Cobblers

In Rugby, I got the sole of my left shoe done at Sheep Street Cobblers. It's run by a friendly looking bearded man and cost £15. It was very well done.

A hole appeared in the right shoe a day or so ago. In my trouser shopping adventure my right sock, originally white, became brick red coloured and soaked through. It smelt of Kolkata; a mix of soil, sweat, a rusty bricky kind of smell, cinnamon, cumin and faeces.

The cobblers just sit by the roadside here, doing the job as you stand and wait. It seems mostly that they polish shoes and fix sandals, but they have all the kit they need to do any other repairs too.

I went to one just outside the entrance to the complex of flats where I am staying. Rather than bearded and friendly, he was a gnarled looking old bloke with no teeth wearing a sarong. He barely spoke any English but I showed him the shoe, he nodded, grabbed it off me and went to work.

His main tools (along with an iron last) were a very sharp razor blade, a bag of various rings, pins, nails and tacks, and most strikingly his bare feet which he used to hold things while cutting them with the blade. For burnishing he used old polish tins that were punctured with holes going out to give them a cheese grater kind of edge.

The whole thing took about thirty minutes and I stood there and watched. The sight of a white man standing in his socks getting his shoes done amused more than a few locals.

He did a decent job all considered, even if not as good as Sheep St. He even polished and waxed them afterwards. The total cost was 100 rupees which is about 90p. I could have haggled but wasn't inclined to - the same goes for taking a photo.