HOW sad somehow to read that Kiwi, makers of shoe polish, are giving up in Britain, as few folk polish their shoes any more, and most wear trainers.

Even the City of London, someone said, looks like a university campus these days. Kiwi, formed in 1906, will still sell abroad, where citizens still have standards.

With maturity, one understands the virtue in attitudes disdained during youth. During my Air Training Corps days, I “bulled” my boots of course, and probably from time to time any civilian shoes I might have had.

But I resented it, not realising its powers of meditation and self-discipline. Alas, with maturity comes also the acknowledgment and acceptance of hypocrisy. I haven’t polished a shoe in years. But that isn’t the point: you should be doing yours.

I never wear shoes now, so have nothing to polish. I don’t look smart. Of late, I’ve wanted to do so for visits to the city, being still in possession of decent duds (though no longer a suit).

But I lack the courage to look smart. I’d just stand out – my biggest fear. Today, I nearly always wear walking boots, which are now just glorified trainers.

Cherry Blossom, formed also in 1906 and Kiwi’s biggest rival in footwear polish, has vowed to carry on, adducing job interviews, weddings, graduations and the like as occasions when shoes still need shining.

But the sad fact is the Edwardian era, in which these companies were formed, is now over, after a brief revival in the glorious 1950s. Today, we live in the Age of Smudge.