FOOTWEAR FOCUS ROAD TEST
M
y work as a journalist takes me to a variety of places around the world. Travel has its perks – going to new places, meeting new people (but not, as a slogan on an army t-shirt concluded in the old, politically incorrect days, “and killing them!”)
My travels take me to poor countries. But, it is often the poor who go out
of their way to be helpful and hospitable. Many years ago I was in Syria, where a bitter civil war is currently being waged. My experience is that the Syrians are wonderful, kind and hospitable people. I find it incomprehensible that they should be tearing themselves and the country apart. When I travelled there, without being known, I was
invited to stay in people’s homes. But, Syrian hospitality is summed up for me by the number of times I finished a meal in a restaurant and, on asking for the bill, was told, “No, it has been paid” with a hand gesture probably towards an old man at a corner table drinking his “Turkish” coffee. Gratitude was also waved away, “You are a guest in our country” spoken in a matter of fact way, dismissing any suggestion that such behaviour was not the norm. At a hotel in Kampala, Uganda, a couple of years ago, where I had stayed
for quite a long time, I wanted to tip the “room boy” (as they are still called despite being grown men) for fetching and carrying for me during my stay. I had collected a lot of things while in Uganda, so I was paring down my luggage to ensure I was not overweight on the flight home. I had a pair of shoes that had done me good service, but could be
sacrificed. I placed them by the wastepaper basket in my room so they could be taken away. When I proffered the “room boy” the tip he shook his head, smiled and pointed to the old shoes. He was prepared to give up the tip and take the shoes instead! I insisted he took both, not least as a reward for the idea of how to recycle shoes that I no longer need. I was recently in Egypt on assignment and I had been given a pair of
Roamers to road test for Footwear Today Magazine. The Roamers are a pair of desert boots - but with a difference. While traditional desert boots are very conventional, lace-up shoes (they are more of a shoe than a boot), my Roamers are more of a boot than a shoe. They are "Chelsea boot" desert boots, no laces, but elasticated sides. They are also fashionably long. Normal desert boots make no attempt to be stylish, but my Roamers had tapering fronts, with a sharp toe. I had never thought of it before but of course it makes huge sense for a
desert boot not to have a laced opening that lets the sand in. But then I wonder how many desert boots actually have desert experience. My visit to Cairo was nothing interesting, just a round of interviews at the
government ministries to gather background on how the new government is working. A pair of Roamers worn with a pair of light chinos and a blazer and tie was quite smart enough for Cairo's blazing heat.
12 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013
Three days into my trip I was in a taxi on my way back to my hotel from the Ministry of Information when the taxi became stuck in a traffic jam. We waited for some time - you always wait sometime in traffic jams in Cairo - but when the taxi driver began to wonder what the delay was about I knew we had waited longer than normal. He stepped out of the cab to discuss the jam and when he returned he shrugged his shoulders and said, "protest, everyone protest, no good for business." I thought I may as well walk, so I paid him off and strode off in the direction
of the hotel. I was thinking about how cool and comfortable the Roamers were to walk in, when I realised I was the only one going in the direction of my hotel. Indeed, I was faced by a wall of people who by now were starting to jog and run away from something in the opposite direction to the one I was heading. It seemed like a good idea to join them. But, by then the tear gas canisters had started to fall around us spewing their peppery white cloud and enveloping the coughing and spluttering crowd. It appears I had run straight into an anti-government rally that the security forces were breaking up. As water cannon, rubber as well as real bullets had been used in earlier attempts to clear the streets,
I thought it was time to move smartly on. With my eyes streaming and my lungs stinging I started running, my handkerchief ineffectually clasped over my nose and mouth. Thankfully, my trusty Roamers carried me safely away from the danger
zone. Because I have covered civil disturbances and been subject tear gas before I know it sticks. So when it was time to leave Cairo. I decided that I did not want to take my tear gas impregnated clothes with me - just packing them was likely to "infect" the other clothes in my suitcase. Instead I had them cleaned as best I could by the hotel laundry and I gave them to the very helpful members of the hotel staff. And the Roamers, well, no, as they performed so well in desert conditions
and I consider they have many years of wear and no one is going to smell the tear gas on them. So instead of giving them away I sealed them in plastic bags and brought them home!
Details: M765BS Roamers Chelsea Boot
Roamers sharp toe suede Chelsea boot with textile lining, looks great with skinny jeans. Trade price £13.75, suggested retail price £34.95. Available in sizes 6x12 in the following colours - black, taupe, dark brown. Great margins to be had with the Roamers brand that goes from strength to strength. Contact Pete Hill
pete@ukdistributors.co.uk or telephone 0116 240 3485
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