Mending Shoes and Hearts (Clair)

Guest Post by Clair Whitefield

I was working in Camden and would go and get my shoes fixed at a cobbler's on Camden high street. I'd look out at the Chinese Medicine shop across the road and stare at a reflexology poster of a foot. And I thought, what if these two joined forces? What if the cobbler that mended your shoes could also heal your broken heart and fix all your physical aches and pains? What if by inserting special insoles into your shoes that tickled the right meridian channels in your feet, this was possible? And so I started writing this story about a magical cobbler who could do just that.

Chopping Chillies tells the story of Ajna Jan, a martial artist from India who inherits a cobbler's shop in Camden Town. He moves to London to take it over when his family dies in a house fire. But the story is about his unlikely friendship with Katie, a young woman who runs the Indian street food cafe next door and how this relationship changes both their lives.

It's made people laugh out loud and occasionally shed a tear. It's a joy to perform and a gift to have been able to do so every day for a month this August.