If Fred Astaire had a nephew he probably wouldn’t race him across a lawn barefoot. Fred apparently insured his feet for $65,000, which was a lot of money in Fred’s era. It’s a lot of money now but in the days of J-Lo insuring her arse for $1m, it doesn’t seem so much.
Fred’s insurance policy probably had a few clauses in it, such as don’t race your nephew across a lawn barefoot and don’t travel on the London Underground. And rightly so because it’s important for dancers to look after their feet. It’s important for runners too.
When I went to the chiropodist the other week she gave me a lot of good advice like tighten your laces to stop your feet falling forward, it’s OK to wear heels but not all the time, get some brogues and stop running. I obviously ignored all of this. She didn’t however let me in on the lessons that I’ve learnt the hard way this week. Number one: don’t run across a lawn barefoot in October. Depite the unseasonably warm weather we’re having, conker season is already upon us. This is something I was alerted to as I trood on a spikey conker case on Sunday.
Lesson two: don’t travel on the London Underground at rush-hour, not if you don’t want people to repeatedly stand on your toes. Fred wouldn’t have got the underground across London yesterday morning. He’s have danced his way to work instead. Or, you know, maybe he’d have got a cab.
Fab tips. I do a lot of hiking and should probably look after my feet better. Your chiropodist would hate my feet!
I have to ask…what is a “conker”? Is it as bad a spiky horse chestnut shell?
I did wonder if ‘Conker’ was a term used outsid ethe UK. Yes, it’s a horse chestnut seed.
Laura.
Can you ask your chiropodist why we have toe nails. I lost two after the Robin Hood and am not missing them one bit. Maybe we are in the process of evolving to lose them completely and runners are leading the genetic charge. What next, camel humps for the water?