Fishy Feet
randpa used to tell Grandma that if he's seen her feet before their wedding night, he would never have married her. Hopefully I didn't inherit Grandpa's charm gene, but I do have a sneaky suspicion who I've got to thank for my feet - if you saw a polaroid of them, and were asked to identify the species, I can't be confident that Homo Sapiens would be your top choice.
But mercifully a new age has dawned - the time has come for me to proudly bear my soles to the world without fear of persecution, because I've had my hard heels and manky metatarsals transformed to soft, clean loveliness by a tankful of flesh-nibbling fish. Shoals for Soles has just opened on Camden Road, and I popped in to visit Julie, Hayley and Oliver to see what their little fishy friends could do for me.
Garra rufa, a diminutive member of the carp family, lives in the rivers of Turkey and the Middle East, and as a bottom-feeding scavenger, loves to eat absolutely anything, including human skin. When the Turks went swimming in the rivers, they found that they emerged with tip-top bods, and even sufferers of eczema and psoriasis found that their condition was greatly improved. It was the Far East who initially went crazy for this treatment, and in Japan they are particularly fond of an all-over body immersion, which sounds like a lot of fun. When owner Julie visited Singapore a few years back, she was very much taken by the popularity of the treatment, and resolved to bring it over here, further buoyed by the success of the UK's first fishy salon - Happy Feet in Sheffield.
Being toothless, Garra rufa gently suck on the skin and secrete a softening enzyme called diathanol. The sensation is very pleasant; slightly tickly on first contact but not unbearably so. Julie hit the nail on the head when she said it felt like champagne bubbles on your feet, and watching the little critters go about their business is very restful; I had that same expression of glazed fascination I get when I'm gawking at the goldfish down the Honeymoon Chinese Takeaway. Don't worry about the welfare of the fish; Julie looks after them very well - feeds them a nice dinner nightly (no skin involved), and gets a fish expert to regularly check up on them.
My feet felt amazing afterwards - so clean you could eat your dinner off them, and Hayley gave me a lovely foot massage afterwards which finished off the treatment perfectly. Mr Anke, who cannot bear his feet being touched, could not be tempted into the tanks, but now quite fancies having a go. Perhaps I should get him some vouchers - it's twenty quid for a half-hour session, and an extra ten for the post-ped massage, which I thoroughly recommend.
Thanks to Julie, Hayley and Oliver, and, of course, the fish for a lovely visit.
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