I was greatly amused by Arwa Mahdawi’s article (I’m putting my foot down – only barbarians wear shoes inside, 16 February) as it touched on one of the biggest cultural shocks that I’ve had since arriving in the UK from Hong Kong last summer. Being the typical cleanliness-obsessed Hongkonger, I Googled a house-cleaning company upon arriving at our rented place, hoping for a thorough move-in clean. My jaw dropped when the team marched in to the house in their street shoes and proceeded with the work like it was the most usual thing to do.
I wondered if anyone else saw the irony in vacuuming and washing carpets and floors while stepping on them in street shoes. I was traumatised. My second experience came the following month when I had the chance to visit a local’s house and was told I didn’t need to take my shoes off – it was a deeply unsettling experience to step in and make my way across the carpet into someone’s living room wearing shoes. This would have been unimaginable back home.
I posted the question online with fellow newcomers from Hong Kong and one guy said: “Nothing so surprising, don’t you remember that Mr Bean went to bed in his street shoes?” And so I came to accept this as a cultural difference and just how things are done here – until I read Arwa’s piece.
Joanna Tong
London
• Re Arwa Mahdawi’s article, I must admit to wearing shoes indoors. I thought prissy acquaintances were considering their magnolia carpets when they cast pained glances at my sullied shoes, not our hygiene. How have I survived to be 80 with this filthy habit? It is sad that in these troubled times we worry about such trivialities.
Christine Hawkes
Cambridge
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