THE very title of this column reflects the geography of the Daily Echo offices: We're located little over halfway down a stonking great hill.

While the title "View from the Hill" might sound all very idyllic, what it neglects to say is that walking down from the car park at the top can be one of the toughest challenges of the day.

Oh, the number of times I have come a-cropper on that hill... legs, bags and arms all heading in opposite directions as I land in yet another unusual yoga position in full view of everyone.

On one occasion, it happened when I was walking down the hill with a colleague (I won't mention any names, let's just call him sub-editor Chris Parnell).

Suddenly I was three foot shorter and looking up at my peer from a very different angle. But rather than helping me up or making appropriate soothing noises, he just stood there, looking down at me.

"I was only trying to break a bar of chocolate in my back pocket," I joked feebly, desperately trying to hide my embarrassment. Still, he just stood there gawping. I was stunned - CP Eventually, a kindly stranger ran across the road to my aid, and the rest of the day passed without incident.

But occurrences like these naturally have a big influence on the type of footwear I don for work. Anything over an inch or so is a definite no-no.

I am hoping for evolution to kick in so I begin to grow hooves like a mountain goat, but until then I will resort to wearing "sensible" shoes (shoes which folk 75 years my senior would probably dismiss as being too frumpy).

The truth is, even on a flat surface I'm no good with heels. My first encounter with a young work experience chap recently was as I was trying on a pair of lovely stiletto boots our women's editor had no further need for. I lurched toward him like something out of a Mary Shelley novel, my outstretched arms preventing me from falling forward, my teeth bared in a rictus smile.

We haven't seen him since.

So imagine my chagrin at the news of the latest fashion footwear statement - a clodhopper of a shoe by Louis Vuitton with a chunky platform and a whopping 17cm heel.

There's already a waiting list for these monstrosities, and when they hit the shops later in the year they will be the highest heels in fashiondom.

The Sunday Times this week reported how impossible shoes are now a badge of pride in fashion circles. In it, a fashion buyer boasts: "I haven't bought a pair of shoes I can walk in for about two years." She has adjusted her lifestyle to suit the shoes rather than vice versa.

Sadly for me, the High Street has cottoned on to the trend with this years Spring/Summer collections comprising a vast proportion of platform/heel combos.

Still, I think there may be some sport to be had with my particular view from the hill. I will watch with interest the fortunes of the young women who choose this type of footwear walking down Richmond Hill.

Who knows? It may give the annual Gloucester cheese rolling contest a run for its money.