FastFreddy2

Update: Been busy for a while so little time for writing, but I have been doing heel related stuff. As noted elsewhere, I did finally succumbed to buying the Coco stiletto court for £30 from John Lewis [90 day returns] on the day I'd met another male high heeler. Fitted well, looked lovely, but as expected - where to wear them? Plus I have another pair just like them, that I also haven't worn. Conclusion, sold them on. Ordered the Jessica from an online outlet, think they were £35 delivered? A bit tight on the right foot, so they went back. Lovely boot, even lovelier heel, but not comfortable enough to wear while walking. I resisted the Sindy even though they were available for £49. REALLY comfortable boot, but at the time, £49 was a lot of money and I was short of it. 2014. Have had a couple or three shopping experiences with KG since. I'd spotted KG/Carvela included an ankle boot in their range about a year ago for around £150, that I had waited to see reduced sometime in a sale. Never happened, they just disappeared. They had a moderate 4" heel with fairly rounded toebox that might pass as mens shoes should I (or anyone) choose to wear them amongst people we know well. The success of the Acne ankle boot has spurred many to produce their version, and I doubt there has ever been so much choice for a block heeled ankle boot. This included several from the KG/Carvela house. One I'd seen and liked, was the "Smart". As the previous pair I'd been interested in, these were originally priced at £150. When they went to £89, I was more interested. With hindsight I should have shopped around to find these in a large store, where returns were possible if I wanted them to go back, but history (wrongly) suggested these might disappear quickly. I popped in to the KG store at Brent Cross without enough time to try them on, and was told their sale items came with a 7 day exchange-no refund policy. I declined to take them. A couple of days later I was back at the same store, with more time to try them on. During the second visit that week, the store was busy, and possibly the busiest I'd ever seen it. [sales?] I told one of the girls behind the counter they shoes were for me, and I wanted to try the right shoe on, as discreetly as possible. She was exceptionally helpful, and not only handed me the shoe out of sight of everyone else, but kept my purchase as quick and discreet as possible. [Meaning, the shoe was re-boxed out of sight and I was taken to the front of the short queue for the transaction.] As you will realise, the shoe fitted, and I bought the pair. It was a very easy and pleasant experience. Now some months later, the same shoe is on sale in several department stores at the slightly lower price of £85 which isn't important. What is maybe more important is the opportunity to return them (at these stores, not KG), as they might have gone back since they are not over generous on size. I've haven't worn them yet and if I decide to move them on I will lose a lot of money. If they are used, I'll likely have to all but give them away. Being leather they will stretch a little, and reshape themselves, so maybe they just need wearing.... I'd also spotted (in my quest to get a high heeled court shoe in leather) the KG Cilla reduced from £240 to £85. They were/are a nod to Louboutin 120 Pigalles in what I think they describe as snakeskin? I had tried to get to their Covent Garden flagship store to try them, but arrived just after they shut, having spent 15 minutes trying to find the store. Not deterred, I ordered them directly from the shop on the phone. It cost £4-95 to have them sent, which was cheaper than a further trip, and also allowed me to return them if I wanted. Although expensive, once I saw them and tried them on, I knew they were never going back. Like Loubies they are cut low around the toes which isn't great, but they are not shopping shoes anyway. At 5¼ inches, the heel is for standing in, not much else. Having missed the chance of a visit to the KG shop at Covent Garden, I dragged Mrs Freddy there with me a couple of weeks later. There was another KG style I wanted to try, but am unlikely to buy, certainly at the original retail price anyway. It's their Get boot. These are the closest I have come to finding a black court shoe in leather, with a higher/slimmer heel. Again these are not shopping shoes, but maybe a cinema/restaurant style. On arriving at the KG shop -in a heel- I had to wait until the doorman/doorwoman moved away from their guard position. Most of the range are in the basement down a large mirrored open stairway, and you certainly feel like you are making an entrance. Once downstairs, I initially got Mrs Freddy to try on some similar styles including the Get boot. None fitted (too narrow) but one did, the Carvela/KG Gain. For some reason, this particular style came up wide enough for Mrs Freddy's toes to spread comfortably. Not that she could walk in them. (Waaaay too high. ) Since I'd had her trying 3 or 4 different styles with no purchase at the end of it, I was already reluctant to ask the assistant to try the Get style for myself, especially since I knew I wouldn't be buying. At that time, I also noticed the lady from a couple on the next couch, had spotted my footwear. (I had not been discreet - at all.) It looked like she was trying to get a good look at my shoes to confirm her suspicions. If it hadn't already been tilted, her (rather rude) interest in my footwear helped me decide not to try the Get on in my size. I expected it to fit, in fact I'll be shocked if it doesn't. And as much as I love the heel, I would not be spending £160 whatever happened. So we left the store. With me making sure the couple had almost no opportunity to get a better look at my heels. (I watched them looking as we went back up the open stairway. Me keeping the opposite side of Mrs Freddy, so not only would they need through the stairway, they need to see through her moving legs too. ) I did catch a glimpse of the couple outside the store, minutes later. She was wearing very high heels, and maybe went some way to explain why she was 'switched on' to mine? The store staff seemed helpful, and I'm looking forward to returning during a sale period.

I agree. I'm sure if we lived in American around 1860, many other men would have been wearing a 'stacked heel' boot too. The jeans and heeled boots look seems completely normal to me. Even better, it's starting to feel more normal to me too, meaning I'm getting less and less self-concious that I'm wearing a heel in public. The advantage of this is that few people experiencing paranoia, (however lightly) will seldom be getting the most from what would otherwise be a completely pleasurable experience. With that notion in mind ...... As I get older, as we will all getter older ..... Our energy levels will likely reduce as the years pass us by. I had not really appreciated this much, until I spent some months doing some fairly physical work recently. In the evenings, I was fit-for-nothing. Having an interest in wearing heels, had artificially raised my energy levels, as a necessity to getting out and about. Meaning, my enthusiasm for getting out in a heel, has stimulated me into doing some exercise (walking) instead of doing the easier alternative ~ being a couch potato. This is a "healthy" hobby/interest.

Yes ...... Took a pair back to the store today, returned home with two (identical) pairs.... It's a sickness?

I've yet to buy and keep a pair from Office. I recently bought a pair of their On Top courts in black patent, but returned them. I have a similar pair already, but wanted to check for size. They fitted very well. Really, I wanted the same style in black leather, but they had sold out of my size before I had a chance to buy a pair. Same with their Jaguar Dorsay Point, which has the same heel, but side cut-out (which seems to be a much copied feature at the moment.) On the face of it, £65 does seem like 'expensive' except ...... There is nothing I know of that comes close in heel height (almost 5 inches) and is leather rather than plastic. The nearest next thing I know of to the Jaguar, was Zara with a very similar style in leather, at £70. That was also a style I found too late, with none available either on-line nor in the 8 stores I've looked in. Next up is the Carvela suede or pastel parent court with high/slim heel at £100 to £120. Kurt Geiger suede version at £190. Higher priced still, the original Jimmy Choo Anouk that all the other styles mentioned have copied, selling at around £500. When alternatives are grouped together like this, with £65 being the lowest price for a stunning looking shoe, can they be said to be expensive? Especially when the sellers (Office and Zara) sell all their stock VERY quickly. It suggests most buyers would consider the price a "bargain"?

As I said before, you very likely got a good price, so you're obviously doing the right thing. I've made some serious blunders in the past, and have yet to 'reap-the-benefit' of buying too many pairs, or unsuitable pairs. I imagine I have perhaps 10-15 pairs I will be losing a LOT of money with. I'll learn though, one day.

That's a high heeled shoe that is ..... Is it "art"? I'd say slightly. Meaning artistic, but not 'art' since it probably couldn't stand on its own as a piece.

Extract from the (significantly) longer article: In a nutshell.

Both pleasant situations. Those children were a bit forward though?

Actually, you have 2 and 3 right, with pair 3 being my preferred! These are also favoured .... And while browsing, I noticed these for the first time. They have a claimed 11cm heel, but doesn't look like 11cm to me? These could easily be a summer favourite .... but not on my feet sadly. They come with a 13 cm heel!! And up to a UK size 9½ !!

Mrs Freddy has had a similar experience with her "work issue" safety shoes. Solution for her was to get management to agree she only needed to wear them while in a hazard area, meaning daily usage down to 1-2 hours rather than the 8 she was wearing them. It's improved the condition, but not completely removed it. My feet are treated like the delicate instruments of pleasure that they are. While I will wear 'unsuitable' footwear for short periods, I couldn't use footwear that would interfere with my feet for long periods**, and would rather pay for possibly expensive safety footwear if my livelihood depended upon it. I have many times offered to stump up for Mrs Freddy's work footwear so her feet are cosseted while at work. Keeping our feet healthy is a longterm investment after all, and work shoes could be the most expensive shoes we own given how much time we spend in them..... Not that herself agrees. Not even if I pay for them! ("They're too ugly." Horses and water?) That said, if you've no other choice, you've no other choice. ** There's little chance of 40+ hours a week in heels BTW. But I'd like to have had to make a life choice about wearing them during my earlier years...

I seldom (if ever) browse for summer styles. I did once own a pair of HH mules that ticked all my usual boxes, but wearing them with naked feel just wasn't realistic. I picked the Zara ones because they have the promise of blister-free wearing, or did right up to finding out they were synthetic. Zara have a number of tantalising summer styles, and their web site is well worth a look. Shoe prices from £30 to over £100, so maybe more than some here would usually spend (including me), but some interesting styles regardless. ALDO - my usual source of footwear, also has some summer styles I like. Not sure about boots with cut outs ... but if you find some .....

If it was easy everyone would wear a heel. Well done you, for persevering. Not good news about your foot pain though? Is this a short term thing (small injury) or something more serious/long-term like arthritis? Hopefully something that can be medicated better?

Wow! You have a lot of cojones for such a venture. Not something I have the nerve for. Well done you!

I'm sure it made a contribution. If I remember, part of the sales patter for the Honeywell controller (Thermostat) is that it can save 10% on the heating bill by some of the technology it uses. Certainly I can see how it will save us money over Winter ..... We often leave the heating on 24/7 when it gets really cold because it takes so long to warm up a cold house. [i once house-sat a large house that took 2 days to warm up again as I foolishly left the heating off overnight when I slept elsewhere one night.] With this 7 event controller, we will be able to keep the heating 'ticking-over' during the night while we sleep, and then get the normal temp back for when we rise in the morning. Same with the day/evening. Keeping the place warmer than it would be if the heating was off, and cooler than it might be if we left with the heating on. Given the price of gas, I would hope to get the cost of the replacement back in one or two Winters. Only drawback seems to be the necessity to have completed a degree course in programming.

Summer styles are seldom suitable for a man to wear in public - probably. I did try some pattern (not patent) leather mules several years ago while out on a very warm evening in London. The result of that trial, was two very sore big toes, with one blistering quite badly. Although the shoes were a good fit, I'm not sure my baby-soft feet are good without some covering. Usually it might be ankle "footsie's", usually double layered. Some of my footwear is large enough to allow (or need) socks. Summer styles are meant to be worn with naked feet? Zara is becoming a bit of a style favourite. Not so good for those who are usually on a tight budget, as their styles seldom make a sale price. Quantities are small, with Zara ensuring some exclusivity by not carrying styles for long periods. Here is a style I quite like that provides cover for the toes like 'man shoes do', but has a heel and an open back making them a warm weather shoe too. The downside(s) ..... £60 and 100% synthetic. Sweaty feet for free! Heel height for me [uK8] is around 4½ inches.

We did go out last Sunday as planned. It was so eventful, I will write it up elsewhere.

2. I have tried to discuss/demonstrate this before. Imagine a foot with total length 290mm with ball to heel 190mm. With a linear rise (straight line upward angle) to 125mm the rise in a shoe seems fairly comfortable. The toe and heel position offer very little distortion to the foot. Take the same dimensions, but the rise is "S" shaped. This effectively compresses the length of the shoe, despite providing an identical overall length. If these two shoe designs are matched, one will be significantly more difficult to walk in, experience tells me. The difference is subtle to the eye, but significantly noticeable to the foot. 3. I've recently acquired some ankle boots with a 5" heel, that are most definitely NOT hiking boots (nor shopping boots either). They might get used on some social activity or special occasions, and that's about it. Lovely wearing them though.

On Tuesday of this week, Mrs Freddy complained the heating didn't come on in the morning. Little did I know what this would lead to, nor the time/effort involved in solving the problem. I'll save you all about 15 minutes reading time and me about 2 hours typing ...... It was the room thermostat wireless receiver (boiler switch) that developed a thermal problem in one of it's circuits. Since a receiver goes for about £50, I'm using it as an opportunity to upgrade to a 7 day, 7 settings a day wireless thermostat at circa £107 delivered. Intermittent and irregular faults are always hard to find. Took me 5 days, with around 5 hours of messing around on three of those days. Conclusion reached when the receiver was stored in the freezer for 20 minutes this morning, and the CH system worked for 20 minutes afterward. Longest it's been on in a single stint since Wednesday. Managed to borrow a receiver for a couple of days (hehehe) until the replacement arrives later in the week. I can't tell how much pleasure I got today, just being in a warm house.

As much as I'd like to provide some guidance on foundation depth, I haven't needed to dig-too-deeply into finding out the requirements for this kind of job. However, where I plan to do something similar, I will be using the requirements of a vehicle 'drive' to ensure I don't get subsequent movement. I'm fairly sure a patio (on which you might sit a lightweight-stand-alone conservatory), isn't usually built with 300mm deep bases, and 150mm (thick?) brick or concrete cover? That must be getting on for, but-not-quite, car hard standing depths. If you haven't already, I'd certainly recommend checking Building Regs for square-foot coverage ratio, and (your) border limits for conservatory dimensions. If you wanted to add some before and after photo's, I'm sure many would be interested to see them.

Yep, that's different alright.

That would be me. [13" on a fat day.] Any idea where these are from?

Nice find(s). My fav, the pair in Pic.5 of second post.

While I've been visiting the West End frequently, they have been for the most part, last-minute decisions. Christmas shopping (Christmas shoppers) were out to try and break spending records it seemed, despite on-line shopping (as a percentage of spend) was confirmed as having created a new record. Parking in London was horrendous, but then it's supposed to be. Local government would much prefer us to use public transport. If it wasn't so expensive, wasn't so unreliable, wasn't so crowded, perhaps more of us would... The January Sales, started during the 3rd week of December in some stores. Experienced shoppers who can 'hold their nerve', know the bigger reductions come after Christmas. In the New Year, seduced by lower prices and higher heels, I spent more than I should (or needed to - given the size of my collection already). I will try to place reports of purchases and shopping experiences in the appropriate places. The weather here continues to be a problem, not just with going out, but to a degree with travelling too. The wet weather has been around for so long, the ground is fully saturated. It doesn't take much additional rain to create pools of water in roads, with some drains slightly clogged with debris washed into them. I've actually seen pedestrian pathways covered in a mud slurry, where the volume of moving water (on the path) has quite literally, washed mud from the grass verge next to it. This slurry eventually gets to the drains, and slow water movement allows rainwater to fill the road. Closed roads to due flooding are a new experience for me..... And not a pleasant one. Mrs Freddy and I HAD to venture out towards the end of January, to use restaurant discount vouchers that were about to expire. Typically it rained on the day. Because it was raining, everyone else had to use a car too, parking close to our chosen venue was impossible. We had to walk 200/300 yards there, and then back again. Raining all the way, so bottom 5 inches of my jeans were wet through, and had to be washed as soon as I got home. While in the restaurant I had the bottom of my trouser legs rolled up to protect my leather shoes. I must have been spotted, but wasn't minded to care - I don't like wet clothes. I'm expecting to visit the West End this coming Sunday - if it doesn't rain. Lakeside Mall is an alternative, but wet days in large Malls are usually uncomfortably busy. (Queues for coffee shops, full restaurants, spills in toilets.) Bluewater probably off the menu due to high winds keeping the suspension bridge closed across the Thames. Might be another day locked inside, in the warm.

I have the picture 'in camera', taken the one dry we saw recently. Weather here is awful. Wet (as usual) with 30mph winds gusting to 50+mph. I'm currently listening to Mother Nature trying to either blow down or blow apart, my home and anything else in its way. Tomorrow mid-morning will start to see the winds begin to drop, but it's not very pleasant outside, with blown debris (like trees) causing problems. If I had already had the fence repaired, I'd probably be collecting it from a neighbours garden again, sometime tomorrow. While us Brits are used to experiencing varied weather, I think most of us are getting a little fed-up with the continuous rain and wind..... P.S. Almost forgot to mention ...... We have had another plumbing 'disaster' ...... The toilet I installed last summer, created a little bit of panic 2 months ago, because the connector piper to the main waste started to slip off the pan. Some drips of water appeared during flushing (so clean water for the most part). Easily fixed by pushing the pipework back where it should be, after first drying/disinfecting the damp patch. I marked the connector to ensure further slippage could be noted and fixed before a further spill. I then forgot about the mark.... Around 10 days ago, the connector slipped off again. This time the it had gone unnoticed for a day or two, so the underneath of the pan was wet. I decided (stupidly it turned out) to empty the loo completely, and move it so the floor could be cleaned and dried. Firstly I turned off the water, and undid the two bolts holding the pan to the floor. The cistern is 'close-coupled' and didn't need to be removed. I flushed the toilet to empty the cistern prior to shuffling the assembly...... Without realising me undoing the floor fixing had allowed the pan and connector to almost separate! The bathroom floor flooded almost immediately. Fortunately Mrs Freddy was close by and supplied 3 bath-sized towels to contain the water. The towels have been soaked in disinfectant, and given a 60 degree wash in a special anti-bacterial solution (not that they touched anything more than cold clean water really). The floor cover (painted hardboard) was removed after some initial drying, and used as a template for the replacement. The floorboards, that probably didn't have any contact with water, were given some time for drying anyway. The floorboards have been rubbed down, and painted with an oil based paint to protect against further water incursion, and contain any residual staining (found to have been caused by the previous owners some time ago.) The gaps between the boards have been filled with silicon, and all this topped with a plastic film. It's very unlikely water will get through the boards if there is a 3rd leak. The replacement hardboard cover is in place, and the finish paint coat went on this afternoon. The problem seems to be the toilet pan outlet that doesn't want to hold onto the connector. The porcelain tube is very smooth, and points slightly downward. I am thinking I should glue/stick/bond a plastic ring on the outlet, so there is a mechanical stop to the connector falling off? Silicone might be and answer too, perhaps I should on You Tube for advice. I'm also wondering if there might be an alignment issue. I don't have access to a 3D laser scanner, so have no way to replicate the alignment of the connector - when connected. There's next to no room for measuring, or to a degree, even seeing the connector when connected. I purposely bought a pan with a skirt, so the (usually) unsightly connector was hidden from view! Thankfully we have two toilets in our house, or I would have been in BIG trouble over this.....

Update: This is the first of probably 3 or 4 posts with virtually the same remark ...... "Rain stops play." February isn't looking much better. Some counties will experience a whole months rain in one day ....