"Last minute" meeting around the UK?

[FastFreddy2]

Sunday July 2nd.

I've mentioned them a number of times (usually referencing my avatar) but here is a picture of my usual 'adventure' shoes. 

 

They are not going to win any style awards, but ..... They are about 2mm shy of 5" high (so quite a challenge after a while), don't look overly 'girlie' from the front, and have a very stable heel. Best of all, they are COMFORTABLE, and I can literally wear them all day. 

On this day, I wore them like a 'regular' man's shoe. The plan was to go to the river, since shopping on a warm summers day just wasn't an appropriate way to spend the day. On the way there, we let Mr Google take on a fairly unusual route, that included driving past a canal. We stopped for a look, as there was parking. I've mentioned liking the idea of a riverboat holiday, so looking at narrowboats (or whatever they are called) always seems like a good idea. An ice-cream van was also tempting until we discovered a plain cone was offered at £3. 

We stayed for about an hour, and I discovered a canal boat I absolutely fell in love with, meaning I would gladly buy and live in given the chance. Mooring is everything, with the boat affordable (I found out after some considerable effort). 

 

 

How cool is that boat?

No information available about it anywhere, until I did some research on a similar boat ....

 

 

These are made by a small company, with commissions starting at £120,000. I've no idea what the mooring costs per year, but must be extremely cheap living in central London. I don't need a lot of space to live in, though Mrs Freddy might suggest I need a lot of storage space... 

Not every boat there was small though .... 

 

 

Having ventured out amongst the general public in a heel, with confidence high, we ventured into Regents Park briefly. The map there revealed we were some considerable distance from food and drink, and at the time we didn't feel walking in the heat without liquid with us, so we decided to return to the car. Before getting there, we were approached by a young - obviously well educated - ethnic person asking us directions to Primrose Hill. While miles away from home (in foreign territory) we'd just driven past the place he was looking for. We had a bit of a conversation about where we were actually from (he was from "North London"), but he meant actual North London, which is were we usually say is where we are from, because everyone knows London and may not know what "Home Counties" might mean. So having ascertained we weren't neighbours, e went off in the direction of Primrose Hill. I have no idea if he knew I was wearing a heel. One or two others did notice, but the only person that seemed to be worried about this was me.

We waited a few minutes to make sure we didn't bump into him again, and returned to the car via the expensive ice-cream van. We were both hot, and thought it would be a nice gesture to treat Mrs Freddy to an ice-cream, despite it being the most expensive I might ever buy. Sending her off on her own (male vendors are often more generous to women) Mrs F got her ice-cream .... And it was a good guess on my part, as the vendor's equipment "apparently" malfunctioned and the cone came back with 3 times the amount of ice cream should in the picture shown on the side of the van. Yay! We both got a good share of cooling liquid.

 

Getting to Spice Quay Heights and the now closed Design Museum care of Mr Google was something of a challenge. A bit like Tom Tom on 'shortest route' mode, it seemed we used every available back street (with their speed bumps) to get to somewhere that had looked like the end of a very straightforward route??? We arrived at a place we hadn't been to for some years, and spent the rest of the afternoon walking from there as far as Hays Wharf, stopping for a meal while we were out.

Not much to see by way of heels, but not everyone wore flat shoes despite the hot weather. 

 

 

It made a pleasant change from the hustle and bustle of the West End. 

 

 

Edited July 31, 2017 by FastFreddy2
Grammar.

[FastFreddy2]

Sunday July 16th.

The plan was for me and Mrs Freddy to visit CEX in Tottenham Court Road (TCR) and buy some older computer memory, then drive further West to the large stores for coffee and cake in one of them. 

Driving along Euston Road past TCR to turn South into Gower Street, I noticed smoke rising. Not thinking much about it, I drove down Gower and then into TCR where I almost immediately found a (free) parking space. Couldn't believe my luck! Fortunately, TFL + Puffer had failed again. 

Looking North up the road, in the opposite direction to the one we would be walking, the smoke I'd seen seemed to be getting worse.

 

 

I had thought we arrived at the back end of the event, but not so. Many people were oblivious to the fire, and it was largely ignored by those around us until they saw me busy taking photo's and video's as the emergency services turned up. There seemed to be a significant amount of fire tenders arrive, with at least two police vehicles arrive for every fire engine. Having recorded the smoke, we left them to it and walked toward CEX. As we did so, a huge "Command" vehicle also joined others in attendance. 

Newspaper report.

As it turned out, the store we went to didn't have the stock I wanted, and we started to walk back to the parked car. The police has closed off the road, and the traffic already in it was being parked up. Realising us and the car was going nowhere in a hurry, we decided to walk to the stores. It was a nice sunny day, with something of a breeze that kept the walk tolerable.

Using the Sun as a guide to the West and South, we managed to walk through the back streets to the large stores in Oxford Street. The round journey on foot added up to 2 miles (I later found out) with me in 5 inch heels for the whole walk. 

We took refreshment in John Lewis with us sharing one of their cream scones. A bit pricey usually, but a much more attractive proposition with the benefit of a voucher. We popped into two of the three big stores, with me relieved to find the sale shoes that had tempted me, had been sold.

On the return journey to TCR that took in the Topshop flagship store, there was no relief on finding two pairs of shoes still available, if I cared to buy them. I'd still like to own a pair of the Office Hampton, but £48 for shoes I may never wear? Thankfully they don't have full leather uppers, so I'm able to resist. By the time we finally arrived back at the car, traffic was moving freely and we journey home without further trauma.

 

 

Edited July 31, 2017 by FastFreddy2

[Shyheels]

I love the blue and white canal boat! I could quite happily live on one

[Puffer]

17 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I love the blue and white canal boat! I could quite happily live on one

The boats pictured are houseboats; they may not even have engines so require permanent moorings - or towing.   Frankly, I think they are rather ugly, although living on the water like that can be fun, given its limitations.   But (and it is a big but), moorings, especially in London, can be both difficult to find and very expensive.   I have no figures to hand but canal-dwelling is not such a free-and-easy and affordable way of life as might be believed.

I have certainly enjoyed many holidays on a traditionally-shaped, powered narrowboat and commend it as a relaxing way of seeing the country (and the historic industrial areas too) from a new and generally peaceful perspective.   I'm not so sure though about living permanently on a crowded London canal such as at Little Venice or near Camden Lock.

[Shyheels]

Living in or near London would not be my thing - I'd be wanting something far more rural, and possibly on the continent so there would be a greater freedom to explore and migrate.

[heelman500]

Freddy,

The mooring costs alone would be astronomical.... I've seen old scrappers of narrowboats (Worth <£10k) sell for a price in the £50-60k because they had a residential mooring and then you had up to £1000 per month mooring fee!

I did think about central Manchester but lack of power/water provision and quite expensive moorings ruled it out.

 

[Tacchi Alti]

I suppose in the context of property prices in central London that is still cheap, particularly with such a comparatively pleasant view. I left the London area 20 years ago and have no wish to return, even if I could afford it.

[FastFreddy2]

4 hours ago, heelman500 said:

Freddy,

The mooring costs alone would be astronomical.... I've seen old scrappers of narrowboats (Worth <£10k) sell for a price in the £50-60k because they had a residential mooring and then you had up to £1000 per month mooring fee!

I did think about central Manchester but lack of power/water provision and quite expensive moorings ruled it out.

 

 

Given the train fare the rest of us would have to pay to get into London every year, , even London mooring fees look affordable. (Ref Poplar Dock.)

I think some of you had thought that perhaps I was suggesting life on a London canal was the panacea to London living, or the route to an idyllic life. Living on a houseboat (powered or otherwise) surely has to do with a lifestyle choice, not just "living to a price". Had I the choice, I would live on water tomorrow. Be that on a river, canal, or the sea. Travelling up and down French canals would be great, as would living on a boat somewhere in the North-West Mediterranean.

>> This << looks basic enough for my needs, with mooring fees at £98 per month. As I understand it, narrowboats (any riverboat) would only pay mooring fees if stationed in one place for more than 48 hours. As long as the cost of a bit of fuel every couple of days wasn't prohibitive, there might be no mooring fees to consider. Since I am a fan of Art Deco, the houseboat pictured, seems like the perfect water lodging place for me. 

 

[heelman500]

I've had two narrowboats in the past, one of which I lived on for a while, yes it is a lifestyle choice and a very pleasant one, However, it can get cold and damp in winter, if you don't have a mooring you can only stay in one place for two weeks, I've had frozen water tanks, frozen diesel... if I didn't have to work I would again get afloat. 

Btw the diesel is the cheap bit... you use red gas!

That particular boat you posted is ideal, purely for the mooring! 

Oh and heels and wet decks...... I can see Freddy taking a swim

[FastFreddy2]

14 hours ago, heelman500 said:

I've had two narrowboats in the past, one of which I lived on for a while, yes it is a lifestyle choice and a very pleasant one, However, it can get cold and damp in winter, if you don't have a mooring you can only stay in one place for two weeks, I've had frozen water tanks, frozen diesel... if I didn't have to work I would again get afloat. 

Btw the diesel is the cheap bit... you use red gas!

That particular boat you posted is ideal, purely for the mooring! 

Oh and heels and wet decks...... I can see Freddy taking a swim

I'm already much further South than you (assuming your boats were moored local to you). I very much doubt I'd need to worry about frozen diesel here, we barely get frozen water (thankfully). I have read the specification of some boats for sale, and they include thermal lining. I doubt it was cheap to do.

I'm beginning to understand, the mooring is possibly more important than the boat. I have priced up weekend stays in a narrowboats but the prices were the same as a weekend in Paris. Consequently, it seemed to me owning a narrowboat for a year, was cheaper than a couple of weekends away on one. Had I the money, I'd buy the boat linked above, for the sake of the mooring, and rent it out - maybe.

As you have said you would return to a narrowboat but for having to work, I'd take that as a recommendation to the pleasure of life on the water.  I recognise there are downsides to it, but there are downsides to living in a house too.  Though a house is much easier to use for wearing heels.  

[Tacchi Alti]

I'm sure you could sharpen your stilettos so that they'd grip on the slippery surface... Or just put an anti-slip coating on the bits you'd be likely to come a cropper on! I love the idea of living on a boat - static or otherwise - but there are practical difficulties, not least receiving post if you're not on a permanent mooring! After all, you need an easy way of receiving your new heels. There are about a dozen or so houseboats in the tidal estuary near us - mostly rusting wrecks which must be damp and cold inside, especially as they're nicely settled into the deep mud and are not in the water most of the time. The inhabitants seem to be a race apart, from my experience, but that's not surprising.

[Shyheels]

When I used to work in Antarctica, up in the high mountains there, I had fourteen stilettos on each boot! They were not terribly high, but they were certainly meaningful and gave a wonderful grip on a slippery surface!

[Puffer]

Narrowboats on British canals are fun, whether for a holiday or (lifestyle permitting) as a residence.   But don't underestimate the limitations or the costs.   Moorings, insurance and basic licences aside, maintenance does not come cheap and regulations are becoming more stringent about the condition and use of vessels.   And boats are no longer able to run on red diesel; as I understand it, the propulsion element of diesel usage is no longer relieved of duty although the heating element is - so a composite rate of tax is charged although this does reflect the assumed heating element fairly generously.    (I don't write from personal experience of owning a narrowboat but my brother has owned one for years and his annual outlay on it, regardless of cruising use, is by no means trivial.)

As to narrowboat holidays, these have become significantly more expensive in recent years and compare quite unfavourably with many more sophisticated holidays at home or abroad, more's the pity.   Frankly, I would not now consider such a holiday unless arranged on a group basis (family or otherwise) for 6 - 8 people.   There are two good reasons for this:   (a) the cost per head is much lower as the group gets bigger - most of the hire cost relates to the basic provision of the boat and its fuel;   (b) the chores are more fairly spread and the holiday is more relaxing for all.   (Contrary to popular belief, spending most of one's holiday on the tiller, working locks or in the galley is not much fun, but can be inevitable if the crew is only husband and wife.)   Get a good group together and a fairly 'busy' itinerary and, almost regardless of weather and location, a great week afloat is almost guaranteed.

[heelman500]

When I bought my first boat, the surveyor (A pretty decent chap) did warn me that a boat is just a hole in the water into which you pour money. 

 

And to be fair he was quite right, though I can see how the costs associated with a narrowboat, compared to London housing prices could be attractive.

I'm now into caravan breaks in my static at "Sunny" Blackpool....

 

 

[heelman500]

When I bought my first boat, the surveyor (A pretty decent chap) did warn me that a boat is just a hole in the water into which you pour money. 

 

And to be fair he was quite right, though I can see how the costs associated with a narrowboat, compared to London housing prices could be attractive.

I'm now into caravan breaks in my static at "Sunny" Blackpool....

Almost forgot its CBB on channel 5..... and apart from the usual mindless drivel from z list Americans .... there are usually some nice heels to be spotted.... as wellas the ever pleasing to the eye Emma Willis.

 

[Shyheels]

I wonder if canal boats are cheaper on the continent - both in terms of purchase cost and upkeep? They do seem like an interesting option if one wanted to spend a year exploring Europe.

[Puffer]

4 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I wonder if canal boats are cheaper on the continent - both in terms of purchase cost and upkeep? They do seem like an interesting option if one wanted to spend a year exploring Europe.

I think costs may well be cheaper in terms of ownership, but not necessarily hiring.   There are certainly some picturesque and interesting journeys to be made, although I've never cruised on continental waterways (or indeed in any bars!).   

I was surprised to learn the other day that Belgium (and I think most other European countries) prohibits the use of red diesel in pleasure craft.   Some British sailors have been heavily fined for entering Belgian waters with red diesel in their boat's tanks, despite that fuel being lawfully purchased and used in the UK.   Surely common sense should prevail and any vessel carrying nothing more than its own full tank of fuel should be entitled to fill-up wherever it happens to be and enter any waters.   After all, no-one is penalised for filling a road vehicle with diesel in a country where it happens to be cheaper (lower tax) and then driving into another country, Belgium included.

[Shyheels]

One would think that in the big friendly family that is the EU - supposedly - there shouldn't be those sorts of issues.

[Puffer]

2 hours ago, Shyheels said:

One would think that in the big friendly family that is the EU - supposedly - there shouldn't be those sorts of issues.

Yes, that should be the case, and certainly before Brexit was announced.   I find it hard to understand why there should be any sanction against nationals of one state bringing such a commodity, lawfully obtained there, into another state, at least for personal use - tobacco being a prime example.   But then of course tax and duty rates (and indeed the application of taxes and duties) are not harmonised throughout the EU - and the Belgians and others have criticised the UK for its over-generous treatment in the case of this fuel.   I now expect to see a UK resident fined for smoking his (lower-taxed) Belgian cigar on landing at Dover.

What compounds the 'fuel' nonsense is that any trace of red diesel discovered in one's tank in Belgian waters is enough to trigger the fine.   The only sure way would be to drain and purge the fuel tank before entry - both ridiculous and virtually impossible to do, quite aside from safety and pollution issues.  You couldn't make it up ...

[FastFreddy2]

This boat 'thing' had completely derailed the thread, and the interest in boating suggests the subject deserves it's own thread. I will start another, specifically for 'water' activity.

Edited August 4, 2017 by FastFreddy2

[Shyheels]

Good thinking

[Puffer]

9 hours ago, FastFreddy2 said:

This boat 'thing' had completely derailed the thread, and the interest in boating suggests the subject deserves it's own thread. I will start another, specifically for 'water' activity.

Yes, although boats are sunk rather than derailed!

[FastFreddy2]

2 hours ago, Puffer said:

Yes, although boats are sunk rather than derailed!

Ahemm .... the thread was derailed, not the boats.   

 

Not that the thread will have have much content added by me in the near future.

I have mentioned (many times) before, travelling with older people with a history of long term high heel wearing can be problematic because they often suffer with recurring painful conditions. One of the girlfriends from my past who I talk to from to time, had gotten herself into the situation where she could barely walk to the local newsagent 400-500 yards away for a newspaper, because her feet wear in such poor shape. (Quite literally.) Somewhere, I have posted a picture of her foot with pins in her toes to straighten them.

Another has had a hip replaced (this is a women several of you have met face to face), and she also has had work done on both feet to alleviate (possibly hereditary) problems with bunions. A condition exacerbated by 30 years of high heel wearing. I often refer to her here as my 'walking companion'. She is currently laid up (again literally) having had a further operation to reduce the problems caused by one of her bunions. She will not be walking much for 6-8 weeks. (I may add a picture when I can.)

As a final stopper to my accompanied 'adventures', Mrs Freddy has had the misfortune to injure a foot, a third event in a series of foot injuries over perhaps a 6 or 7 year period. While the previous two events were soft tissue injuries, (that she has never fully recovered from) this time she has a broken bone to contend with. The doctors have provided a boot to stabilise the repairing bone, but her walking more than 30 paces is out of the question, for 5 or 6 weeks anyway.  

There's a lot to be said for owning a younger body, especially in the foot department - it would seem. 

 

 

 

  

Edited August 5, 2017 by FastFreddy2

[Shyheels]

Old backs don't fare too well either. Or old knees. Or old shoulders with damaged tendons from old injuries. Growing old is not for the faint of heart, says I who has just had yet another birthday. 

On the other hand, I have beheld, with these rheumy eyes, a very, very old lady - must have been well into her eighties - striding elegantly across the parking lot with what must have been four inch stilettos. She couldn't have been five feet tall either. She was immaculately dressed, not expensively - she did not look wealthy at all - but everything neat and in place and walking extremely fluidly in her heels. More fluidly than a lot of octogenarians walk full-stop! Quite a remarkable lady, whoever she was. Probably had worn heels for over seventy years.

[FastFreddy2]

4 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Old backs don't fare too well either. Or old knees. Or old shoulders with damaged tendons from old injuries. Growing old is not for the faint of heart, says I who has just had yet another birthday. 

Belated "Happy Birthday!"

 

4 hours ago, Shyheels said:

On the other hand, I have beheld, with these rheumy eyes, a very, very old lady - must have been well into her eighties - striding elegantly across the parking lot with what must have been four inch stilettos. She couldn't have been five feet tall either. She was immaculately dressed, not expensively - she did not look wealthy at all - but everything neat and in place and walking extremely fluidly in her heels. More fluidly than a lot of octogenarians walk full-stop! Quite a remarkable lady, whoever she was. Probably had worn heels for over seventy years.

Finding myself in a similar situation, and in expectation of my slightly sociopathic nature (few social boundaries), I would have approached her for a conversation. I have only stumbled across men wearing heels twice, but approached them both after working out how to do it without causing alarm. The first encounter didn't go very well (he practically ran away). The event has been written up on H4M somewhere, probably in this thread. The second went very well, and we chatted as he tried on several pairs of women's shoes. I've yet to write up the event.

If I get into my 80's, I will consider myself lucky anyway, but to get there and still be able to wear a heel - well ....  I will doubtless walk around with a good-humoured smile on my face all the time. My only worry is that by that time, I may not want to take them off, even when it might be a sensible thing to do.  While in a hospital waiting room (A+E) some 5-6 years ago, I got into a conversation with an old-fella waiting in a wheelchair. He was dressed in ladies negligee and housecoat, had long nails (his own) some of which had old/worn varnish on them. His hair, while longer than a man might wear, was grey and straggly. I remember there being some eye-liner, but I don't recall any other make-up. It was definitely a man. Definitely dressed/living as a woman. Completely off with the fairies too. I doubt millionaire property owners who usually live in Spain, would find themselves in a Herts A+E department, late on a Sunday evening.... Having seen him too, Mrs Freddy is worried that should I also 'lose my marbles', and my interest in a heel might take over (completely) too ...    

Not sure it had the right comforting effect, but I tried to reassure her that me wearing a heel would be the least of her problems if I went off to live with the fairies. (She thinks I live there sometimes already ... ) 

Yes, getting old isn't for the faint of heart, nor soft of mind. While watching a (could have been Watchdog) TV segment the other night we briefly saw an 'old bird' working in the WRVS. Jeez, sharp as a razor, and I mean proper sharp too. Either late 80's or early 90's, but spoke like an intelligent 16 year old. I certainly wouldn't mind having some of her DNA running around my body. Unlikely, but I wonder if it was your high heel lady?