taking me aside and saying, "Son, this is the way it works!", but I was younger, impressionable and had an opportunity to observe. I learned to move my head at the subtlest of touches, often acting ahead of the need (the hairdresser's) and of the rule of "maximum distance" (urinals). In the shoe cleaner's chair I was alone.

I have been back twice since. The second time with a new pair of shoes that I thought would benefit for an early professional waxing. Today I took a pair of brown shoes and watched as the right shade of brown was mixed from two pots before application. You don't find that in Sainsbury's.

Apart from the obvious that I know have three pairs of well polished shoes, I have also discovered the moments of quiet contemplation one can find as another person rubs your feet. Even today I was told off for creasing my shoes during a shift of foot positions; something that broke my revery, but I hope that as the rules become second nature, the level of pleasure, albeit small, will grow.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad