where the rubber meets the road

I did my bit for the environment today.

I have an old pair of Clark's sandals.  They are comfortable, and the uppers are fine, but the original tread on the soles had worn down to a high gloss.  The other day I slipped, and decided they were no longer safe to walk in.

Given the fine condition of the uppers, I took the pair along to out local Timpson's, to see if they could be re-soled.  The guy sucked his teeth and looked dubious.  They probably wouldn't take a re-soling.  We discussed it for a bit, and I explained I just needed the soles made less slippery.  He said he would try "roughening them up" on the machine.

Several minutes and a strong smell of buring rubber later, he returned them to me, with a lovely lattice of grooves carved into the previously smooth soles:

re-treaded

Perfect!  That will keep me going for another few years, until they wear down again, and it saves me having to bin otherwise perfectly good footwear.

Timpson's for the win, again.