ISpyShanghai

I’m sat in the airport wearing my heaviest possible clothes with the baggage receipts for 9 (nine) suitcases weighing down the boarding pass. Leaving on a jet plane to old London town (and then Manchester).

That’s right- this is the final blog entry for ISpyShanghai, your favourite Shanghai based Ukulele blog about shoes (well, top 10 anyway).

Because I’ve got a girlfriend now, this move was actually pretty organised; we left the house yesterday and slept in the airport hotel.

As you might expect though from a man who thinks 3D pictures of cats are a great purchase the house was completely filled with tat that we couldn’t take with us.

In the end we gave away so much stuff to the neighbourhood recycling chaps (i.e. the ones who pedal around streets ringing a bell, looking for scrap cardboard) that a queue formed outside the back door. At one point- and this is true- there were so many people fighting over our left-over salt and half broken badminton rackets, that a guy set up shop selling roast potatoes to the crowd.

Anyway we got it done, paid the excess baggage (one million dollars) and take off in about half an hour.

Thank you, goodbye and Merry Christmas Shanghai- it’s been a blast.

Jamma out

Shanghai brought in a law a while back that shops have to charge a few pennies for plastic bags.

Some of them are worth it.

Starting as a silly throwaway blog title one Tuesday back in 2007, Shoe Tuesday has grown to become a global phenomenon to rival the Bungee Disco, Skittle-Knack Karaoke or even Strawberry Buddhism.

I’d like to say thanks to everyone who enjoyed the wild ride we’ve had, and in particular to those readers from far and wide have joined in the fun by faxing, hand-delivering or psychically transmitting images of quirky shoes. If I didn’t use the images you sent then I’m very sorry about that- it doesn’t mean they weren’t interesting or funny, just that I couldn’t think of anything interesting or funny to say about them.

Whilst I will not be doing Shoe Tuesday any more, this does not mean the end.

No no my friend. For if we all keep Shoe Tuesday in our hearts, it will never truly die.

(Although just to be clear again, I am killing it)

============================================

For this last episode then, let’s all put our ST tie clips on one last time, do the ST hand-jive, wind up the music box and listen one more time to that Shoe Tuesday music.

Emma and I threw a bit of a leaving party at the weekend, and as you can imagine- everyone who is anyone was there (except WoAi, the enormous woofter). Turning out in full effect to support the cause was Jake Newby, resplendent in a tuxedo with genuine satin bowtie…and Feiyue trainers.

Nice work Jake, you terrible, terrible pikey.

It is however, hard to beat H’s (Dingle’s much much better half) contribution.

Check out these ever-so-respectful Michael Jackson tribute bootees.

What more fitting homage could there be to the King of Pop than a pair of Ugg boots plastered with a collage of his photos? Dressed up in a farmboy outfit, photoshopped into an image of Uncle Sam, headlines from the various sexual abuse court cases- it’s all here in glorious colour.

Rumours of similar footwear limited editions featuring Lady Diana, Mother Teresa and victims of the Holocaust could not be confirmed at the time of going to press.

And THAT’s the END OF THAT!