A bit of a stretch

B told me that in Dunedin recently she fell in love and eloped with boots that, to her dismay, shrank alarmingly between trying them on in the shop and getting them home to Wellington. She googled, with much the same edge of desperation as you might "heart attack symptoms" (about which, more, I hope, from another friend, A), and found this http://www.ehow.com/how_4724439_stretch-shoes-hours.html It recommends stuffing the offending footwear with a plastic bag of water and freezing it. Ice expands. Get it? An overnight stint and sure enough, her new boots now fit.

B adds that local giveaway Capital Day quoted someone who stretched their boots by wading into the Bot Gardens duck pond. The duck doings are the magic ingredient, she says, "although I don't believe it. But I guess it's like Jesus. If it works for you ..."