FastFreddy2

Bit tempting .... If I can, I will.

Heavy rain this evening, all over Southern England, until early hours of Friday morning. I'm still going, but the camera isn't. Not sure about a brolly....... [Not very trendy are brollies ....]

But a winner for me! .....

Debenhams are doing a "30% off" promotion this week. [Weds - Sun]. House of Fraser doing something similar Thursday and Friday, with John Lewis are price matching both. Soooooooo....... I'll be at Oxford Street tomorrow night. I doubt very much I'll be spending money as there's very little I want that I don't already have. [Lucky me. ] But it's an excuse to have a walk around, and I'll have my new camera with me. Hopefully I'll capture some of the images that have so far, been too difficult to record..... ....

Somewhere?

Lens arrived today. Will charge camera battery tonight, and try the full rig tomorrow evening.

At Milton Keynes until 7pm, via Bletchley TKMaxx (which wasn't a worthwhile extra - as it turned out). Home for a little after 8pm having spent 10 hours in heels. Visited some of the larger high street stores. [HoF, Debenhams, John Lewis.] Also a good number of the well known brand stores too. The two of us had a bit of a 'try-on' with some shoes in the main MK Centre TKMaxx. Very little in my size [the Dune 41's feeling like the size 7 I think they are] and nothing else that I liked. Mrs Freddy faired a little better >> clicky << but they wouldn't stay on ...... (as usual). I tried >> these << at the Internationale store that's practically next door. Again, came up small, unlike the previous 41/8's I already own. Liked a couple of styles in River Island, one of which are >>these << and Mrs Freddy - in a playful mood, tried >> these <<. We're not expecting to buck the global economic trend on our own, but other than food and drink, we didn't buy anything ...... Mostly because there wasn't anything we liked enough to buy ..... That said, it was a very pleasant day out. . ....

Sorry to hear this. Hope you have better news on both counts in the New Year.

We'll be there a bit later too.

Thank you. I'll pass on your remark. If I remember they were some KG boots bought for £19 a couple of years ago at Bluewater in HoF. We are convinced, since Kurt Geiger don't do shoes for that price, someone mispriced them. Mrs Freddy likes a bargain. Looking to be at Milton Keynes this coming Monday afternoon ........ anyone?

One is on its way! Went food shopping yesterday, saw >> these <<. Not what I would expect in a supermarket, and quite a distraction I can tell you. Very glamorous lady. [i saw the whole ensemble, not just her boots.]

Any news? Did you go [window] shopping?

The Wednesday trip to Lakeside and Bluewater. These two large Malls are not very far apart, one either side of the Thames Estuary [effectively], and neither too far from the M25. [London orbital motorway.] We've tried several times in the past to do both Malls on the same day, and only once managed it. I'd hoped we'd do both during this visit, but leaving later than expected, we were faced with one of the other. Fate decided we would do half of each, just about. We got to Lakeside mid afternoon with me wearing my HD boots. We visited TKMaxx, where I'd seen a good selection of shoes and boots on a previous visit last month. Nothing of interest, and the expensive boots pictured before, were also no longer in stock. We popped up to the Mall proper [TKMaxx is on a Retail Park around a mile away] for coffee and a sandwich before we did anything else. Into House of Fraser, to find Mrs Freddy a pair of Biba jeans in a size 10. No joy there. I wanted to go back into Jessops to have another chat to the staff there about Lumix cameras. By the time the girl I spoke to last time was free, Mrs Freddy had gotten bored so we had to move on. I did find out they don't carry stock, and I could wait 28 days for the kit to be delivered...... No good to me. Back to the car, and over the bridge to Bluewater. This is a venue that I'd often thought would provide a venture for slightly more interesting footwear opportunities. I had once worn >> these << to a restaurant there, and gotten away with it. There are fewer young people there, and it always seemed to me, a more cosmopolitan shopper frequented the place? Arriving in the dark, we first walked up to Marks and Spencer, where we finally found Mrs Freddy some work shoes! While there, I also tried on a couple of pairs, mostly while sitting next to a 30-40 year old carer with what could have been his elderly chair bound relative. [i've no shame.] Despite lots of people around, I didn't once notice anyone staring...... As we were not far from the car, we returned to drop off the new shoes. Having had some time to consider whether I had the confidence to do it, I changed into >> these << ALDO ankle boots. Walking back into the Mall from the car park, we had to walk past a group of perhaps 6 Jamaicans arguing loudly by the entrance. [As their culture pretty much demands 'gays' should be tossed in the sea, I'm always a bit apprehensive around Caribbean's.] The phrase 'running the gauntlet' springs to mind ..... With a higher heel, getting around was slightly harder work. Our next stop was again, House of Fraser for Biba jeans. Walking along the upper Mall, we got passed by many people keen to make the most of their shopping time there. I like to think I stay aware of my surroundings, and noticed that some way back, 4 male youths in their late teens [or breaking into their twenties] were walking up behind us. Fear had me wanting to stop and let them pass. Arrogance, or the need to enjoy a relatively normal lifestyle had us walking along at a snails pace, with I suppose me flashing my heels to anyone attentive enough to notice them. I can say with some confidence, at least one of these lads had been.... It maybe they weren't walking very fast either, but they just about followed us into HoF. I used entering the store as an opportunity to change direction slightly, but still moved toward the back of the store where the shoe section is. Again they paced us, walking up a parallel aisle, each looking over from time to time. Eventually they either had to walk into the womens shoe section too, or take the escalator downstairs. To my relief, they went down to the lower floor. While they were on the upper floor, they must have looked at us at least 10 times to see our faces and what we were doing. Each time they looked, I stared back. My 'challenge' and their lack of unity produced a [thankfully] sheepish response, and we were left to browse unperturbed on the upper floor. Loud banter could be heard when they were out of sight, but no words could be understood.... We enjoyed the rest of the short visit to HoF, but again, no suitable Biba jeans for Mrs Freddy to try. Off then to John Lewis. They have a fairly good shoe section there too, and Mrs Freddy enjoys their branded concessions. After a little wander around the Ladies floor, we went upstairs to the camera and video section. While I wore 4 3/4" heels, we then spent getting on for 45 minutes talking about camera's, playing with two camera bodies and 4 lenses. They had the kit I wanted in stock, so I spent £800 on a system. [That at the time of writing - some 8 days later - hasn't once been out of the carrier bag it came home in. ] The boxed kit [one camera and two telephoto lenses] was/is disappointingly heavy and bulky. It being something of a liability, we decided to put the kit in the car before we walked around to find the place we would eat. It was a long walk as we were parked just about as far from John Lewis as it was possible to be, and still be at Bluewater. Before leaving the store it seemed prudent to again visit the loo. Believing the lower floor would be quieter - fewer people - we went down to the lower ground floor. I was right that the toilet area would be quieter, especially since the store was about to close for the day. What I hadn't realised, was this meant less background babble..... And John Lewis LOVES suspended floors. They're like walking around on drums! I had struggled to get away from the sales staff on the camera section quietly (and probably didn't). As I walked into the corridor that led to the toilets, I wondered if I would meet anyone coming out as I walked in? Or worse, would find someone inside waiting to tell the girl he'd heard click-clack towards him, that she was in the wrong room? I needn't have worried. The place was empty. Walking out I enjoyed the echo of my heels amplified by the flooring, rattle around the corridor walls. It's a sound I could never tire of hearing. Unfortunately, the echo produced so much sound, it caught the attention of two young female assistants leaving the sales floor to go home. While the pair didn't walk close to me, one of them tried several times to look at my feet from a distance. Every time I was looking in her direction, discouraging her interest. I left the store happy anyway, camera in hand, ringing of heels in ears. Back out in the Mall and I'm wearing heels, so I'm having a good time. Mrs Freddy, out in heels and having stood still for some considerable time in John Lewis while wearing them, started to experience some hip pain. By the time we got back to the parked car, her enthusiasm to eat out had gone. To be fair, it was past 9pm, and we were at least and hour and a quarter away from home. Eating out may have meant getting home at midnight, and herself had to be up for 5am..... The discomfort from a sore hip [induced we think by a foot injury a year ago] was the deciding factor in the staying or going decision. We left and got home at 10.45pm. Our evening meal at home ..... what passes in our house [at the moment] for a toasted cheese sandwich. A challenging day. But memorable, and on balance, an enjoyable experience. Reason for edit: Grammar and link inclusions.

Yep, that last pair would suit me .... and my skinny legs. Looks like a great place to lose an afternoon and buy lots of shoes.....

As far as wearing heels out goes ..... Firstly let me advise to proceed with caution! You WILL get spotted, and your self-awareness won't help. Meaning; You'll believe folk are noticing, even when they're not. When they do notice, you'll need the confidence to shrug it off. [i still struggle with this some days.] Not only is all this true for you, it'll be even more intense for your S.O. You'll not only have to carry the situation for yourself, but for your partner too. I started off in not especially girlie shoes [black leather wedge boots] and eventually found high heeled cowboy boys were an acceptable style to Mrs Freddie. I made sure the heels were low enough as to not affect my walking style too much, so I drew the minimum amount of attention to myself. Noisy environments are good too, to help disguise the unique sound that heels produce. Often the heels supplied from the factory are hard plastic which are noisy and frankly dangerous. [slip hazard.] My boots improved on both counts when re-heeled using a regular rubber compound. Lastly, consider visiting a venue some way from anyone you might know. If you have a moment of discovery, it remains your affair, not the subject of local gossip.... In summary, don't force anything. And reward any contribution made to a day out. As for the celebrity encounter ....... This may have been a bit of a one off. Though I do notice people from time to time .... We walked around Watford Harlequin Centre one day a couple of years ago, and saw Nicolas Cage pushing what we hope was his child in a pram. If I remember the lady he was with, may of been of Eurasian descent? Seems he was filming over here at the time ..... [Elstree Studios are about 10 miles from Watford.] It's a nice thing to see, but I don't chase these people. We are lucky (I think) to be living close to a capital city, one that international and homegrown celebs are happy to frequent. It takes us less than an hour by car to get into London. Less than an hour to get to a good number of venues for wearing heels. I'm sitting here thinking that the proximity of these places makes me lucky? But I think it more the case, I'm just prepared to take advantage of these opportunities, where others might not. [i create my own opportunity for indulgence from my available environment?] That's also true of my wife. Some might think I'm lucky to be with someone who is easy-going enough to tolerate my interest? I would counter that my partner could only be my partner, if she were tolerant? [i'm ALWAYS well meaning, and generally easy going. But I am hard work sometimes too.] I hope you get out in heels, and get help from your S.O. Don't be too disappointed if it doesn't work out though. Most of the ladies in my life now, (and in my past) have known about my interest in heels. But not everyone of them, and some would not have tolerated the idea at all. I've pushed the boundaries of 'normal' behaviour, but then no-one I know looks at me and sees a regular guy anyway. My behaviour is tolerated I think sometimes, almost because it's expected. For example .... We went to see a movie last night. It was on early, and we were going for coffee and a sweet course at a local restaurant afterward. Mrs Freddy was quite surprised I wore flat shoes rather than heels. We were in a rush to get out promptly, it was just easier in flats.... But it wasn't expected. [Film was Immortal. - Horrible plot and graphics. Might be one of those films borne of a computer game. We had thought; "Hmmm. Greek mythology, might be good?" Was so bad I nearly left early. Cinema had 6 people in it, including us. Wonder why?] .... Reason for edit: Grammar and continuous Editor malfunction??

Maybe. The writeup is a tad over 1500 words, with article links and edited photo's too. I've done less for project course work when at college ..... So no small amount of work. The reason for the effort, is to ensure there's no doubt in anyones mind this is all true. The photo I have of Rihanna in Selfridges, has her with corkscrew hair, and a fur gillie. Not a hair style I've seen her with before, and the fur gillie? [Yeuk!] But fortunately, she was snapped in Knightsbridge [not too far away] in the same outfit. Plus the photo in the paper shows the front of her Loubie's, and indicates the height of the platform, which was what drew me toward her originally. [Her height and her boots.] The 'fake suspender' tights she was wearing, are also drawing other articles in the newspapers, more evidence it was really her. [Not a fake.] >> For example << An incredible evening. With me wearing either 4 or 4 1/2 inch heels while it all happened. Bliss. ...

Full report now added in new thread. Includes many links, so will keep you busy for a little while. ....

Part 1. The afternoon started a little later than planned, care of trying to bathe before the heating system provided hot water. Consequently, a late departure meant we had to skip the Brent Cross part of the adventure. The evening moved up a gear almost as soon as we arrived in London. Finding a parking space at 6.23pm that should be paid for, a passing Traffic Warden assured us we were safe from a ticket from him at that time, and told us why. [Can’t see how he’ll stay in that job long….. Bless him.] We visited Marks and Spencer first, looking for some work shoes for Mrs Freddy. We were there a long time, and while herself must have tried 6 or 7 pairs of shoes, I tried none….. As we were dressed for the cool air outside, eventually it was the heat (in the sales area) that forced us out of the store. That and Mrs Freddy’s frustration at not being able to find suitable shoes in the M&S flagship store. Further up Oxford Street, we tried NEXT for the same thing, working shoes. Nothing suitable there either, and the store was quite limited in its choice of shoes, given its location. We then walked back towards the bulk of the larger stores [Eastward.] I couldn’t stop myself visiting New Look. Not always an easy place to visit. This is a store that always has security on the door. You have to walk up a large flight of steps – rather like a Grand Entrance - and Mr Security stands at the top of the stairway. The high heels of men wearing them, is almost impossible to hide.... It’s even worse leaving, because you almost always have to walk right past Mr Security. The gauntlet run, it was a fruitless exercise. [Pun intended.] Walking further, we passed a River Island, and by now frustration had set in, and I wanted to try on some shoes. The store was fairly quiet, so I tried on these >> these << in their size 8. Bit small as expected. [Think they are owned by same people who own Top Shop, and T.S. shoes come up a size small like Dune.] We approached Selfridges, at what might have been almost 8pm, which is closing time for many stores on Saturday. We got in anyway, and were told the store would shut a little later at 9pm. We went straight to the second floor, and to Womens Shoes. I think I made sure we looked at every shoe there. Must go to almost 1000 shoes? Only tried on one style, >> these << from Nine West. Oddly, a size 7 [uS 9] fitted best. Waaaaay too expensive though, at £165. [seen since on sale at £115.] As it was getting late and we needed to eat, we both went to the loo in preparation for going outside and walking to the restaurant in what we expected to be cool evening air. As we approached the top of the down escalator, I caught a fellow walking around behind us with what could’ve been an iPhone, and using it to record video. [i saw him later, doing the same thing on the ground floor.] I made our displeasure obvious and he walked away. As a further note, the whole time we had been in-store, Selfridges had been playing what I now know to be Rihanna’s latest album. This only seemed odd because I had thought they would be mimicking a radio show by playing various artists? Anyway, down ward we went. Approaching the ground floor, and close to one of the side entrances, I spotted [while still some way up the escalator], a tall girl – possibly a model – wearing VERY high Louboutins with platforms at least 2 inches thick [if not more]. As Mrs Freddy likes Karen Millen, I thought I would try to get a piccy of the shoes, while herself looked around K.M. Once on the ground floor, I could see just how tall the model was in her shoes, and realised she was important enough to Selfridges to have an assistant walk with her. As she walked across in front of us, I realised she looked like Rihanna, and understood why the music of hers had played constantly the 30/40 minutes we had been in store! We crossed behind, and I then noticed there was two fellas in the shopping group there as protection for the famous shopper. I tugged Mrs Freddy toward me and we walked in a semi circle to outflank her, so I could get a picture from the side as she walked past with her entourage? [There’s a big yard wide column right next to the back wall by the All Saint concession, and we stood next to the column.] Waiting for her to walk past, I turned to talk to Mrs Freddy, only to find the group had turned off behind us, and Rihanna was standing right behind Mrs Freddy! I gently pulled at her arm, and the group passed us. I managed to get a >> quick snap << off of the back heads of a couple in the group. Rihanna’s two protectors [see one chap in newspaper article] were stopping people getting too close that were trying to take photo’s with their phones…. He didn’t seem bothered with me as we were so far away from her by the time I’d composed myself and aimed my phone camera. [My ‘instant on’ tele-zoom camera still in the car of course.] It occurred to me she might be fake, a lookee-likee, but too many Selfridge staff were popping into the area to have a look, for it not to be have been the real deal. [see newspaper article. The outfit - furry top with stocking type tights - was the outfit seen by us on Saturday night too. So we did stand next to one of the UK’s most popular girl singers.] >> Newspaper article. << We just acted ‘cool’, and popped into the Karen Millen concession, before being advised the store was closing. [9pm.] We left and headed for the restaurant. Had a great meal at ASK Italian. I spent some of the time texting people telling them who we’d just seen. I also enjoyed a window seat expecting I could watch girls in heels walk past, which they did fairly frequently. I may have had my heels spotted once, as a young female pedestrian walked backwards for a second look at me. I just smiled. [What else could I do?] Part 2. We got back to the car, and I was reluctant to leave London, having a great night out I didn’t want to end. With a belly full of food, I wanted to walk some of it off. Herself wanted to go home, but I promised a short walk of some 30 minutes. It was also an excuse to put slightly higher heels on. >> These << in fact. So we walked. As a reminder, the pavements in the West End are made of slabs with for the most part, cracks/gaps between filled with mortar. The idea being, they provide a smooth surface that helps prevent tripping or injury. In practice, it doesn’t work so well. My higher heels came with quite a thin stiletto heel, but I needed to get them worn. We walked for a good while, and even stopped for a bit outside Hamleys toy shop in Regent Street, to watch some of the animated window displays. While outside the store, one of my heels went down one of >> these << perforated basement vents! I was really cross for a couple of minutes. While examining the damaged heel, lifted but still on my foot, I got a look of plain disbelief from the male half of a passing couple. While standing there, we kept seeing small groups of leggy high-heeled girls walking past, all going in the same general direction. I thought we might try to find out where they were going? We found they were going to one of the many nightclubs in the area..... It was around 11pm, so folk were queuing to get into the venue. We walked up to and past the queue and having spotted another pair of Louboutins on quite a short girl, I realised it was Chloe Green, TV Celebrity [D list maybe] currently appearing in Made in Chelsea, and daughter to the owner of the TopShop Group [mentioned before]. She was with two black fellas, and another girl called Rosie, also from the cast of M.i.C. See fairly disappointing >> piccy1 piccy2 <<. Being short in stature, it seems Chloe has quite a collection of Louboutins. [Read quote from fellow M.i.C. cast member Victoria.] It rather looked to me like the girls wanted to get in the club, but the staff seemed like they were having none of it. Eventually the girls and one of the fellas left, walking past us and leaving along the route we had arrived on. As soon as they rounded the corner [just out of our sight], they got ‘papped’! We left too, and walked past the group of three who were by now standing on the kerb waiting to cross Regents Street. I still didn’t get a shot of Chloe’s shoes. Decided there and then I must get a better camera. We returned to the car to begin our homeward journey, about an hour and a half after we had started our after-dinner walk. [Ooops!] But what a night!? Reason for edit: Adding links.

The Saturday London visit is written up [1500 words] and will be posted tomorrow - I hope - with pictures and links. I'll make it a separate thread as it deserves it really. The Wednesday Bluewater gig will be a much shorter post, and will be written up in a day or so. Getting a taste for being out again in heels, so possibly out later in the week. West End and some Brent Cross shops soon go to 10pm close. Milton Keynes has already started staying open late weekdays until 8pm. Either one is a prospect for a visit in heels during the forthcoming week sometime. Anyone about? It's proper dark by 4.45pm, so easy to hide them heels outside.

New pictures, but sadly, not with new camera. Still awaiting news on the 'fast' lens.

H.o.F. has these back in stock, online. And now at £51. Mrs Freddy wanted a pair in a 10. Already sold out! It might be 'Sales' talk, but every assistant we've spoken to [about 5] in the Biba sections at 3 different stores, have remarked on how comfortable these jeans are. Shame they are so girlie.