Worried about the beginnings of an ingrown toenail, Gill South visits a podiatrist to get the lowdown on her tootsies.
I would have made a good ballet dancer, says my podiatrist, Lisa Hinchcliff at Greenlane Podiatry Clinic, judging from the way I walk. I did give ballet a whirl - I was a picture in my pale blue tutu at the age of 7 - but the industry did not weep when I hung up my ballet slippers early on.
Why ballet? Apparently when I walk, I pronate, that is my foot rolls inwards. Pronators like me have a tendency to twist ankles and stub toes, she says. Oh yes, all those times writhing in agony on the netball court.
I am here today to see if I have what I suspect is the beginnings of ingrown toenails. The tops of both my big toes have been tender for a while and I've just been hoping it's nothing serious and will sort itself out.
Think how much you spend on tyres every year, she says. That's quite a lot for me, I tend to be rather hard on them, those darn kerbs keep getting in the way. But I only have one set of feet, says Lisa. Do I want to treat them like a Mercedes or an old dunger?