I'd always fancied that when I was invited to a Reith lecture it would be given by a severe eminence in tweeds, rather than a breezy bloke from Essex wearing a T-shirt dress, sea-green tights and "flatform" shoes.

The ultimate ugly shoe that just will not die. In 2011, flatforms debuted on the catwalk for the likes of Chanel, Prada and Vivienne Westwood.

And the shoes, hallelujah — call ‘em "flatforms" — easy, flat wedges to make moving in the heat wave effortless.