at9

4 hours ago, Shyheels said:

It has never worked the other way. Once an item of clothing or element of style has gone to the feminine side of the shop, it stays there as far as men are concerned. They do not try to retrieve it. Women are able to take from the men’s aisle, but never the other way around. 

Not 100% true. In the late 1960s/early 1970s high heels, especially platforms, were often worn by men as well as women. But generally I think you're right, I can only think of the single counterexample.

Never heard Beirut described as the Las Vegas of the Middle East before. "Paris of the Middle East" goes back a long way and I saw "Switzerland of the Middle East" recently for the first time.

https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-beirut-lebanon-1965-2014-12?r=US&IR=T

8 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Interesting point. There is a double standard there that goes almost entirely unnoticed because it is so widely expected and blithely assumed. Were women suddenly discouraged from wearing or adopting men’s styles to anything like the degree men are discouraged from wearing heels there would be massive outrage. It just wouldn’t happen. And yet the women who would be most outraged are often the very ones who most vigorously “enforce” the proscriptions for men.

History has it the other way round. Women were heavily discouraged from wearing men's styles of clothing. It took many years for trousers to become an accepted item of women's clothing.

Just now, Shyheels said:

Exactly! In terms of boots, would much rather have fewer pair pair but have them beautifully made and well fitting, able to be repaired or re-soled as required. In the long term such boots are by far the better bargain. Who needs 25 or 30 pair of mediocre boots when for the same money you can have a couple of pair of really lovely boots that will last for many years?

Who made your boots? Was it Jean Gaborit?

I'm not entirely familiar with US electrical codes but I am pretty much up to date with UK wiring regulations.

UK: RCD = US: GFI

UK: Earth = US: Ground

UK: Live = US: Hot (i think)

In the UK RCDs are now required on new instals for ALL circuits (17th and the new 18th edition regs). They have been compulsory for outdoor sockets and various other cases for many years. Until fairly recently socket outlets have not been permitted at all in bathrooms (that's UK sense, a room containing a bathtub or shower). It's now allowed subject to certain conditions.

All UK socket outlets are polarised by design and have been for many decades. This is not the case in the US or mainland Europe.

In any case, how are you meant a get a decent electric shock off 120V:-)

Please don't take my last remark literally. I've had a few 240V mains shocks and they hurt. I've also had 120V shocks and on the whole they aren't too bad. But I'd still prefer not to have them. The 1200V DC shock I had once was VERY unpleasant. The lowest voltage known to have killed somebody I think was 32V. You'd probably have to have your hands in salty water and have a weak heart to do that.

Took the return to my local Collect+ store last night. Much more convenient than the Post Office.

I might try the 10 wide. Part of the problem is that the bit that was really tight was at a seam over the instep. Exactly where there will be least stretch in the leather.

Unless it's a historic set of xmas lights then I agree  with HiH, get a new set.

To best tool for diagnosing breaks in strings of xmas lights is a voltstick. https://voltstick.com/

Similar products are available made by many companies.

For many years xmas light were made with unpolarised connectors, both in the US and UK, so there's no real hazard here. Especially if your house has a RCD (GFI).

It's not always realised that xmas tree light bulbs are meant to fail short circuit.Hence 1 or 2 failing will leave the string working. If too many fail the string will be overrun leading to rapid failure of all the bulbs.

The UK has so much to see. From the world class mainstream museums, wonderful historic houses and landscapes preserved by the National Trust and English Heritage, to strange and wonderful places. One example that I've visited. It's totally mad, impossibly full of stuff and utterly wonderful: http://www.lolc.co.uk/

The real problem for a visitor is deciding what to leave out, as much as what to see.

PS: Just found that the little museum I've just praised is closed until further notice. I really hope it survives.

On 12/10/2018 at 9:52 AM, at9 said:

Having just paid £55 for the regular fit Elexis they've reduced the price to £33 today :-(

The search facility on the Asos site doesn't seem to find the Elexis boots if you look by size/style etc or any reasonable combination thereof. Odd

Arrived today and they're too small. Just about managed to zip them up but horribly uncomfortable over the instep. So they're going back.

It's possible that UK10 or wide fitting would help so I may order again.

You can visit Stonehenge but you can't get right up to the stones.

Having just paid £55 for the regular fit Elexis they've reduced the price to £33 today :-(

The search facility on the Asos site doesn't seem to find the Elexis boots if you look by size/style etc or any reasonable combination thereof. Odd

8 hours ago, Puffer said:

I hope they do too, and that the rear zip doesn't cause you problems.   Do let us all know.

The wide fit version (often a better fit for blokes) is cheaper at £38.50.

I hadn't spotted the wide fit version. But UK9 is out of stock.

https://www.asos.com/asos-design/asos-design-wide-fit-elexis-leather-ankle-sock-boots/prd/9778296

On 12/6/2018 at 2:28 PM, Puffer said:

The second pair is 'Elexis' - black leather, rear zip, 3.5" Cuban heel.   The toebox felt fine but I could not even do up the rear zip - an impossible task!

Sorry about the picture quality; best I could do.   Despite my disappointment, I recommend these boots to anyone with a 10UK medium-width foot, or smaller.   They seem well-made, of solid construction, with leather uppers and a sturdy Cuban heel that would be very acceptable for public outings even if exposed.   I just wish I could get something very similar in a larger size!   They do seem to be in variable supply from ASOS (going in and out of stock), so anyone interested should order quickly!   ASOS has other styles in sizes up to 10UK also (some in wide width), but again supply may be erratic.

Thanks for pointing these out. I've just ordered a pair in UK9. I hope they fit. Free delivery and free returns so no risk.

https://www.asos.com/asos-design/asos-design-elexis-leather-ankle-sock-boots/prd/9765366?CTAref=Recently+Viewed&clr=black-leather

4 hours ago, veryhigh said:

I use ASOS as well, 10uk wide fits well for me. Evans 9ee(e) are similar as can be new looks eu43 sizes. But many of my items are Diechmann.

I did try to attach some pics but got an upload error (200?)

Where did you see EU43 sizes on New Look? They list in UK sizes up to UK9 and their size chart equates it to EU42. Though the normal conversion is EU43=UK9.

Ali was used for domestic wiring in the UK for a while when copper prices were sky high. 1970s? Horrible stuff that caused all sorts of problems. Fortuantely I've never encountered it. There are also some ali phone line cables. Again they cause trouble.

Cost depends on several things. Whether the time is peak or off-peak. Whether you book ahead online or just turn up at the station. The whole rail ticket pricing system in the UK is a horrible incoherent mess. One of the easy ways to find out trains times and ticket prices is:

https://www.thetrainline.com

@dww, you're one of those lucky fellows who takes an ordinary women's size. At UK9/EU43 my choice is limited. Those with bigger feet have it worse still.

@Shyheels, at least squirrel is edible. It's served in a few restaurants. AFAIK, seagull is disgusting.

I'd go for the boots. Beware that some footwear advertised as UK9 is actually EU42 which means UK8. As always, the only proof is trying them on.

Never mind high heels, I recently tried to buy a pair of ordinary Sanita unisex clogs. I've bought them before and I need EU43. The supplier (Spartoo) listed them as UK9. Guess what, I got EU42. Complained, they said they'd got it wrong, gave them another chance. Still EU42. Ordered from elsewhere.

18 hours ago, HappyinHeels said:

I guess there are scores of people in the U.K. waiting around to be offended at the least little thing. I expect people with such high standards to not have a scrap of anything in their abodes made from animal products. Yeah, maybe when you live in a glass house you'd think twice before casting a stone at another but many of these folks don't have the mental clarity to first look at themselves. So much energy expended at hurling insults rather than making the world a better place. HinH

At least people don't get shot in the UK for wearing the wrong shoes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/91a740d4-7bd9-4758-8bee-499e5f7c635e

Outrage is hardly a new thing in the US as this old article shows: https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/30/us/anti-fur-groups-wage-war-on-mink-farms.html

Nor is offence and outrage confined to one side of the political divide.

I don't think we have bullet trains here in the UK. Their natural habitat is Japan. in France they have TGV (Trains a Grand Vitesse) and near identical technology is used on the Eurostar trains that run through the tunnel.

London and the UK as a whole have loads of smaller and quirky museums and other attractions. As a staritng point in London here are a few suggestions.

For a really offbeat little museum: http://www.thelasttuesdaysociety.org/museum-curiosities/

If you're a movie fan this one is great: http://www.cinemamuseum.org.uk/

Great little place and it's free: https://www.soane.org/

The great London museums and galleries are all free to visit for their main collections. You could spend half a lifetime here and not see everything. I think this is a full list of London's major world class museums and galleries: Science Museum, Natural History Museum, V&A, British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery,Tate Britain, Tate Modern

The Southbank is always interesting. From Tower Bridge, Globe, Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral, Golden Hind, Oxo Tower (somewhat hidden free public viewing area on top floor), Festival Hall, BFI, National Theatre, London Eye and loads more.

Eurostar will whisk you to Paris or Brussels in little more than 2 hours.

If you have a contactless credit or debit card it MAY work on London transport buses and tubes. Foreign cards don't always work. Otherwise get a pay-as-you-go Oyster card when you arrive. You can't use cash on London buses and it's an expensive way to travel on the tube.

43 minutes ago, Puffer said:

Yes, I realise that socket/switch height is only applicable to new-build (thank goodness).   But WHY is the floor area directly relevant to a circuit?   Is it because, in addressing diversity, there is an assumption that more appliances will be in use simultaneously in a larger area?   Often, the Regs don't seem to square with one's intuition or common-sense and, if there was a brief explanation of a requirement or restriction, compliance would be better.

 

Where alterations/additions are made to a (domestic) circuit wired in the 'old' colours, it makes sense to continue using the old cable, if possible, and I don't think anything in the Regs actually prohibits this (not that detection is likely).   No need then for the warning labels either.   I use my 'old stock' for this reason - and I ain't throwing it away.   To my mind, the old 'triple and earth' cable (for two-way lighting, switched fans etc) was much more logical, e.g. red for phase (live); yellow for switched live; blue for neutral.   Brown instead of red is fine, but the application of the black and grey is hardly obvious - a blue instead of black would be more logical.

AFAIK, using old colour cable for new work is no longer permitted. Not that it stops us doing so.

When using cable for single phase applications where cores are live, it's mandatory to sleeve them in brown if the insulation isn't already brown. That's mainly for switched live and 2 way switching situations. I have very rarely seen this done.

I would have thought it obvious that floor area is related to diversity. No matter how many sockets you have in a given area, there's a practical limit to the number of high current appliances you're likely to use in that area. By allowing an unlimited number of sockets you can have plenty of sockets where you might need them without the expense of separate circuits. If you're going to allow an unlimited number of sockets then you have to impose some kind of limit, most sensibly done by specifiying area served. For commercial and industrial premises the designer may need to make his/her own calculations.

A further limit is set by voltage drop. In domestic work unless there is an unusually long distance from consumer unit to sockets this is unlikely to be a problem. In commercial/industrial or very large houses a designer might well specify subsidiary distribution boards.

The regs themselves are complemented by commentaries and guides. Some published by the IET, others by 3rd parties. These often give the reasoning for regs as well as advice on practical ways to meet them. These days there are also forums where this sort of thing is debated. One item of interest in the new 18th Edition is the provision of arc fault detection: https://www.electrium.co.uk/18th-edition

10 minutes ago, dww said:

Only problem is , the rules I was following were from 1970, things have changed a bit since then. Still cannot get over this brown and blue cable colours, nowt wrong with red and black.

It's worse with 3 phase. The phases are brown, black, grey. Instead of the old red,yellow, blue. You're working in a 3 phase environment and there's a blue wire. Or a black wire. Whoops! There are meant to be labels showing that mixed colours are used in an installation but you still need to take care.

In different countries at different times all sorts of colours have been used. In the past the Germans have used red for earth (ground). In the USA black is (was?) live.

The higher socket height is for new build. Doesn't affect existing properties being rewired. Same regs also specify light switches should be lower than we are used to.

The area served by a circuit is part of the diversity calculation. 20A radials require greater care than 32A circuits and are only allowed to serve a smaller area. I forget the numbers.

Fixed appliances needing a high current (typically for cooking or water heating) should normally have their own dedicated circuit.

Ouch! Your doctor can give you a document that you can show to airport security but it's not universally accepted.

https://www.allcleartravel.co.uk/blog/travelling-metal-implants/

If you're lucky you may even find that wearing heels makes your back more comfortable. Due to medical issues HHP member Cali would be in real pain unless he wore heels.

As David said, our NHS may be underfunded and overstressed but it doesn't matter whether you are rich or poor, in work or out of work, all hospital treatment is free to all UK citizens.