Meet the Bridgend Man, 49, Who Still Remembers Being Measured for School Shoes in 1986 and Wants to Be the First Escape Room Customer
Alan Fotheringham says the old shoe shop 'was an escape room before escape rooms existed'.
School shoes, the original Perth puzzle. Photo: Anna Frodesiak, “Shoe shop in China 03”, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Alan Fotheringham, 49, from Bridgend, has signed up to be the first customer if the old Perth shoe shop becomes an escape room, because he says he has “unfinished business”.
“August 1986,” he said. “I was taken in for school shoes. My mother wanted brown. I wanted black. The woman wanted me to walk to the door and back. I did it 14 times. I’m still not sure who won.”
Alan says he remembers every inch of the shop. “The little stool. The measuring machine. The mirror at ankle height. I could do that escape room in five minutes. I’ve been training for 40 years.”
His wife says he talks about the shoe shop “more than our wedding”. He says the shoes lasted longer than the reception.
If the escape room opens, Alan has promised to bring his mother. “She’ll still say brown,” he said. “Some puzzles can’t be solved.”
The real story: Perth and Kinross news (The Courier)
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Brown. It was always going to be brown.
— Mrs F., Bridgend, 31 October 2026 -
Walked to the door and back 14 times. I did 11. You win, Alan.
— Gail T., Perth, 31 October 2026
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