Reblogged from Tallis Steelyard…a new tale from Port Naain’s foremost  poet…

Sometimes I find that I am called upon to write cautionary tales, so that those who wish to follow in my footsteps and make a living in the arts avoid some of the many traps and pitfalls that await them. But in this case I feel that I am telling a tale which might signpost your route to prosperity, nay, even to respectability.

I want to bring to your attention the career of Wilfred Mettan. Obviously with a name like that, given to him by a mother who had read far too many wild romances during her confinement, he was destined for greatness, and so it transpired.

I am never quite sure how he drifted into chiropody, but obviously he did, and for many years he was a fixture on the side of the Ropewalk. There he would sit, under his little awning. His client would sit in a chair opposite, remove his or her footwear and Wilfred would set to work. He would treat anybody for twenty four dregs a foot, and he was so well thought of there was often a queue. As time went on he married, and first his wife, and then his oldest daughter, would work along side him as a nurse, bringing warm water and soap to wash the feet and soften the corns.

Continue reading at: A visit from the Chiropodist – Tallis Steelyard