They shoot tennis shoes, don't they?

    My 3 days back in Cambridge coincided with a hot spell on the east coast, an interesting contrast to LA where everyone was apologizing for the 'cold' weather (it was in the 70's, which is perfect for me).  I had a lot of errands to run:  Got a haircut, my car got an oil change,  I made a trip to Costco to restock my vitamins… I am, if there is such a word, a vitaminaholic.  I also had to buy a new pair of sneakers.  My old ones were pretty worn out and I knew I would have to replace them soon, but they came to an abrupt end in Santa Monica.  When I got out of my car outside the building where Ji-Jon and Felicity live, I stepped into a pile of the stuff dog owners are supposed to take care of when they walk their critters in the city…  My hosts were from Singapore, and like many Asian homes they don't even wear clean shoes in their apartment.  It just so happened that as I was trying to figure out how to fit everything in my small suitcase I also was trying to think of how to clean my shoes so they wouldn't send the various X-sniffing dogs working around airports into a frenzy, in addition to permanently stinking up the suitcase.
   The logical conclusion was to treat them like they used to treat horses with broken legs.  I shot them.  Well, figuratively, anyway.
   They were good shoes and we covered a lot of miles together.  I'm hoping their replacements—almost identical—will serve me as well  (notice I'm experimenting with lace locks?  I hope never to tie—and retie—them again).  Tonight I will stay near Heathrow and tomorrow I have a 1+ hour ride in the Tube to King's Cross Station, then a 4+ hour train ride to Edinburgh, where I will be staying in the dorms of the University of Edinburgh (having read How the Scots Invented the Modern World:  The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World & Everything in It, in which the U of E figures very prominently, I'm looking forward to my stay).  Unfortunately, all my UCCF colleagues (British InterVarsity) appear to be out of town on vacation or mission projects.  Anyone have some friends in Edinburgh?