Gooster gets her booster! I now sit firmly in the 50+ bracket – which on the one hand makes me shudder in disbelief (how did that happen?!), but on the other hand, has its advantages. For instance, who’d have thought Saga, the 50+ company, would be the only car insurance provider prepared to add my fast-driving, points-holding partner as an additional driver to my policy? I digress, but that always makes me laugh! More pertinently, it means I’ve been eligible for my third covid jab for weeks. Today’s the day on which, after much persistence, I finally managed to book an appointment and so now I’m fully vaccinated. Hurrah! And a big thank you to the team at the Grafton Centre in Cambridge city centre who made that possible, and with such a cheerful attitude, despite the huge demands currently being placed on them.

To mark the occasion, I rediscovered these dark brown mock croc boots. They haven’t seen the light of day for years, but they’re the perfect complement to today’s wide-legged tweed trousers. And despite appearances, they’re not too bad to cycle in either! Boots are much more practical in that regard as they won’t fall off, which is always a risk when cycling in a regular slip-on heel …

The covid situation has made me think much more about community health, and about my role in that. I feel strongly that it’s my social duty to get vaccinated against covid, as part of playing my part in helping to prevent transmission of the disease to others, as much as (in fact, more than) protecting myself. Expanding that, this year was the first time I had a flu jab, deciding that the minor inconvenience to me of making the time to do it was a small price to pay if it reduced the risk of me passing on germs to someone vulnerable. Of course there’s more I can do, but this is an easy action, a quick win if you like.

But this post is about shoes, so let’s get back to the shiny pair currently on my feet! There’s something very appealing in the combination of that long, square-edged toe and that rich, textured finish, like a polished conker beckoning at me from a forest floor. I’m glad I’ve found these again and along with my jab, they’ve definitely given a positive start to my morning!