The Green Goblin Blog

It was crazy. I went to the shoe section of the Reading branch of Marks & Spencer; I looked at the trainers there and found a pair I liked; I picked up the pair of size 10s on the shelf and tried them on; they fitted so I went to the till and paid for them. All over in a matter of minutes.

Imagine - trainers on display in PAIRS and mutiple SIZES so you don't have to wait for staff to be free to serve you. Mind you the range was miniscule compared to that at JJB Sports as M&S needed the space for all the extra shoes in different sizes. The range at JJB didn't help them - the only pair I wanted weren't comfortable. Shopping for trainers is such a lottery. SportsWorld was gloomy, warm and busy which wasn't welcoming; Heelas had a tiny selection and the one I wanted was only in an 7 or 8. Checking out 4 shops, though, is pretty impressive for me - I've normally compromised what I am after long before then and bought something I didn't really want but knew I would eventually get used to (looking down at feet to see blue suede-effect Adidas trainers from JJB).

I wonder if I would get a discount there if I gave myself an appropriate middle name...