Shoe repairs

Waiting for the bus I realised that a make-shift hut had been made at one end of the shelter. It was about 2m square and made of polythene sheeting and plastic sacks tied together with string.  I could see a pair of feet sticking out at the front – the feet were wrapped in fairly clean white cotton rags. The bus arrived and I got on. For no explained reason the bus sat there for an hour before departing, so I was able to surreptitiously observe the man in the shack. He sat on a pile of sacks and was wearing a jacket, a knitted hat and glasses. He had a blue plastic sheet across his lap. He was carefully and slowly stitching a pair of old sandals.  I could see other sandals around him. One pair was placed just outside his shack and there were others visible inside on a shelf amongst newspapers and paper bags. When he had finished stitching he put the sandals away inside his shack, wiped his eyes with a handkerchief and blew his nose. This struck me as odd, as most people don’t seem to have a hanky; they sniff and spit, or blow their nose into the gutter.  He took a small purse out from inside his clothing and unzipped it. He took out his money nd counted it carefully. He separated some notes and rolled them up, then knotted them tightly into one end of a scarf. Next he took out a metal bowl and began eating from it. After that he just sat there, not looking out at anything in particular until the bus pulled away.