Who would steal just one sandal?

May 20

How losing a sandal reinforced the importance of paying attention

In my line of work, it’s crucial that you don’t get lead astray by false assumptions, or lose sight of the smaller details.

A few years ago the family and I were on holiday in Wales.

It was 2020, a very hot Summer. I’m sure you remember.

We wanted to spend a day on the beach but didn’t manage to get there as early as we’d liked, which meant the car park that was closest to the beach was full, so we had to park in the other one which is up the top of a steep hill.

There were four of us, a dog, and a boot full of gear to carry down to the beach. Too much to handle in one go, so we loaded ourselves up with as much as we could and my son and I would go back and get the rest.

It was really, really hot, and we had to walk slowly as our youngest only had little legs.

As soon as we got down to the beach and found a spot to pitch up, my daughter announced, “I need the toilet”. So while my wife took her to the nearby toilet block, I left my son in charge of the dog and all our stuff while I went to get the rest of it from the car.

It really was a baking hot day, and walking up that hill was no joke. By the time I got back to the car, I was getting a proper sweat on. I quickly grabbed the rest of the beach gear and made my way back to my son.

While I began to set up the tent, my phone rang. It was my wife.

“Have you got my sandal?”

“What?” “My sandal. Have you got it?”

“Errr… I’m not sure”

“You’ve dropped one of my sandals, I’ve just found it… do you have the other one?”

“Did I? Where are you?”

“I’m by the bins”

I look over at the top of the slope down to the beach, and there’s my wife, waving her red sandal.

“See if you can spot it on your way back to me”, I say.

I hope she finds it… I know those sandals weren’t cheap.

“Those sandals weren’t cheap!”, she said after failing to spot the other one. “I can’t believe you’ve lost it, I’ve barely worn them!”

“I must have dropped it on the way from the car”, I say. “Let me go back and I’m sure I’ll find it. No one’s going to steal a single sandal.”

I slowly made my way back to where my wife had found the sandal, they were red so it should be fairly easy to spot the other one… but no luck… not a sign. So I called her.

“I can’t see it anywhere. Maybe I dropped it on the way down from the car, I’ll go up and check.”

The heat on that hill was a killer. I had to go slow to make sure I’d checked everywhere but there was still no sign of it. Fingers crossed it was in the boot.

Nope.

So I began the slow walk back to the beach. Firstly because it was a last attempt to spot it en route and secondly because I knew my wife not going to be happy.

It HAD to be somewhere… I mean who on earth would take one sandal!?

Long story short, the sandal was nowhere to be found, and the missus wasn’t best pleased.

It was a very hot, busy afternoon but the mood was rather grey and quiet. Every trip to the café, chip shop, and toilet was another opportunity to try and spot the sandal but to no avail.

Eventually, we packed up and made our way back. I was clinging on to the hope that maybe… MAYBE the sandal was at the holiday home, but my wife wasn’t convinced. She remembered putting them in the bag.

No one would have taken it, surely? What use is a single sandal to anyone? If I found a rogue sandal or shoe I’d put it to the side of the road expecting the owner to return for it.

Perhaps if it was there all day someone might chuck it in the bin, but it couldn’t have been left unattended for any more than fifteen minutes… are they really that desirable that just one will be worth pinching?!

These were the thoughts filling my head on the drive back.

We pulled up… no sign of the sandal.

We checked everywhere leading up to the front door… no sandal.

Finally, we unlocked the door, and there… THERE was the sandal!

Not only that, but next to it was ANOTHER sandal!!

After closer inspection, my wife realised that the sandal she’d picked up wasn’t even her size.