To want to walk barefoot in the summer (including into shops)

[nomorequotes]

I don't understand why in this country it is considered so bad to be barefoot, I have been told I am not allowed to walk into Tescos barefoot, or Waitrose, they claim it is a 'health and safety issue' because something might fall on my feet. Well if that is the case shouldn't they be banning flip-flops too? Flip-flops are pretty dangerous things really, accountable for many broken toes, ankles and feet in the summer. I have a friend who broke his ankle so badly it was like he had been in a car accident and all he had done is twisted wearing flip-flops.

So why the intolerance to bare feet? They have been outside the same as shoes so it can't be a hygiene thing and they are much safer than flip-flops.

I am sick of having to have shoes in the car just so I can walk into shops, it makes no sense to me, if I want to be barefoot I should be allowed to be!

in most other countries it is completely normal
sorry but as soon as someone starts moaning about 'in this country' they do seem to come out with some real nonsense.
so where are the 'most other' countries where people are skipping about barefoot? do share.

I grew up in a hot climate with 'No shoes, no shirt, no service' nearly everywhere.

And here is someone who goes barefoot all year round:

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/feb/14/i-dont-wear-shoes-experience

I always think it's a bit of an attention seeking thing, walking barefoot down the street.

'My bohemian free spirit refuses to be shackled by the tyranny of shoes'.

Yanbu.
I love to go barefoot as much as possible.

Why would you let yourself or dc walk around the streets with no shoes on. What about rubbish, stones, cracks in pavements, dog wee?

Don't your feet get covered in cuts and filth?

I grew up in a hot developing country and went without shoes a lot (as children, but not adults, generally did). All but the poorest tried to wear some form of shoes. No one waxed lyrical about going barefoot. I just don't see what is special about it (though nor do I have strong objections to it).

I agree with squoosh, really.

I like to walk barefoot in the garden/park if it's really hot, plus at the beach. I'm frequently barefoot at home unless it's winter and freezing. However, I wouldn't want to walk down the street barefoot as a general rule. Too many potential pitfalls - chewing gum, spit, broken glass, dog shit, gravelly bits, dirty water ponding...

Somehow the dirt etc doesn't matter as much when you're drunk.

We wore shoes because the bloody pavement was HOT. Even with tough skin, ow! What squoosh said.

One word.....veruccas.

Not to mention people gobbing in the street, or places where a dog has curled one out in the past. It is also amazing the sheer surface area of pavements which are covered by old gum.

I love going barefoot but YABU not to wear them in places such as supermarkets, shops, etc. Just wear flip-flops and take them off when you get home. FFS!

YABU. Feet are horrible things. I don't want to see them. Sandals are bad enough.

I have one question. If you go barefoot outside all the time surely the soles of your feet are really dirty. What do you do when you go into someone's house and walk on their carpets? I take my shoes off, do you go and thoroughly wash your feet?

I knew a couple when I was at Uni who went barefoot all the time because they were free spirits etc. they used to come in my room and sit on my bed chatting, curling their feet up next to them, leaving dirty marks all over my sheets.

YABU

Op

Why not take it a step further and go naked into shops.... let it all hang out.

I think you have a great deal of faith in the cleanliness of your average pavement.

Husband grew up in Australia, lots of bare feet and no judgement there, we have travelled in South Africa, lots of the same there. Also been to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bali and nobody had an issue with being barefoot (or with us being barefoot) in any of those countries either. The only place I have found it being an issue (and we have travelled extensively) is here.

I certainly wouldn't want to go barefoot here. Maybe I just live somewhere with horrid streets though?

that is really silly those are all sub tropical or tropical countries - go over to Germany or Switzerland or even better Italy or Greece and see what reception you get

I agree- attention seeking. So what if in other countries people go barefoot? I wear a bikini on holiday and would look like a twat supermarket shopping in one.

Can't say I've had much of a problem being barefoot in peoples homes. Generally just a bit dusty as are shoes that are rarely taken off in the UK in homes (I've found)

Never felt the need to put my feet on someone elses bed though, have to say.

It's not silly Nigella because in the summer months here, it is quite warm enough to be barefoot, so there is no difference between being barefoot there and being barefoot here in the summer, I can see why you might get some funny looks in December being barefoot in the UK but I tend to find I can stay barefoot until mid-October quite comfortably in this climate.

Why is it 'attention seeking'? That is the bizarrest argument yet.

I was also going to say NZ, where many walk about barefoot in the warmer bits in the summer. (Didn't see a lot of this in Invercargill!)

but there are only 4 million of them in a space the size of the UK. So there's a lot less crap around.

only time you see it in the urban UK is drunk women who wore silly 4 inch duck-walk shoes for their night out. They are usually too pissed to worry about what they are treading in.

do it if you want. But don't whine if someone treads on your toes in a busy city (stupid place to wear flip flops too) or you stand in something unpleasant. And wash your feet before coming into my house (in the same way as I would prefer that you remove mucky shoes)