Leaderboard

As I’ve mentioned before I think I must be the only person living on the canals who owns a pair (three pair in my case) of stilettos. I saw a thread on a canal boat forum listing things boaters never own. Top of the list? Stilettos. And a chorus of snorting joking agreements followed. To be sure only an idiot would try working the locks or doing any of the physical work of moving a boat down the canal in stilettos or any sort of high heel, and they wouldn’t be practical on muddy towpaths. And there is not much room for extraneous possessions on a narrowboat. So I may we’ll be unique. at least a couple of boaters now know I wear stilettos, as I was wearing my OTK black suede stiletto boots this morning while writing. I looked out just before dawn and noticed the light was beautiful so I grabbed my camera and went out on the bow - while I was shooting several went past walking their dogs. I could tell that a couple of them noticed, but nobody said anything. People here may not own stilettos but they are a bohemian lot - were all a bit odd and that’s more or less understood

Perhaps that is an idea for another topic someday, though it's not "high" heels--one's preference for work boots. I know my own preference has changed over the years, and I've settled on something rather unusual in my trade. I would start the thread right now, but I think some pictures would be rather helpful, which I'll have to take later.

Having myself often been crew on a UK narrowboat, I would consider that a cowboy boot or similar with a heel that can 'dig in' a little would often be an advantage when working lock gates. It can be difficult to get a grip on the ground when literally putting one's back into moving a gate beam and (as cowboys found when roping steers etc), a boot with a heel gives a better anchor. I agree however that 'high' heels would be a hazard in most other canal pursuits.