FastFreddy2

Feels like it might be. Yesterday, while (finally) putting away 3 pairs of Marks and Spencer jeans bought earlier in the year, I had out a couple of pairs of boots to assess suitability. [Length of jean for height of heel.] Just after Christmas I made some staggering savings on two pairs of TopShop boots. Stunning looking footwear, that went for £95 originally, which I got for £30. (Two pairs.) One of these were used for 'height suitability' as the heel is about the highest I have. The boots have a thin platform, with an even thinner hidden platform. The heels are 130mm with platform(s) coming in at 20mm, if I remember. While hoofing the boots off, one shoe rattled. It seems the heel reinforcing rod that's usually used to stop the heel snapping, is loose inside the heel. I doubt the bar moves while in use (not enough momentum), but if the bar is lower than it should be, does that mean the heel might be prone to snapping? Should it be fixed (glued - bonded) into the footbed before the rest of the shoe is made? As they are unworn, I won't have a warranty issue, as they would fail a "fit for purpose" test and there's no time limit on that. But I'd rather have the shoe anyway. I guess I'm going to have to take the advice of a local cobbler. (That'll be an interesting conversation.) I expect the upshot is going to be me having to return them for a refund. The boot if from the "Premium" range too.

Returned both pairs of shoes/boots tonight. I'm not having a good time with returns ....... I could have used the HoF free returns procedure. This involves putting some tape across the top of the opened box both pairs arrived in, tearing off my address label, and sticking on the supplied HoF returns label. After basically resealing/readdressing the package, I take it to any Post Office, and leave it there. I do have to get a "Proof of Posting" receipt from the PO, but that's the end of my input. Rather than do this easy thing, I stupidly do the hard thing. I take the package back by hand, to save HoF the cost of return carriage. Me thinking, this is a good thing to do? Okay, it wasn't going to be completely selfless. I intended to try a size 7 in the court shoe, and swap the 8 for a 7. This could save me £7-50, and basically pay for my shopping trip. So..... I'm at HoF Oxford Street (London), the flagship store. I ask for, and get to try on the Darrt in a UK7. My foot goes in the shoe (so my foot is not too long), but the shoe feels like it has a size 4 toe box. I have slim feet, and I've only known one other person (woman) with slimmer feet, so I can be sure, almost any shoe will fit my toes even if the size is small on length. But these size 7's feel like they are going to crush my toes! The conclusion then, is both pairs are going back. As soon as the 8 boots go back on the rack, (or back into stock), I'm buying them back at the lower price. When I go to the counter, all is good. Shoes and boots unused, I have the dispatch note with all necessary details of the original transaction available for use. I've bought these online with a credit card, and I have my card with me. [This is unusual, as it never leaves the house, unless I need it to process a return, like tonight.] I'm asked to sign something, which I do. Card goes in the reader, another piece of paper is produced, which I'm also asked to sign (?) This is where things go a bit bad ...... The assistant asks for 'proof of ID'. Now mindful I have no legal need to have this on me (and not even a policeman can request this either), I don't carry any proof of who I am. Since I am fairly careless, carrying a drivers license, or any other kind of license is a liability with no obvious benefit. I say to her, no I don't have any. She says, "What about another card?" I say I only have one, (the one in her hand) and that seldom leaves the house either. She tells me, the signature on the card doesn't match the signature on the paper I've just signed. Two things of note: Firstly, some shops (could even be most shops) don't need any confirmation of cardholder present, they only need the card the original purchase was made on. Zara, for example, doesn't require the use of a PIN number. You just pop your card in the reader, and your 'returns' credit goes straight back on your card. Some other retailers want the PIN number, but that only assures the card holder is present. (Or someone who knows the PIN number - obviously.] Secondly, I am returning goods, not buying. I have the delivery note proving my purchase from HoF, which gives me the right to return the goods bought online back to their store. Since the delivery note allows the assistant to pull up a record of the original sale, she can see the method of purchase is credit card. Which I have - with my name which is the same as that on the delivery note. So I say, I'll sign my signature with my (reading glasses on), which I do on the top of the last piece of paper I signed. (While I'm doing this, she's plainly uncomfortable.) She say's it still doesn't match, so I then write my signature another 3 times on the delivery note. I ask her, what could be the problem? I'm bringing stuff back, not taking it away? Her reply is the usual B/S escape clause, "It's company policy". Finally she concedes, and I am given my refund printout from the till. She wants to keep the delivery note, but I tell her that's mine to take away. She copies some details, and I take that with me. At this stage, I am flushed, and not very happy. Not only don't I buy back the boots I fully intended to buy, I leave the store completely. (With all my money.) Granted I'm naive about HoF procedures, but this is plainly a ridiculous situation. I can feel another complaint email coming on.

Had another try with both pairs of the Steve Maddens today. Found the court shoe (Darrt) is a little on the big/long side. Because the heel 'cuffs' are shaped to hold a heel, my foot stays inside the shoe, at least if my foot is naked. If I get the chance, I might try a UK7 before these go back. The Devil style boot, was less uncomfortable today. Looks like they have a 130mm heel, and a 15-20mm hidden platform, (depending on which side of the shoe is measured). Not overly long like the courts, but I think these are slightly more pointed. I'll try to do some pictures over the weekend.

I think the praise goes ... "Dogs have owners, cats have staff." This one has. There are times when he will stand or sit by his tray, and make what I can only call a whiny noise? What he's after, is someone to clean out his litter tray, so he can use a 'fresh' one. I can't tell you the amount of times I've cleared out his business, only to have him immediately I've finished, go into the tray and make it dirty again. The cat all but talks. For perhaps the first 3 of the 4 months he's been here, we never got a noise from him at all. Then over a period of about a week, he learned to 'meow', though it's never been a full-bodied one. Usually he talks by a sound that's akin to a long purr that tapers upward. Mrs Freddy says, he doesn't know he's a cat, he thinks he's one of us. Sorry to hear about the loss of your cat. Sounds like there was no choice about letting the poor thing go. Given some cats (like the mother-in-laws) can last 20+ years, this one might see me out.

The kitten is now (almost) a cat. He's not quite full-grown, and doesn't know he's a cat. Well entrenched as one of the family, so I begin to understand why the vets tend to use the family name too, when referring to a pet. He remains timid, which has its uses more often than not, but there are handicaps. He loves being outside the front of the house. The terrain is varied, and there's lots of places to hide. Under parked cars is a favourite, as is a small group of bushes. [Which he has put to good use when I've gone looking for him.] Thankfully, he'll appear when called, so we haven't lost him yet. It's a dangerous place though. I have discussed the purchase of a harness, and length of rope that is short enough to keep him on our front garden...... Everyone in the family thinks I'm nuts ..... But I've administered the coup de grace to a much loved family pet that felt the weight of a Range Rover on him, and it's not something I want to experience again. I allow the cat out the front, but only when I'm there too. The back garden is a different scenario entirely. We've fencing or hedges around the garden, but I know he could climb the 6ft fence at the bottom of the garden any time he wanted. So far, no sign of wanting. He's usually loathe to be there alone though. Out the front, he's fine wandering, out the back, he wants company. If it's dark, he's a little more comfortable alone, but still comes back in every 10 to 15 minutes to check we are about. This procedure will have to end soon, as it's getting too cold to have an outside door open. He's not into using the outside for a toilet though. He's done one or two No.1's outside, but still prefers his tray inside. I'm hoping that will change. He makes to go outside -digs a hole- but comes inside to do the deed. Weird. He's still a cutie though. Loves sitting on my lap when it suits him, and sleeping with his head cupped in my hand. Has to keep a front leg over my arm though? It's like he's holding on. Still follows me everywhere, which again, is a mixed blessing. I was taping around the bath a couple of night ago, getting it ready to apply some silicone sealer. Cat would not let me finish the job, wanting to play 'catch me' as he ran around the edge of the (empty) bath I was sitting in. Which reminds me .... About a month ago, when I was waiting for the sealer to go off between the bath and the wall, with the bath half full of water..... the cat thought the water was solid. He got a real shock finding himself in 5 inches of cold water. Took me about 20 minutes to first find the cat to dry him off a bit, then dry the wall and floors in the bathroom. He's been a lot more wary of the bath when it has water in it since.

Good for you. Don't be shy about posting pictures. I had planned to go see a filum tonight, but 'life' got in the way. Mrs Freddy and an old friend of had a late afternoon/early evening coffee together, for an 'urgent' natter. The family friend is getting married next year, and Mrs Freddy has been asked to be a bridesmaid. I've not been asked to be a pageboy, but it's early days yet. Then ...... more news that meant spending the rest of the evening talking on the phone, about the Aunt who broke her wrist on Sunday, and remains in hospital. Maybe another day then ..... But it's 'booked'.

I will need some ice-skates too, as hell will have frozen over.......

You could do a lot worse, especially since the Office (Anouk) copies are sold out size 7. You'd have to have very small feet to get into a 6.

Arrived Monday 30th. I may have not mentioned, I also included a pair of these in the order, for completeness. Being the court version of the boot of course. Before doing anything else, I tried these on. As I'm walking around the bedroom and hallway, Mrs Freddy says; "Don't tell me, 'They fit like a glove?'" To which I have to reply, "Well actually, they do?" ..... And given the trouble she has had recently with wearing any sort of closed in shoe, it's probably not my best answer. Then onto the main course as it were, the Devil boot. And a little disappointing. Both shoe and boot have a ½" hidden platform. Both an extremely well padded footbed, that makes wearing the 5" heel a breeze. Dare I say, too easy? The boot presses a little on the outside of my right big toe, but that's not unusual, as quite a number of my more pointed styles do that a bit. I paid HoF £89 for the boots, and over the weekend, Dune put their down to £69 which is a decent saving. Dune still have plenty of stock of the UK8's. Looking today, HoF have reduced their price to £69 too, though they have no stock left of my size. The court shoes were cheaper at HoF, as I bought during a store promotion, but not down by much. Originally £75 down to £67. [-10%?] As Dune has stock that HoF doesn't have, I'm not sure if I should wait in case I can save more money in a sale later on, at the risk of losing the style... At this time, I'm not convinced about keeping the boots (after all). The boots I have are going back anyway because there's a fair saving of £20 if I buy at Dune, or even if I return them to HoF. But will I buy them again? Either style are very wearable, either style could be worn all day, despite the 5" heel. Recommended! For me though .... not enough budget for both ...... Which to have and keep? ...........

Got around to using Schuh's feedback link on their web site. Left this: It won't change a thing, but at least I've blown off some steam.

Had a look at their web site for these shoes tonight, as you do ..... Seems the sizes only go up to a 7? Bit disappointing.

Thank you. As before, Mrs Freddy running 'interference' (distraction) with her heels, was a great help. And with the better part of a 2½ hour stress-filled journey getting to an expensive night out (for me), encroaching on what should have been a wholly pleasant experience, the occasional odd-look or stifled giggle wasn't going to make a great deal of difference to my state of mind. [ie. "Spitting feathers."] Not that I had time to notice any unfavourable reactions. Theatre and show report to follow soon.

Yay! Strictly is back!

It's been a while since I uploaded any fresh pictures to the Galleries. June in fact. Not that I haven't been taking them still. Looking at where I'm up to, I'm only a few days short of being a whole year behind in the sorting/cropping/editing phase. Must be hundreds .....

Part IV ~ The Journey [iI] We passed the second of the 15 stops we had to make on the first part of the underground journey. Which interestingly starts overground. With each stop, a couple more people entered our carriage, and I did what I could to help avoid interest in my footwear. If I'm honest, Mrs Freddy was doing a pretty good job of running interference, and I guess anyone interested in a heeled shoe would have used their time to stare at her feet - not mine. Suited me. We had not long left the third station, and if I remember, we were approaching a station called Neasden. For some reason we stopped outside the station, which isn't that unusual, so initially we weren't concerned. Not concerned, right up until the driver pipes up on the intercom and says; "Hello, the driver speaking. We are stopped because the train sat in the station ahead, has gone out of service. It seems to have a fault, and they are trying to ascertain what the problem is." We here in the South of the UK, regularly get news reports of passengers stranded on underground trains for hours due to breakdowns. On hearing there was a train up ahead 'out of service', you can easily imagine how Mrs Freddy and I felt when we heard the driver speaking. She turned to me and said, "We are just not meant to get there." I am sitting in silence, wondering how many people I cam going to write to about this. The London Mayor for starters, his right hand man running London Transport, every other MP in London, the Highways Agency..... The driver then announces; "They are going to try to get the train back to the depot, and free up the line ahead." We have been sat waiting, for 10 minutes, I'm sat wondering if the line is going to be free before 10pm, and are we getting off at the next station only to go back to our car at Stanmore..... Another painful 5 minutes passes, another announcement; "Thanks for your patience. Just to let you know, it looks like they are moving the train now." I might have felt better about this news, if I had been told 'the depot' is right next to the station. Information I only found out 20 minutes before writing these words. At the time, I imagined the train could have a 5 mile journey to 'the depot', and our wait could be an hour, 2 hours, who knew? At just after 7pm, we got another message from the driver. "The line is cleared, we'll be off again a minute. I'll try to get us back on schedule when we get going." It would be unrealistic to expect the 22 minutes lost, to be recovered instantly, and that's what we needed. When we got 15 stations down this line we would still have to change trains, and while it was only one further stop on the second train, we had no idea of distances between lines nor how far we'd have to go when we arrived at Victoria. When we did get going, the driver made it obvious he was trying to make up time. Everyone was bouncing around on their seat as we (sometimes literally) flew down the line! Our spirits were lifted as we seemed to progress quite quickly. Out conversation shifted from missing the show completely, to how much of the start we would miss, and when would they let us sit. This assuming there wasn't a third hiccup in our travel plans of course. As the train filled with more and more people during our progress, my thoughts around my shoes and the heels returned. How well was I going to do getting between stations? Would I be noticed? It had been some considerable time since I travelled in heels this way. Mrs Freddy was thankfully resigned to her being caught wearing a heel to 'tramp around' London after all, necessary despite my meticulous planning (including a dry run) that was supposed to circumvent this very situation. She was as glad as I was to be moving toward the theatre, and could start thinking more about the night, and less about whether it was going to happen (or not). The walk between The Jubilee Line and the Victoria Line was a bit of a schlep, but wearing a heel made it more entertaining. Maybe not so much for Mrs Freddy..... The very last leg of the journey was over quite quickly, with us arriving at Victoria sooner than anticipated. Leaving the underground involved a long escalator ride upward, with us almost pushed into the main line station. A few more steps to climb a short staircase, where finally, my previous evenings reconnoitre activity paid a dividend. I immediately recognised where we needed to go for the theatre and within a minute we were crossing the road to the Apollo Victoria. While a fairly long queue of people were still shuffling forward to collect their tickets from the Box Office, we were able to walk past and slip inside almost instantly, with our arrival timed at 7.26pm. We had just enough time to visit the toilet, so we did. The first act would last well over an hour long, and we'd been travelling for 2½ hours. After the visit, (the queues for them as bad as had been reported), we easily found our seats, and spent a couple of minutes watching the tardy late-comers find theirs. Although it looked like the show might be starting a few minutes late, we had still made it on time, despite the efforts of the rest of the world to prevent us doing so. ...........

Part III ~ The Journey . All the ducks are lined up. Mrs Freddy has arranged to get home early, to ensure we leave in plenty of time given my 2 hour journey time the night before. She arrives home at 3pm, and I hope we will leave at 4pm, giving us quite a margin for hold-ups. I've checked with the local branch of Prezzo at Victoria, and last orders are 10.30pm which we are unlikely to make so a late dinner isn't going to be possible. If we arrive early, we can have a meal, if not, it's sandwiches from a Pret near the parking location. Having missed my chance to be washed and ready earlier, Mrs Freddy is first in the bathroom as I can get ready in the time it takes her to 'do' her hair and makeup. Actually that isn't usually the cause of us being late somewhere, it's her 5 costume changes ..... Before putting the original choice back on. So I'm second in the bathroom .... Mrs Freddy has pulled out all the stops with her outfit. A black smock type dress, with fine black fishnets, and some stunning strappy (very) high heels. I have guaranteed her we have about 150 yard (200 yards tops) walk from the car to the theatre, so she has worn some very attractive heels. Usually when I'm out in heels, I want to walk as far as I can in them. Herself has 'battle-weary' feet from a life in heels, and still suffers a little from a couple of foot injuries that won't completely disappear. Consequently, she will usually wear flat shoes on one of our jaunts out. This time it's a special event with minimal walking, a great opportunity for her to dress up a bit. Her dark clothes clashing well against her light blonde hair. This time around, it's me that makes us a little late, faffing around with my clothes and footwear. We leave closer to 5pm than 4pm. Actually, it's nearly 5pm when we leave. I've put two breakfast bars (cereal bars) in with all the other bits we have with us. [shoes, extra/warmer clothes, hand wipes.] I doubt we'll need them but it pays to expect the unexpected. As luck would have it, the weather has improved, so we leave enjoying warm dry weather. We drive Southward on the A1[M] into London, and approach the M25 intersection. There is a little work related traffic queueing to get on the Southbound exit ramp, but nothing to suggest we will hit any real volume of work traffic - people getting home for the weekend. This is a good sign. A minute later, we pass a major road accident on the Northbound carriageway opposite on the approach to the M25 slip road. Four or five cars, with a large van - practically standing on its nose - right in the middle of the cars. It's obviously a bad accident. A further indicator is that as we pass the queued traffic on the other carriageway, suddenly the road is empty. The obvious conclusion is the Police have closed all the Northbound' entry roads. In the UK, any death on the road is treated seriously, and a full investigative assessment is made on a (safer) closed road. [Our final conclusion then, is that someone may have lost their life in the accident.] We are a little confused by how this could have happened. Dry road and clear bright sunny sky. But it is "rush hour"? Not having time (or inclination) to dwell on such unfortunate circumstances, we continue our journey South. Perhaps 3 or 4 miles further, we can see looming in the distance, a solid line of traffic queueing on our carriageway this time. We quickly realise, the roundabout [a further 3-ish miles away] where the Northbound carriageway has been closed off, must be gridlocked. Traffic used to leaving London at the rate of several hundred vehicles per minute, are not able to leave London on their usual route, and many won't be leaving on any route for some considerable time! Luckily, we see this queue in time to leave the Southbound carriageway on the one exit left before having to join the queue, and take a Westward route planning to turn South again when we are a sufficient distance from the hold-up. We drive off the A1[M] and into Borehamwood. Traffic is slow going Westward, so we turn South early, onto a clear road. A mile up that road we come to a standstill. With hindsight I know the only traffic moving was that turning back toward the town we had just left. A chap in a 4x4 shouts to me as he returns back down the hill we are on, "Best turn back and go through ....... " I say that I don't know the route, can I follow him? He says yes, so I turn around and follow him back into Borehamwood. This trip up the hill has cost (wasted) perhaps 15 minutes. We had a slow trip through the town, it clogged with traffic trying to move homeward. Eventually we find open road, and follow the driver of the 4x4 to a junction, where we turn South. After another couple of miles he pulls over, and approaches us now parked behind him. He says he is turning off, and we must continue South along the same route, I thank him for his help and soon both vehicles head off again. It's getting late, and we are worried we may not get to the theatre on time, or maybe not at all. There is an increasing awareness, the second main exit North for London traffic being closed, is slowly but surely creating grid-lock across the whole of North London on a day we could least afford it. I have serious doubts a car journey for the remainder of our trip is viable. We are about halfway, but it's taken an hour to get this far and the closer we get to the venue, the slower the pace of traffic. And that's without the added handicap of the grid-lock doubtless spreading throughout the area we are in. While I continue driving, I get Mrs Freddy to phone-a-friend who just happens to be sat in front of his computer. She tells him where we are, and what's happened. He looks for a tube station close to us, and works out the route we must take to Victoria. It's a 15 stop journey, with possibly borderline success, given we have to find parking when we get to the station. Eventually we lose our guide, and fortunately I recognise the road we have found ourselves on. We are driving in open countryside, entering a wealthy part of London's green suburbia that is Stanmore. We get to a roundabout where I know we turn right, and the traffic crossing us (from the right going left) is barely moving. This queue is likely backed up on its way to the A1 we left some 30-40 minutes ago. I get around the roundabout upsetting at least one other driver, but he''s not going anywhere quickly, so there was no danger to either of us. We are travelling against the queue, getting very close to the underground station. The traffic going the opposite direction is bumper-to-bumper, even when we arrive at the station. I'm still on familiar territory, and the place I hope to park has spaces. We arrive just after 6.15pm. [The 6.18pm timed, 40p parking ticket tells me.] Decanting ourselves from the car, I put my KG shoes on. As we walk away from the car I realise two things. The first is that I've left my camera in the car, so I have to walk back about 25 paces to get it. The other thing is, these (untried) KG shoes have too sharp a rise for me to get safely around the underground system -and back- wearing them. While at the car, I change into the ALDO standby shoes. Mrs Freddy is getting fraught, feeling I am wasting time. We both walked toward the station. The entrance isn't far, perhaps 80 yards. It's still very light, and a warm evening encouraging folk to walk home. We have to get around a corner, then back past the slow line of vehicles that are going the same way we are toward the station. Not only that, we have to walk past two bus stops, where people are sitting or standing, waiting for their bus ride home. If I wasn't stressed enough, we are having to walk past stationary groups of commuters, with nothing better to do than take in their surroundings ..... Having run-the-gauntlet, we are then confronted with what is probably a steep 40 step stairway to the ticket office and trains. Had we not been desperate to get on our way, the sound of two sets of heels clip-clopping down the stairway might have been music to my ears, tonight I would have preferred an escalator. The tickets for the (circa 10 mile) return journey, £8-90 each. Together with the small 20 minute parking charge outside the station, our transport costs had tripled due to an accident that wasn't even on a road we had used..... A train was waiting, and leaving in 2 minutes as we walked onto the platform. One of the ticket inspectors told us we had a 30 minute journey to Victoria. It was just after 6.30pm, so we were going to have time for a sandwich before we got to the theatre after all. When we sat down, we were both, very very very relieved. With us sitting down and someone else taking care of the driving, we had some time to reflect on the journey. While I wasn't happy about the unplanned £18-20 expense, I would have been a lot unhappier if we had missed the show.

With only 1 pair UK8's left in HoF on-line stock, I couldn't risk losing out so have ordered them on-line. Not my favourite method of purchase, as returns can be a bit fraught. Anyway, I hope to have them in about a weeks time.

I have mentioned them before (as being a sly emulation of a £600 Saint Laurent boot), but I have coveted the $149 Steve Madden boot, called "Devil". Coveted it so much, I have been considering a US import to ensure I get the chance to try them on. They look, stunning! [iMO]. While trying to find a picture for something else (one of the styles above), I first discovered they are now being sold in the UK by Dune as part of their extended range. (Not my favourite place to buy as their shoes are VERY over-priced given the quality.) I also found House of Fraser, a highly favoured store, has them too! With free delivery if ordered on-line (Dune want £3-25) HoF is likely to get a full-price sale very soon. >> Clicky << While on the subject of 'emulations', I wonder if the shoe makers selling their styles to Office, had these in mind? when offering these? ??

To be honest, I wasn't that bothered at the time, but have since decided it might be worth complaining about. I go to Bluewater several times a year, and if I wanted to try on some womens shoes, I don't want to be confronted by this sort of attitude. FHW. Another 'dead' name in shoe retailing ..... It's a fact of life, people will return to places where they have pleasant experiences. A good example are the ones I'm having with Halfords (bike store/equipment and car maintenance retailer). Returning to cycling I recently bought what was for me, an expensive couple of pairs of cycling shorts at £20 and £25 respectively. (If it matters, one uncomfortable £20 male pair, one comfortable £25 female pair). The chap in the store said Halfords had recently implemented the 'happy customer' attitude employed by John Lewis. [Who I returned shoes to, 4 years after purchase!] I forgot to take a pair back (I don't need two) but left me with a pair I would never wear, the fellas pair actually. I took them back and asked if I could change the second pair (now in my possession for 6 weeks), and the answer was an emphatic "yes". Yesterday I was back in another Halfords store. I wanted something they had (some bike axle nuts) but didn't retail. These are spares they use on customers bikes. I was offered 5 of them (free) and took 2. I'm loving Halfords because they are looking after me. In the last 2 months I have visited Halfords more times than I had in the previous 5 years. I never went to them for bike stuff in the past, so their customer service is winning me over. For the same reason, I'm always happy to recommend John Lewis. They price match anything they sell in store, provided you compare the price with the same retail method. [They won't and can't match people who sell 'on-line' only.] Not only do they price match, but there isn't another store group in the UK that can match their pre and post sales customer service.