A crock of...

When you read the title, depending on whether you are a half full/half empty glass sort of person, you probably thought of a couple of words, either shiny metal (at the end of the rainbow) or less pleasant stuff that no amount of polishing will improve.

The word Crock is frequently heard referring to those rather strange chunky foam shoes with the holes in. (More accurately known as "Crocs"). When I first saw them I thought they were jelly shoes for those in their second childhood, however, over time, I have become a fan of them. Why do they appeal? Because they are extremely comfortable, especially for people like me who suffer from occasional swollen feet and have to take extra care not to damage the nails or toes. They are soft, don't have pressure points and have a bumpy insole to aid circulation. They are well vented, lightweight and give excellent foot support.

So why do some people hate them? Probably because they are fashionable (if not actually a fashion item) and they do look rather big and clunky. Of course Doc Martens "Bovver Boots" are the latter and have been the former over the years.

I'm now on my second pair, the first were bought in Batley and they are a brown colour with lime green adjustable heel pads. Once I decided that I liked them I bought a second pair, Black RX Clouds suitable for diabetics. (I didn't go for the Silver Cloud version as my feet don't hum enough to warrant it).

It now occurs to me that I haven't worn an ordinary pair of shoes since I got my first Crocs, I even went to a Wedding wearing them!

Is there a downside? Well, yes. I occasionally find that my right sock ends up by the toes due to some strange creeping action that only affects one foot. Also, whilst I was on holiday in Spain, I was taking extra care to apply a moisturiser cream regularly. (I'm prescribed some stuff called Epaderm which is paraffin wax based and looks rather like goose grease!) Some of it must have collected in my shoes, because the day we went to PortAventura to do the water rides, on Tutuki Splash we encountered a mini-tsunami that washed over the bows of the boat and drenched our feet. As I came off the ride I was bemused to find that my shoes were frothing with wax oozing out of the holes. I then found that I was slipping backwards and forwards in the shoes as I walked so had to use paper towels later on to clean out the shoes and make my feet less slippy! (Plodging in the sea in my Crocs on other days didn't have the same effect so it may have been some chemical additive).