I wonder if I can get through this post without mentioning Brexit? Oops. I just did. Oh well, I virtually wrote a post in itself on the subject over on Shawn's blog and got it off my chest that way. Sorry Shawn, but you did ask.
Cro opted for Black Pudding, but I am going to palm you off with these new booties of mine, bought yesterday for a number of different reasons.
I recently spent a week walking around Venice in a pair of Crockett and Jones boots (£450), which was the only footwear I took. Normally, C&J boots are extremely comfortable straight off the shelf and onto your feet, but the arthritis in my left foot is getting worse and I have been in quite a lot of pain since coming home.
I have been wearing work boots rather than good shoes for the last week or so and found that my foot had improved as a result, so I decided to buy something similar but not so shabby. I found these fur-lined (sigh) boots in a discount shop near here in my size (12) so I brought them home (£55). They are quietly soaking up Dubbin (young people have never heard of it) whilst waiting to be taken for a walk at the weekend.
Winter has only just begun, and I heard a hint that snow is a possibility. I like snow. I like the way everything stops in this country when it snows. I like the idea of enforced indolence. A friend of mine owns a Land Rover so he feels obliged to got out in all weather conditions to justify his choice of car. I could have bought a 4WD Volvo but I would have had no excuse to sit around in the warm doing nothing if I had. I intend to walk through the snow to the pub in those boots.
I once spent a whole Winter working in the outskirts of Shaftesbury. To get there from here means driving up a high, bleak, isolated stretch of road which runs through an uninhabited bit of downland for about five miles. There are gates either end of this road stop prevent any idiots from trying to drive on it in snowy conditions. At the first Friday snowflake we would down tools and drive back to Bath. The thought of being stuck in Shaftesbury for an entire weekend was more than any of us could bear.
If you have never been to Shaftesbury you probably have an image of that beautiful, steep hill with picturesque houses staggered either side, and a young boy from the beginning of the 20th century walking up it, from the Hovis adverts on T.V. in the 70s and 80s (if you are English and of a certain age). It is called Gold Hill and is famous for its beauty, not least because of Hovis. Google it up and you will see what I mean.
The rest of Shaftesbury is a complete dump, thanks to planners and the fact that it takes all the continental lorry traffic from the ferries of Poole. There are no decent pubs, cafes or restaurants and the locals give the impression that they would like the town to revert to its original purpose as a strongly defended siege camp.
You would not want to be snowed-in in Shaftesbury.
I never knew that Hovis ad was Shaftesbury. I thought it was up North somewhere. The boots look good for winter weather. It is raining here and I am wearing Caterpillar boots, warm and dry and plenty of room.
ReplyDeleteMy work boots are similar to Caterpillar. Steel toes otherwise they won't let you on site. Like I say, that is the best bit of Shaftesbury. The music makes you think its up North.
DeleteJust as a matter of interest, what would any poor motorist do if he took the Bath/Shaftesbury road just before the two ends were closed; unless, of course, he was driving a Land Rover?
ReplyDeleteOpen the gates, I suppose. Like getting locked in the park when you were a child.
DeleteThose boots are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI drove around the edge of Shaftesbury last week on my way down to Poole. The outlook from the ring road made me question just how there could possibly be such a charming road as Golden Hill somewhere in the middle of the sprawl, and I decided that I must visit sometime to find out. Now I know that the rest of Shaftsbury is a 'dump' I won't be making a special visit in a hurry.
ReplyDeleteGold Hill is worth a visit and, for all I know, Shaftesbury may have improved over the years.
DeleteIt might be snowing tonight,the news are talking about a few centimeters, and everyone is very excited here.The boots are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSnow in Israel? How exciting! Those boots are really only enticing for the fleece lining I think.
DeleteWe were in Shaftesbury last year, and yes, walked down Golden Hill and back up, and realised how tightly cropped the Hovis ad is.
ReplyDeleteYes. The view from the bottom looking up is not as alluring.
DeleteLovely boots, Tom! Snow in Bavaria - where my son and DiL live: Notstand - meaning: schools closed for more than a week - and maybe the pictures of "snow-under" reached even England? In Berlin: all days long yellow-grey sky -- and a rose opened a bloom on my balcony - very strange...
ReplyDeleteI want snow. There is much in the Alps, I hear. Too much. Too many avalanches.
DeleteSadly lots of places like Shaftesbury these days Tom.
ReplyDeleteLove the boots - very sexy.
All over Europe, Weave. Sexy? Now yer talking.
DeleteYou will look the bees knees ( or the dogs b’s !!! )in your new boots and your tweed overcoat .... I think you’ll have a film star air about you ..... not sure that I can go as far as sexy but would have to see you in real life before I went that far !!! XXXX
ReplyDeleteBoris Karloff.
DeleteJohn hurt
DeleteI am twice the size and weight of John Hurt, even before his death. Where did you get this idea that I am a John Hurt looky-likey?
DeleteGood looking boots, Tom. I have several pairs of boots. I always have to have a bit of a heel, or my knee complains (not high heels, just not totally flat). I don't think I've ever spent that kind of money on boots! (which would be about $700.00 Canadian) Question: do they spread salt on the roads in England in the winter? That's the problem with leather boots here, they get salt stains from slushy snow. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteAs I read your comment, Jenn, a salt spreading truck went by twice. We call them 'gritters'. I love to see gritters - it means cold, and I like cold in the Winter.
DeleteI have worked in minus 40C in your own country remember. I understand cold.
DeleteThey are lovely boots. Is the fur the real deal? Is that your problem with it.
ReplyDeleteI read of May's overwhelming Brexit rejection and felt terribly for her. Later in the day I saw she came through a no confidence vote well, and that was such a relief. This all must work in the end, or we are worse than knaves.
No, it is fake fur - more like fake lamb's fleece. Theresa May has acted completely on her own for two years over this non-deal. She would normally have been thrown out within two weeks, but nobody wants the job. It is an impossible job and she will be gone before it is completed.
DeleteShe is a disgrace to Parliament, and even half of her own cabinet think that, let alone her own back-benchers.
We are worse than knaves already, and this mess will not be cleared up during my lifetime, I fear.
In the end, Joanne, it is my belief there will be no Brexit. I don't think she ever wanted one and this is what she has aimed for.
DeleteGreat boots ! Re 4WD vehicles....in an urban situation they are only as useful in snow as the cars in front. If there is just one car that can't get up a hill because it is rear wheel drive or a useless driver you are just as stuck as they are !!
ReplyDeleteApparently there was a flurry of snow this morning in Luton/Dunstable area. Clear blue sky here at the moment.
That's a very good point Frances. They are also only as useful as the drivers. I once saw a Morris 1000 towing a Range Rover out of a snow drift.
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