Shyheels

Indeed! Technology is weird. As a coloector of colourful old postcards, I miss the good old days even as I rejoice in being able to connect to oeople instantly, even from thus seedy dive hotel Funny how ut is that the cheaper the hitel, the better the wifi and unlike in the expensive hitels, it is always free!

Great flick! a Bogart fan, I perceive. how ofd it us to be conversationally exchanging posts with someone from the real world!

Or Bogart in Treasure of the Sierra Madre Badges? We don't need no stinking badges...

So true! But this ain't the hotel they were staying in n Key Largo! perhaps Peter Lorre...

No eye candy here! This place is pure Bogart or Graham Greene. i don't follow rap, but I do know my hard boiled crime literature and the lingo

You guys clearly do not read hard boiled American detective fiction - Chandler, Hammett etc. 'Gat' is 1940s slang for a pistol. at the moment I am staying in an almost comically awful seedy hotel - every cheesy Hollywood stereotype of a low budget Latin American hotel is on display here. Don't know whether to laugh or cry...

I have a very understated camera bag, and we are travelling with security and some locals. Should be okay. The weather is gorgeous - faultless blue skies and 25C temperatures. Funniky enough one sees as many tall boots in the cities here as in London! Go figure!

He showed up eventually and off we went. I have security with me, a guy with a gat, as these are lonely roads and lots of Narco types. So far nothing remotely scary though - nothing as unnerving as stepping out and ordering a pair of slinky rock chic PVCs :-)

Thanks! I'm quite chuffed really. They will be waiting for me on my return. Always wanted a pair of PVCs - and wished I dared. Now I have. Odd that this seems more daring that travelling into a remote and rather dangerous pocket of Central America. But then I am accustomed to that - not ordering up shiny PVCs Just lobbed into my next airport...no driver waiting. Swell...

Well, I did it. With too many hours to kill in Heathrow and nothing to do but surf the net, I actually found and ordered a pair of slinky high street PVC jeans! Still marvelling at my own daring... thanks, Freddie, for taking the time and trouble to advise. Would have thanked you earlier but I have been on a 12 hour flight!

I have skinny calves too. And yes, thicker seems to be the norm. I have seen some women wearing knee boots whose shafts would accommodate my thighs. I am fortunate in gaving had my otk boots made for me. They fit my calves beautifully. Otherwise I think I woukd very much struggle to find anything that fit.

More like high heeled galoshes

Product reviews are always a bit dodgy. You need quite a number of them to get any real sense of what something is like. Too many times there will be a one-star review for something just because it arrived two days late ir the person who bought it ordered the wrong size, or they get five star reviews just in sight, out if the bix, before the so called reviewer has had a chance to use the product.

Cycling clothes on a good sale usually get me. Other than that, And my nice boots, I am hardly a clothes horse. my wife has an astounding ability to find bargains, coupons, bonus points or preferably all three.

Our brand loyalty, such as it is, is totally based on perceived quality. No blind followng of brand names here, but we will pay more for what we consider a better product. We are indulgent though in some way, yielding to things that mean something to us or would make a difference or be special in some way.

Street cafes are great. Airports can be a bit samey - the chap in the sola topee was a real exception. I too like to imagine stories and backgrounds behind the people I observe. Who needs movies?

We are like that with travel destinations... we don't buy for the hell of it. It has to be something we like. If we like it, especially travel, and there's a big discount, we pull the trigger!

Thank you for such an informative reply. This is very useful information. I had come across Honour in my idle shopping and wondered if they were good. They had some PVC slinky jeans that looked kind if like what I was thinking of. Their 14 was a 31 waist, their 16 a 33 and a half. A big gap. I'd be in the middle. i am guessing PVC doesn't stretch? be funny if I actually ended up buying a pair!

Sitting here at Cafe Nero in Terminal four awaiting my flight - and a good long wait it will be as I misread (badly and in haste) my departure time. I can't even check in yet and get to the business lounge so here I sit people watching. It is quite curious the various things people choose to wear - and do so with so little fanfare. For instance I spotted an elderly gentleman wearing a trenchcoat and a pith helmet - and I don't mean one of those make-believe faux pith helmets you see in costume shops occasionally but a genuine 19th century sola topee. Truly authentic. It caught my eye, made me smile and intrigued me too. Outside of movies like The Man Who Would Be King and museum displays, I had never actually seen anybody wearing a sola topee. The old guy wore it with perfect aplomb and that made it work. I don't know how many people noticed but certainly nobody stared. He went on his way and blended into the crowd...

Killing time in Heathrow and decided to be daring and pretend to shop for shiny pvc jeans on the web. Mostly they seem to be something called pu or faux leather - not sure if that is all the same. One thing seems clear: sizing is problematical. I see size 14 converted from everything from 30" waist to 33-34". I would want, I think, a 32" if they were to be properly slinky but I guess the deal is you just buy and see? Could be fun - could also be a big headache... anyway, an imaginatve use of time at Terminal 4...

We sure don't have what anybody would call savings - in the sense of large sums squirreled away against a rainy day. We do always look for sales and bargains, the old three-for-two, discounted theatre seats, flights, holidays. My wife is a wonder at finding such things. Sometimes the sheer depth of the bargains she is able to find create their own compelling momentum - who can pass up 70 per cent off?

Chocolate is my weakness. Cycling usually compensates for it but this year I have not ridden much, and been on the road a hell of a lot. Off again tomorrow morning, in fact. My weight has ballooned and I now wear a 34" waist instead of my usual 32. Not sure what size that would be in various makes of jeans you are talking about. I can't see myself in leggings other than cycling tights...

I don't wish to learn about saving money. I don't throw it away, but I do not stint on things that seem important to me. I spend freely in such cases, and in this I am enthusiastically supported by my wife. We both are happy to splurge and count the cost later. We do not gave much and are by no means rich, and in general our wants are very modest indeed compared with most. No fancy cars etc. But if we wanted a nice night out, a trip to the theatre, we don't sweat it. again, we are not spendthrifts, but happily push the boat out for things that matter to us

You could be right - in fact, I am sure you are. You clearly know more than I do about these things. I will have to give this some thought. Certainly all the jeans I buy end up being quite ill-fitting. Funnily enough I never considered going over to the distaff side of the shop!

If it has been a lousy year then by all means do not even consider the cost. A hundred quid is small potatoes over the course of a life, and cheap when you think of the joy you will get from going. Book those tickets!