Part 1 -Shoes

Maria: Let’s talk about shoes now. What kind of shoes do you usually wear?

Rory: Usually I wear trainers in the summer and boots in the winter. So it really does depend on the weather. Something more casual in the summer, something lighter, and something more hardy in the winter, really.

Maria: Do you have a favorite pair of shoes?

I don’t know. I had a favorite pair of shoes. They were a one of a kind red pair of Skechers shoes. There was a factory error that meant that instead of the usual blue, they came out red. And I really loved them because they were one of a kind. Unfortunately, a year ago, my mother threw them out because they were kind of falling to pieces. I was a bit upset because I was thinking about taking them to a cobbler, but they never made it that far. The closest thing to a favorite pair of shoes I have now is probably my blue Skechers, but they’re not the same as the red ones because they’re like everyone else’s.

Maria: How often do you buy shoes?

Rory: I think I buy them roughly once or twice a year. I always buy my boots from a shoe shop because I think it’s important to check the… Just to check the size and the fit, really. So in that sense, I always have to go to a shoe shop, which I’m rarely able to do because I don’t live in the U.K. these days.

Maria: Do you like expensive shoes?

Rory: I think it depends what you mean by expensive, really. I suppose if you mean approximately 5000 rubles or I think it’s about 60 pounds and pound sterling, then, yeah, kind of. I buy, like I say, Sketchers and they’re roughly that price. So I like those kinds of expensive shoes. But it’s not because they’re expensive.

Maria: Would you ever spend a lot of money on shoes?

Rory: Well, it’s like I said before, it depends on how you define a lot of money. I think I would. And I think the shoes I buy now are quite high quality, but I don’t buy them very often. So I think that justifies the expenditure. So, yes, I would spend a lot of money on shoes, but not because they’re expensive.

Maria: Have you ever bought shoes online?

Rory: Yes, once. And it was a disaster. I told you before, my mother destroyed my one of a kind red Sketchers, and I was very upset and I thought I’d found a pair online. They were bright red. But that’s OK. It’s not as bad as it looked. And I ordered them. And then when they arrived, they weren’t red. They were green. And I don’t like the color green. So that was quite disappointing for me. So I have ordered online, but I’m never doing it again.