Brit teen despairing for a pair of shoe that will fit his feet

Asmita PrasadSep 19 2008

size 17 feet

It must have been Mark Twain who had uttered those memorable words “I cried because I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet.” I wonder what the great humorist would have said about the plight of 13-year-old Ollie Abbott who has feet but still cannot wear any shoes because his feet are too big. The Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire-native apparently hit an unusual growth spurt last year wherein he grew over five sizes since Christmas. That meant his feet getting larger too and the teen now finds himself with a pair of size 17 feet, and still growing! Ollie’s parents are having a hard time finding him a pair of shoe that actually fit him and the sporty teen has to walk around in his old size 16s for the time being. Now if I were a marketing executive, I’d be luring local shoe manufacturers into making customized shoes for the kid in exchange for him standing in for an ad for them. Of course I’d ask for a large commission for myself for brokering the deal, but then again charity does begin at home doesn’t it?