FastFreddy2

I think the Royal family have moved into the 21st Century along with the rest of us. While some would say we should be a Republic, I'm glad to have a figurehead of our nation, that is known to be one of the sincerest people in the country, unlike our Prime Ministers for the past 20 years or so. Getting back to 'surreal' .... While in London last Friday, I wanted to test my new phone... We are sat in my car preparing to travel homeward, logged into the BBC, and watching a live TV broadcast (we do have a license BTW). I am mindful to how far telecoms have come, and in fact how far electronic media has come, in such a short space of time. While children might think 30 years is a long time, coming from using a housebrick with a nail for an antenna with reception usually limited to cities and big towns, to watching TV (and in colour) while sat in a car .... Amazing! And to add a little perspective to that, Star Trek 'communicators', and almost every sci-fi production that immediately springs to mind, showed (predicted) personal comms with having voice, rather than audio and visual. Though Thunderbirds might have had audio/visual watches? That Gerry Anderson fella had better foresight than Steve Jobs ....

I've had no luck at all in Brantano, to the point the store I used to visit, hasn't seen me for some time. I remember once entertaining a member of staff and startling a fellow customer by trying a pair of ladies shoes, but that's about it. I had noticed they went to size 9, but had not seen any 10's or 11's.

As they were (faux - I expect) suede, they were always going to be a difficult thing for me to pass as 'manly' footwear. I suppose men do wear suede shoes, but aren't they meant to be blue? My new C/C arrived today, so I might give it £40's worth of exercise later.

Due to a 'technical' hiccup, it would seem the other part of my response to this was lost ... The (probably) single pair of size 8 Zara thigh boots that were available online, have again, been sold. I am somewhat relieved and slightly disappointed, as might be expected. If I liked them and they fitted like the proverbial, I would have had a dilemma with no winning (read inexpensive) solution. If I didn't like them (as expected) I would have had to add them to an expanding catalogue of returns. It will make ordering the £40 prospects, a bit less demanding.

If you recognise this person....... (Prince William's wife, the Duchess of Cambridge) The following might surprise you .... Full article >> here <<

Just for the record, when I said; "not a single 4-legged animal in Africa scares me at all" I didn't mean there wasn't anything to be scared of. Even a monkey can literally eat the face off a human, as happened in America some years ago. What I meant was, the thought of me staring at an elephant in its natural environment, doesn't scare me. The same with a lion, croc, hippo, giraffe. The thought of some parasite getting at my kidneys by burrowing in through the soles of my feet, scares me ... When I rode a horse in the Carmargue, which is about as close to Africa as I ever plan to get, there were flying/jumping insects the size of small birds hopping up onto my horse trying to eat it. Tropical countries come with this stuff because zillions of years of evolution has made them successful in warm places. While I would be at the front of any protest to complain about the cool wet weather here, it does keep us all fairly safe from insect 'nasties'. The indigenous wildlife treating humans as a walking larder or 'takeaway' isn't confined to Africa of course. Anywhere green in South Asia and the South Americas, same problem. Spending time at sea though .... Love that idea.

While trawling through various sites for shiny leggings, I'd stumbled across some PU/leather look flared trousers from Zara. While not fitting the bill of 'leggings', these had the prospect of being worn out, as trousers. The first pair I bought were a medium. So tight on my thighs I struggled to get them on, and the waist so small, I daren't try to pull the zipper up. I guessed these as a size 8, since I can usually get a 10 on, be it an uncomfortable fit. As these were soooooo small, my next pair were an XL. Waaaaay too big. This time around, they felt like a 14/16. It's not shown, but I'm actually having to hold them up with a hand out of shot. So the next attempt was at a Large. Here is the result: A good length, to being up to an inch too long depending on the heel height (those worn here are 5½" high), but some snipping and a little glue would resolve that. So why did they go back? Weeeell, the waist was a little too big. There's no belt loops, so a belt couldn't be used. The thighs were comfortably tight, and wanted to pull the loose waistband away from the waist. I was/am really disappointed these didn't fit. They looked good, and felt great. Wasn't overly struck by having a zip, especially since the waist lining was elasticated, but there was no danger of the zip being broken as these were so loose. This style has been taken off the racks in the shops, probably in preparation for the January sales, which are REALLY popular at Zara stores. If I ever see another medium, perhaps I'll give them another go. Did I say I was disappointed?

Another offering, this time a PU 'jean' (jegging) from New Look. They look 'ok' in the pictures here, but were horrible to wear. You really don't get much thinner legs than mine in an adult, but these puckered up around my legs. The waistband was in a funny place too. I spotted someone wearing a pair, and you can see what they look like on a person with a reasonable amount of gear in their trunk. And finally, the NL promo shot ... Yeuk.

Not many will believe it, but rather you than me. There's not a single 4-legged animal in Africa scares me at all... It's the 6, 8 and no-legged creatures that bother me (so I won't ever be going ). That and some of the two legged.... Some 20 years ago I worked with a (then) 40-something fella who had left S/A where he was born, and brought his wife and family permanently to the UK to live and work. When I asked why, he gave me a long frightening story about car-jacking. The bottom line to it was this: While car-jacking there had been a problem for some time, the jack-jackers had grown to realise a dead body was often easier to get out of a car, especially if the owner might be armed. I decided there and then, if those born there didn't feel safe, how could I? Since that time I was partner in a business to someone who wanted to retire there (probably with some of 'our' money - though I didn't know that at the time). He even went on a house building course, where there used straw as a building material for when he went there. I've met another, who's family has land there, which he travels to as often as he can to hunt. I also have friends, who have friends with family and business interests there. I suppose it's all down to perception. I rather like the idea of listening to hippo's snorting outside the tent I might be resting inside, but the thought of mozzies trying to suck my sweet meat-free blood dry, is a stopper. Stay safe.

Hello and welcome.

I won't keep them, not at £140 for what is essentially a shoe with an elasticated sock shaft. (Or feels like one anyway.) There is another possibility though. A pair like the £100 Nasty Girl boot with a claimed 5" heel too, but £40 and from the UK. If I do one, I'll do both.

Seems sensible. If a bit disappointing, as they do look very attractive. Sorry to hear about the condition of your feet. I have two girlfriends who have both suffered enormously through wearing heels for extended periods, like at work. I've mentioned them before ... And I think posted pictures. I doubt I can find the pictures again easily but if I do ... I'll re-post them. It's an indicator or what 'excess' can do I suppose. I sometimes wonder what my feet would be like if I had enjoyed wearing heels for 10 hours a day, five or six days a week. I asked about family history, because at least one of the two women had family history of bunions, and I've read that even wearing sensible shoes won't necessarily stop bunions forming if they are in the family gene pool. Links ..... To comment #7 >> here << and following comment >> here << To picture >> here << To picture >> here << What appears to be creases in the skin, are actually surgery scars.

Email from ASOS late yesterday; "Sorry but ..... Out of Stock." Is there a conspiracy? River Island has a new style, but not for me .... Too loose on the shaft. Heels claimed at 4 inches, but looks unlikely. £120 from >> here << Zara web site indicates their thigh boot is back in stock .... Am tempted ....

Contacting people in the stores is proving to be hard work! My only reason for locating the card, is 'peace of mind'. If I can be told it's not held by someone who shouldn't have it, I will be happier than thinking it's been picked up by some ne'er do well. Finally ..... Nothing 'declared' at either store, though one did say if a card was found and not claimed 24 hours after being found, they would cut it up anyway.

At this time (he says touching some wood) I've yet to experience much foot discomfort at all. I expect that to change in the fullness of time as none of us are getting any younger.... It might be 'age' induced joint pain perhaps? Bunions tend to grow and bend the large toe over the smaller ones. Is it discomfort. or are you getting swelling and shape changes too?

When I was younger (several millennia ago) I used to be 'into' music. I bought vinyl LP's and the occasional single, not least because there was no other option at the time. Then came tapes, and I bought loads. Then came CD's, and I bought loads. Now, 'downloads' are thing. Music stored in a minimalist form, takes no space at all. Great! This time around, I'm paying nothing. I've only recently discovered how easy it is to 'legally' download published work, almost entirely from You Tube. My new smart phone is largely responsible. Having a little tool that allows me to listen to music published on You Tube (and elsewhere) has rekindled my interest in listening to music. I find it very relaxing, and eases the boredom when working alone. The music 'mixes' I and Mrs Freddy favour are on my phone, on a memory stick for use in my car, and on two or three CD's for use in Mrs Freddy's car. In a short space of time, I've already collected some 20 hours of very pleasurable sounds of varying intensity. I fell asleep last night listening to a 'chill out' mix on my phone. It's much less obtrusive than the buzz-saw noise that passes for herself snoring next to me. While 20 hours might not seem like much, I tend to replay the same album over and over for a month or more. That 20 hours could last me a year, but as I find more and more music, it won't need to. I'm listening to a new discovery, and at the same time downloading it, while I write too. Now 21 hours of music.

I attempted to return that item to M+S (leggings), this time remembering my C/C. I never use it to shop 'in store', and the card only leaves the house if I decide to do a return in person, rather than use a courier. I'm still looking for the elusive "12 Long" but had a 12 Medium to return. Thinking to look again for the 12L I returned the 12R personally. I found a 14 with legs about 2 inches longer, so didn't do a return after all, just a swap with the 14R going back if they don't fit very well. When I got back to the car, some 20 minutes later, I'd either 'lost' the C/C, or had it swiped from my back pocket. I have no idea how I managed to lose it, as I hadn't intentionally removed it at any time, but gone it was. Took me a further 20 minutes to get it reported to the bank, but it was cancelled before anyone attempted to use it. I had left the store at closing time, but I was allowed back in for a quick look around, but it wasn't anywhere I remembered walking. I was told to ring the store tomorrow, and I will. The card is useless to me and anyone else in the UK, but I understand these things are worth money abroad.... Hopefully it'll turn up tomorrow. There's a reason I don't take these things out of the house.... (Called 'hapless' ~ careless?)

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssss. 117mm rise is close enough. I think leather (natural skins) will stretch, and I've read PU will 'give' a little too, but I've not experienced that. Manufactured materials seem to be fairly stable, with or without a hair dryer. The bunion doesn't sound like good news. Does anyone else in your family have them?

This picture wasn't available when I wrote up the evening. A shoe from Debenhams in PU, originally priced at £35, with a reasonable 4½ inch heel I bought in one of their many sales. Very comfortable, unless you have the seam of your sock digging into the top of your toes....

If you are using a phone to reply, the two characters did not register .... I liked the look of the Zara shoes too, and missed out on a new size 8 pair at £25 about 6 months ago. I was feeling poor (not unusual) and didn't want to risk buying them expecting them to come up small, which was likely. A Zara size 9 might have fitted me very well.

Last night ..... Fate was being particularly cruel ... At the very last minute, Mrs Freddy confirmed she was not too exhausted to accompany me into London after a hard days graft in the salt-mine. (Bless her.) While I make it sound a bit 'jolly' I could never get up at 5am as she does ... Not without a catch-up sleep around 10.30am. I had/have some returns, and it's been a long time since I'd been out in heels. I had 4 things to go back, and could return 3 on a single trip. We had a birthday present to look for too, so a bit of walking about was called for. 10 minutes into the journey, I realised the one return that needed a C/C would have to wait, as I'd left it at home. (Duh!) First stop-off was Brent Cross, where the first return to Zara was made. (Details in the 'Leggings thread.) Back up the escalator to leave, at the top of our ride, a tall slim young woman passed us, wearing a heel high enough for me to consider them too high for shopping. Another time, I would have turned back for a better look, but Mrs Freddy needed to be impressed with a show of (my) willpower to keep the evening short.... We carried on walking back to the car. The final leg of the trip, about 5 or 6 miles, took us into the West End. 100 yards from the place where we parked, on a busy one-way road, we passed a lady wearing Louboutins. She was also quite tall (I mention height because it would mean the wearer is in a heel for fashion, not for obvious necessity), and had stopped with a girlfriend on the the street corner indulging in a cigarette. Early forties, glamorous/beautiful if slightly past her best, she was gorgeous. Black Loubies, that were Kate 120's I think. Despite walking briskly back up toward her and the shops, she had long gone by the time we reached the corner. At New Look, they wanted my name, address, postcode for the £22 cash return. I gave false details, as this information is not for public, or commercial consumption. Once I had my money, I told them I lied. At Zara, they just want to see the receipt. Even with C/C purchases, this is all they need if I remember correctly. Even the gracious Mrs Freddy passed a critical remark to the cashier (with a smile - of course). We had a quick look around the bigger stores there for poor people. No time for Selfridges. The bribe for Mrs Freddy to join me, was a meal out. (No cooking, no washing up, and waiter/waitress service.) We went to Prezzo which almost never has poor service. We had struggled once with one that was so busy it was bulging at the seams, another forgot our order so we ate very cheaply that night.... It's the place I use as a benchmark to measure others..... Not this night... We don't often have a starter, but we decided to share one. It was supposed to be garlic bread with mozzarella and garlic of course. What turned up was a pitta sized piece of pizza, with perhaps a tablespoon of cheese, garnished with teaspoon of garlic oil. I wanted to send it back, but in 'keeping the peace' I was persuaded not to. I finished my half very quickly with little to no satisfaction for the £6 spent. Following on in the general 'flavour' of the event, some 20 minutes later, the maître d' asked if we'd like a "sweet to complete your meal"? I suggested a main course first, was probably more appropriate? Our mains took another 5 minutes to arrive. Thankfully the portions were a little more suitable for hungry adults. I enjoyed my pasta, Mrs Freddy enjoyed her very meaty burger. By the time we finished, it was past 10.30 and we had an hours driving in front of us. We toyed with having a mini-dessert that came with coffee/teas/hot chocolate, but waited so long for service, when someone did finally turn up, we asked for the bill. We put the payment down, that was attended to with the same enthusiasm we had been given all evening. Finally, we decided to leave with payment still on the table. Once outside, we let a large delivery lorry hide us as we walked to the car. Just for the record, there were at least 4 people who could have picked up payment, but seemingly staff had 'clocked off' some time earlier. I don't often fail to leave a tip for service, but nothing was left tonight. On a previous visit, I had gladly left £5 against a £30 bill at the same place - because we were looked after. So back to the car, and on our way home. As we drove past Selfridges, the West End nightlife was making itself obvious. Once again on a busy one-way road, and approaching a junction, yet another tall girl walked across the road in front of us to a Club we were passing. Completely clad in black, very short skirt/long top - take your pick - and black sandals with a good 6 inch heel. The shoes had platforms, but the rise was considerable. I got perhaps a 2 second glimpse as the traffic in front of me moved away, and I had to immediately follow suit. I don't usually wear socks while wearing heels. I tend to use some 'ankle hose' which is for practical purposes, seam free. They aren't but I twist them so I don't experience any rubbing. Tonight I had worn socks with quite a thin seam. they rubbed to tops of my toes, making walking slightly uncomfortable after an hour or two. Rotating them helped, but I expected blisters or opened skin. The lone bit of good fortune over the evening, was my skin remained intact.

My money is on 20mm or a tad under. But hard to measure without a little effort. I'm hoping for a 120mm rise.... How did the Zara shoes go? I'm quite interested ....

On the strength of me having joined the modern world with a phone that looks like it's smart, Mrs Freddy has bought the model I decided was too expensive for my first venture; the Moto G 3rd Gen. A significantly better camera, and lens I suspect. Better quality/more fluid graphics. I am gutted. Before I bought my phone I read two comparisons between the phone I purchased, and the Moto G 2nd Gen. The extra £50 for the 'better' phone wasn't felt to be worth it by the reviewers, so I bought the £99 phone. Having had a short play (setting up) the newer 3rd Gen product, I think herself got a really good deal on her phone. It just seems better with everything. What does concern me though, is the intrusiveness of the Android operating system, and some of the applications that can be added to it. For example, I was tempted to add the "iPlayer" app this evening, so I would the weather programme away from my usual location. The app wanted access to my stored pictures/media, my phone number, and any number that was calling me. Really? When I've attempted to add new contacts to my contact list, Google wants to squirrel them away 'for security' too. If I don't agree, at this point; no new contacts. (I think I can get around this with .vcf files - but should I need to?) The conclusion I have reached is this .... If I wanted to design a fully integrated system where I would know where a person was, 24/7, who they spoke to, when they did, who they emailed, who they messaged..... What their interests were, what they shopped for ..... <You get the picture?> I would be providing the outline structure of the Google Android operating system. Almost nothing is kept from the phone. And I say 'almost' because I'm sure there must be something you don't have to tell it, though as yet, I don't know what that might be .... Mrs Freddy spends time on the F/B forum keeping in touch with friends and family. It seems the F/B app on her new phone, doesn't have an 'off' function. Literally, it's designed so you can't turn it off once it has been launched.... It's possible to force a shutdown by going into the phone settings and closing it there, but who will do that (who even knows it can be done there?) With the 'location' function switched on, it would mean both Google and F/B could track my wife everywhere she goes, 24/7. Who needs that information, I don't.... Another really really really weird thing happened tonight too. While scrolling through her phones "history" log for a previous page visited while searching for Christmas presents on Google, some of my search history appeared on her phone, from May this year? Neither of us has these phones then, and search history is regularly deleted off the only 'live' computer in the house.... Where was that record of searches/sites accessed stored and how did it get on her phone? Seeing that pop up, actually shocked me. I am unsure what I will do about my phone. I have priced up an almost indestructible 'candy-bar' un-smart phone with a battery that lasts 3 days, even if used and most of the time it probably suits my phone needs better than the Moto I have. I'm increasingly aware of how obtrusive these 'smart' things are, and I'm not overly keen on that aspect of the device, as it's effectively 'spying' on my life. "Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get me."

Hello and welcome.

Another regular, Rihanna, promoting her fragrance .... >> Here <<