My lovely purple walking boots have one really annoying feature: the shoelaces keep coming undone. I tie them with a double bow (a normal bow and then knot the loops) but still, at some stage in my walk the laces are trailing on the ground. The action of the walking stretches, releases and moves the laces. It’s science. 

It’s a shame: the laces match the purple. Each time the laces come loose I tell myself to contact the manufacturer about this irritating flaw in their otherwise excellent design. But I forget when I am home, with boots off, snuggled down with a cuppa. 

I suddenly got the impulse to write the email the other day. I’ll tell those boot makers, I thought. Although a highly respected brand, they need to know users’ problems.

I expected an apology, and maybe the offer of some new laces, but no. They told me, quite politely, to tie my laces correctly. Ooh. I was so indignant. The ever calm D reminded me of a YouTube site we found years ago called Professor Shoelace.

Professor Shoelace carefully shows you far more than you need to know about shoelaces. The key fastening for me was the Secure Shoelace Knot, also known as the Double Slip Knot. In German it is the “Seemännische Schuhbandschleife” (Seaman's Shoelace Knot).

To get the hang of tying this bow I use it every time I tie my laces. This special bow is slower to tie than a normal bow, but more than makes up for the time and irritation during a walk.

I realised that I was quick to blame others, when the solution lay within me. Rather than vent my anger at an innocent manufacturer I should attempt to solve the problem first.

I’m now so smug walking through the park in the knowledge that my shoelaces are secure and won’t release till I choose to pull the two free ends.

Susannah

A Moodscope member