Do you want some new shoes for the autumn, Annie cried excitedly to her neighbour Mary, who was sweeping the front path which had been covered by red leaves from the local trees?

Well it won’t be autumn for much longer and moreover my feet are painful

Well do you want some new shoes for the winter?.

I would like some Brogues. I used to have some from Potters of Wiganbl and Stalybridge.

What happened to them, Annamie said brightly?

I put all my comfortable shoes into a bag to take them upstairs and  someone must have thought it was rubbish and put them into the dustbin because I can’t find them anywhere.

Well it wasn’t me mioawed Emile Mary’s delightful cat.

And it wasn’t I  cried Dave the adorable paramedic as he ran through the front door and into the kitchen wearing the green and red striped dress which he adored.

Well I have looked up and down and high and low and in and out and roundabout ai I have completely given up.

Let’s let’s all have a nice cup of boiling hot decaffeinated tea preferably earl grey! (The author did the same and scalded herself)

I would love one said Dave seriously.

When Annie carried in the tray of tea she heard Mary explaining to Dave that her feet were very deformed and she could no longer wear new shoes because they were too stiff.

Well you could buy some second hand ones from eBay or vintage ones  or who knows!?

They’ve not made any for several years but maybe somebody’s been wearing them and they’ve got nice and battered and she’s decided to get new ones.

So she’s going to sell them for five pounds to someone either very poor or with terrible feet 

I used to like beautiful shoesvsaid Mary but now I am  in this terrible pain from arthritis I wouldn’t mind as long as I can get them on and they don’t hurt otherwise I can’t go outside especially in the winter because sandals might be comfortable in the summer but even then when your feet are deformed sandals don’t give enough protection

Well we’ll have to go on to Google and put in some old brogues wanted

Or Anny thought to herself would we prefer some old rogues?

Perhapa she would but she’s not saying anything to the others sometimes Annie can feel a bit hurt by the way that her friends treat her as if she’s not as good as them because she hasn’t read summs theologica or Hitler’s diaries on the other hand they might be interested in the recent discovery of Hitler’s DNA

Again the dear lady remains silent.

Perhaps she is undergoing a metamorphosis meanwhile Mary has found some grey brogues for sale and they look very well worn

But we can’t look in the Guardian for what to wear with a pair of worn-old brogues when all the Guardian shows is what to wear with your new knee-high boots or what to wear with your sheepskin mittens. The entire outfit will cost about 935 pounds which tells you something about the salaries of journalists!

Is there any newspaper or magazine that would advise you what to wear with a pair of second-hand battered old brogues you know they are made by a very good shoe company? Would the Queen wear them instead of trainers?

You never know. look at least Mary we will be able to go outside when she gets these old shoes otherwise you’d have to cut the toes out of her present shoes and that’s not very nice in the winter is it? 

Well many people like Michael Rosen the wealthy poet are criticized for using their  free bus pass even when they are age 79 and have nearly died of covid. And who defines wealthy nowadays question mark is Mary wealthy because she has a house?

Why someone like Michael Rosen gets attacked on Twitter or X is a great puzzle with it only goes to show that noone is safe;after all:look what happened to Jesus Christ and they didn’t even have mobile phones in those days let alone social media thought for the day

The better kinder more thoughtful you are the more likely you are to be attacked especially on social media.

So if you lose your London bus pass for pensioners do not put it on x I’m X keep quiet about it and just ask your friends what to do  You don’t need to ask entire world for advice

Very wise meowed the cat

And so said all of us

short-eared durham owl
meditating over the dale’s edge,
shadows the fields and folds
in elegant diurnal flight.
on wind-side,careful sight,
may swoop to prey
and away.

your yellow broad-eyed look,
at once both sharp and distant,
holds me.
oh,silence,
oh,wind on green,
oh,earth,
sky.

immense your held vision,
sphere without center,
pied geometer of flight,
oh, swift descent and ascent.
trees bunched by dry stone wall
call heart home