Recap

Friday night was very enjoyable - good food and wine, there were many funny moments in The Holy Grail that had slipped my memory, and I managed to lay a guilt trip on Mrs Zilla. Heh, heh! The weather this weekend has been atrocious. Persistent rain, accompanied by the occasional teasing bright spell. The trip to buy shoes wasn't as painful as first feared. The only real problem was that the terrible weather had inspired everyone to go to the shopping centre. This place has over 10,000 car park spaces. when we approached, only 650 odd were left. Although, given past experiences, the signs do seem to lie a little. I was fearing a situation like the New Year sales, where, in the past, I have witnessed actual fist fights over a parking space. Nothing like being reasonable is there? As it turned out we found a space quite close to an entrance, under cover too, thus avoiding a soaking. The malls seemed busy, and most of these people appeared to be out of towners, given their avid reading of maps of the centre! I thought this might be the case, as the England national football team were playing a match just down the road later in the day. We made it to the shoe shop easily enough though. Although I am often left wondering why people without wheelchairs/pushchairs wait in a queue for a lift, when escalators are bountiful? When you arrive in the shoe shop you are given a ticket number, and wait to be called. We were allocated 009. The next number to be shouted was 001, so there was hope. We only had to wait about five minutes before it was our turn, but five minutes can seem like a lifetime. Mrs Zilla took Godzooky 1 off to peruse the different available styles. Like most males, Godzooky 1 doesn't have strong opinions about shoes. Until you show him option of flashing lights or some other essential optional extra. Godzooky 2 was not happy at being left with me and the smallest Godzooky. She wanted to be out there handling the merchandise, like any true female spirit. It was a busy shop though, and she wasn't able to just wander off. So, once Mrs Zilla returned, I was despatched to let her have a look at the girls shoes. This proved to be a big mistake. Her idea of looking and mine varied enormously. My view: look at the shoes and point at nice pairs. Her view: pick up every single pair of shoes and try to get them on your feet. Regardless of the sizes. It became clear that Godzooky 2 thought she was getting a new pair of shoes too. This despite the fact that she got a new pair last month, and a new pair of trainers, and a pair of wellington boots to splash in puddles with, this month. That shows what delightful weather we've been having! Having been treated to a mini tantrum and a jutting bottom lip while she sulked, there came the time for negotiation. I managed to finally persuade her that it would be better for us to come back another time to look for a pair of boots for her, when the shop was less busy and she could try on as many pairs as she wanted. I hope that Godzooky 1 was learning from this masterclass of tactics I was giving. How to deal with a female in a shoe shop is something every man needs to learn, as soon as possible!