Sarah Outen Barefoot on the BBC

I was watching the Clare Balding show for the first time and was encouraged to see Sarah Outen sporting two bare feet on the sofa. At first I wasn't sure if she was perhaps just in flip-flops as the table was obscuring them slightly. But Clare asked her about her lack of footwear and Sarah explained how she loved to be barefoot whenever she can (though mostly when inside).

BBC iPlayer Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06y8k24

================
www.nickbailey.co.uk

Barefoot in the Woods - brought to you by the Woodland Trust

This was the Woodland Trust's promotional material this year. It gave things to do for various ages of children. And for those aged 3-5 the thing to do is to go barefoot! I was thrilled to see this. Well done them. Of course it's also the best thing to do for older children too and you can do all the other activities while shoeless, but nonetheless it's a very promising start. Also, considering this is about things to do while away from home, the suggestion to play around in mud in a woodland is really rather exotic and brave.

Trust Me I'm A Doctor

Tonight's episode considered the problems of wearing high heals. Gabriel Weston used some mocap wizardry to observe people walking in shoes and then without. The comparison was made that being barefoot puts your centre of gravity through the knees correctly, while with heals this is off centre. She then came up with a bunch of suggestions as to how to improve your feet but failed completely to suggest that people walk around barefoot.

Close, but no cigar.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b063jzxq/trust-me-im-a-doctor-series-3-episode-2


================
www.nickbailey.co.uk

Florence and the Machine Barefoot at Glastonbury 2015

Trust Florence. What a queen of awesome.

well hello Mr Wallflower

Warm this weekend? Why not head out without your shoes...

The MetOffice are forecasting a first* taste of spring this coming weekend. Finally, after a fairly lengthy winter we are going to be rewarded with some warmth. I'm looking forward to it and getting out in the sunshine.

But what is more glorious than simply being outside in that first warmth of the year - that day when you wear only a t-shirt and yet still feel warm? Doing it without your shoes. Yes, there is little nicer than letting your feet loose outside, especially if they've been cooped up indoors and/or shod all winter. Get them out, on the grass and in the puddles or mud. Stretch your toes and enjoy spring at last.

Enjoy the day and may you put your best bare foot forward!


* after that crazy warmth right back at the beginning of January.

================
www.nickbailey.co.uk

Cold Feet? Try Removing Your Socks First.

Nowadays I must admit that I am not a full time barefooter. I don't want to let you down, but that is the case. However, still I find myself frequently shoeless for all sorts of reasons, most of the sorts of reasons that I took it up for in the first place.

This morning I woke up and dressed my feet as typical these days, and as today is a little chillier than expected I popped on some thick socks for warmth. But just a few hours later and my feet had decended into a deep chill. Perhaps it being a Saturday I'm only padding round the house rather than cycling anywhere so my feet have not really been doing much work and as such not keeping themselves warm. Never-the-less there they were with nice supposedly thick socks on for warmth yet feeling frozen.

The solution I have learnt for this is to whip of the socks. It seems somewhat counter intuitive - reduce their thermal insulation and my feet will be warmer? Yet this is exactly what happened. One of the top advantages of my solid barefoot days was the complete lack of cold feet (and cold hands come to think of it). They just were warm all the time, especially in bed. These days of shodness my feet are frequently back to their cold ways. However, take of my coverings exposing the skin to the cold and they feel so much warmer.

So go on - liberate your feet from their surroundings and feel the warmth, even in the cold (it's kind of what they're designed for).

Cold feet? Shead those socks

================

www.nickbailey.co.uk