Flats, freedom and feminism!
Oh how I adore flat shoes. The more I wear them the more I love them. This statement is coming from a (previously) stiletto, kitten heel, wedge and anything-over-four-inches ‘heel lover’. Living a rather itinerant lifestyle has helped to change my mind. When I first stated out on this adventure I had some flip-flops, flat sandal-things and my wellies – oh, and a few of pairs of heels. I soon learned that walking around a campsite in leopard-print heels wasn’t such a good look (nor practical). They ended up somewhere in the back of the wardrobe.
Exploring towns and villages throughout Europe (with mostly cobbled streets), I felt quite cool in my flip-flops (now Havaianas, as I decided…’I’m worth it’). My Birkenstocks (name dropping again) were used for posher places such as city exploration and wearing out to dinner (flips felt a bit too casual). My good old wellies (always Hunters, of course) were left in the storage hole-in-the-side of the caravan. Well, who wears wellies when the sun is always shining?
Yet I still hankered after heels; on my trips back to the UK I still felt the longing to wear them. Until now. A couple of weeks back I went shopping for a new pair of casual-ish flats. I ended up buying some flat winter boots (well, one day I might need to wear them) and some flat, pale-gold, loafer type shoes. Oh. They. Are. Heaven. As I walk along I can see the colour reflecting on the ground – it’s like a shiny new shadow, trotting along beside me. I love those shoes. I even wear them (shock horror) to go shopping at the rather splendid shopping centre on Zenia Boulevard, near Torrevieja. I’ve even worn them out for dinner – that is something that would never have happened three-plus years back.
So…flats are going to be around for a good while yet – even though our time in the finca is fast approaching closure. This tranquil home is ours only until the end of April. Then…who knows what we will do? We don’t!
One thought (and I am hoping that this becomes a reality) is that we will live on a narrow-boat for a year (ish). After all the roaming we have done, I realise that the stories I loved as a child about, ‘The Wraggle Taggle Gypsies-oh’, still inspire and excite me. I want to return to the UK for several reasons, and what better than continuing the freedom that our recent lifestyle offers?
I’ve experienced boating holidays in the past; the freedom and beauty of seeing life from another angle is something that makes my heart flutter. Tom and I are manically exploring options; renting or buying; how long to spend where; how far to travel etc.etc. Of course, being an ex-Wren I am blinding him with science – talking about the heads, the galley, the decks and dobying….Of course, he will be a basic rating and I’ll be Cap’n Leigh – in my dreams.
Feminism is a topic that has had lots of publicity recently. I am not sure if I want to be a feminist. I want to be a woman (well, I think I am a woman). I want to be equal to men. I want men to be equal to women. What I cannot quite understand is why some women feel the need to beat all men up (not literally). I know some women who only ever want to talk about women. An acquaintance of mine writes plays. She will only write plays about – and aimed at – women. Strong women, weak women, women, women, women. I find it quite boring. I love women – I can admire beauty in a women’s looks, her body, her art (dancers and the like). But….I blinking love men too, and women who try pushing their ‘anti-men views’ onto me, make me err on the side of men. Crazy but true!
As I close, I have a question for you -how come we can have ‘International Women’s Day’ but not ‘International Men’s Day’? Am I missing something? It seems I am – there actually is an ‘International Men’s Day’ in November, yet we don’t see/hear as much publicity as we do around ‘International Womens Day’?
Any ideas why?
Hugs
Leigh
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