It could be on account of my recent infatuation with the BBC’s new Sherlock miniseries, but my frazzled eyes have been more detail-obsessed than usual. Today, for instance, I stumbled to a halt while leaving my studio on account of this well-worn pair of Florsheim slip-on shoes neatly placed beneath one of those unfortunate street-trees lining James Street North.

What makes these shoes even more conspicuous is that, not two days ago, I spotted another pair of shoes: again, used but precisely placed as a pair alongside a post on Vine Street, which is across the street and perhaps eight metres further west of this location.

That first pair of shoes - classic Doc Marten’s, laces removed if memory serves - felt like a simple urban aberration. A second pair placed in the same configuration, paired at the base of a strong vertical structure, is starting to look less like coincidence and - dare I say it - more like an act of art. The fact that both pairs are representative of consumer taste at the pricier end of the spectrum hasn’t escaped my notice either, if only because I’ve spent far too many years working in shoe retail.

While two may be more than coincidence, it might still take a third or fourth pair before I become truly paranoid. For now, I’m merely curious.

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