It’s that time of year where the last bank holiday of the summer is over and parents are planning the shopping trip to get all those school essentials and shoes.
I remember the days well, the long queues at the shoe fitters, waiting to be told it’s your turn to be measured, fidgety children everywhere and tired, harrassed parents trying to stay calm, whilst the promise of a treat and reward for good behaviour lingers in the air throughout the shop.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there. They move onto secondary school, (which I found harder), with the usual clashing heads over what they will and won’t wear. It’s about fashion over the health of their feet and the mundane practical issues of sturdiness and longevity.
So, how on earth can it be a better experience for us all? I wish I had the answer, but walking past one of the more well known shoe retailers today, it doesn’t seem to have changed much.
How about a drinks machine offering free coffee and our very own boxes of mini chocolate buttons as give aways to keep the mums happy, and the promise of a chocolate lolly for good behaviour (for the children not the dads!)