Back in the high and far-off days of my sprog-hood, one of the most hated chores was the weekly, mandatory chore of shoe cleaning.

Newspaper on the kitchen table, or in summer, outside, the brushes, rags, tins of Kiwi, Nugget and other brands the names of which escape me, and the interminable time it seemed to take to get an approved degree of shine and finish.
I'm given to believe that those of us with parents who had seen military service were subject to a greater degree of expectation than those without, but have no direct evidence of the fact - it just seemed that way.

Always to be undertaken on a Saturday morning, and completed, to parental satisfaction, before any of the more important pastimes of football, running amuck, riding my bike or whatever, the degree of parental satisfaction was always diametrically opposed to the latter.
And it always seemed to be a "mans" job - certainly I never saw my mother cleaning shoes.
A source of pocket money and certainly a staple job during scouts "bob-a-job" week, it is not a job I used to approach with any pleasure.

How times change !! Paradoxically, I now find it quite a cathartic experience, and have even been known to polish my wifes shoes as well.
Why is it so ?? Possibly through my service in the Air Cadets in my early teens, possibly through some percieved degree of self-satisfaction.......
Nowadays, little disappoints me more, when dealing with a professional person, smartly clad in business suit or corporate uniform, to note the whole effect ruined by scuffed and/or dull shoes, and I include both men and ladies.

So......are you a compulsive polisher, or have your childhood memories made you rebel against the job, or do you just do it because...........?