There are certain objects from our schooldays that possess the extraordinary ability to transport us immediately back through the years.
The smell of chalk and floor polish. The wooden desks with generations of initials scratched into them. The squeaking floor of the school gymnasium. The lost-property box overflowing with forgotten shirts, shorts and socks.
And, for many who went to school in Britain during the 1950s, 60s and 70s, there was another object that was remembered rather less affectionately:
the school slipper.
Ask a group of former pupils about it and an intriguing pattern soon emerges.
The slipper was apparently enormous.
Size 9, size 10, size 11—even size 12 or larger, according to some recollections.
It was usually old.
It was frequently described as having a smooth, worn rubber sole.
And rather mysteriously, although few pupils remembered seeing teachers actually wearing these enormous old gym shoes, certain members of staff always seemed to have one conveniently available.
So where did all these legendary school slippers come from?
And were they really as enormous as we remember?
