Today's lesson...never assume...to paraphrase, it makes an ass out of me and you...and stops you getting your sticky little hands on new shoes. I had (here comes that A word) assumed that by the beginning of February the sale racks at Zara would have been reduced to a few pitiful fabric remnants hanging dejectedly from hangers. Wrong. Instead I was faced with rails and rails of (admittedly heavily picked over) clothing and...after several minutes spent crawling around under a display table...a pair of rather jazzy metal flats in (wonder of wonders) my size.

Though I could stare at them for hours I'm rather hoping that the weather cooperates so that I can actually wear them...