Yamyam

I find that my stride gets shorter, but in any reasonable heels, like up to and including 4", I can do most things that I'd do in flat shoes. If I knew I'd be hiking across London carrying a small child, I'd wear trainers, but I'm happy to set off for a night out with friends knowing that if we end up having to walk, I'll manage the same distance in heels that they'd walk. Besides, I enjoy the challenge, and I haven't (quite) killed myself yet!

I'm not interested in sex purely for religious reason. I have plenty of sexual desires and plenty of hormones rushing around telling me I should be having sex, I'm just opting out. As is my girlfriend for the same reasons.

SH

SH, I admire your moral stand. In these times when no-one seems to believe in anything other than hedonism, this is a reminder that people often are more noble than cynics would have us believe.

It's hard to write something like that without sounding sarcastic, but I honestly mean what I say without sarcasm. I don't share your beliefs, but I am proud to acknowledge them and respect them. Long may your moral courage last!

Even petty theft deserves more Police time than that...!SH

Ah, but let's not forget that at the same time our police officers were bravely protecting society from plastic swords (surely a choking hazard), our legal system managed to prosecute someone with no driving license, who'd never had a driving lesson, and who managed to kill someone in an 80MPH (130km/h) crash in a 30MPH (48km/h) zone. He got... a two hundred pound fine. Apparently no more could be done as the person concerned didn't have a driving license.

I feel so much safer now.

lol, well you all took this all over the place, but what I was specifically targeting are statements like the following:

"(Or as the Americans say: "alphabetised" - which isn't actually a word)"

Is it so necessary to add the underlined part?

And then this was added to this thread as well:

"I might like to take this opportunity to remind Americans that they do not speak English. They speak American, or American English, but not English"

I am extremely put off by this statement. I thought this was going to be a great site, but I really don't need to be insulted on a daily basis.

The American version of English is not based on the UK version. It is a language that was blended together by the many wonderful ethnic backgrounds that make up our country. I happen to have no English blood in me whatsoever. I'm proud of that.

MARIA aka Babe in Heels

Well, UK is not the same as English. I'm British, but not English. I'm half Welsh, and half West Indian. Both sides of my heritage speak non-standard English. I don't have any English blood either, I just live here because it's handy for the shops .

The main thing about languages is that they're not fixed. I personally think that arguments about 'this is/isn't a word' are total tosh. If enough people use a string of characters, it acquires a meaning, and becomes a word, for all intents and purposes. (Expletive) to what Fowler, or Strunk&White, or even Nokia's T9 dictionary think - if this list of characters conveys a meaning, then it's a word and it's understandable.

English isn't 'cast in stone', there isn't an absolute 'marks out of ten' thing. How I write here on this board isn't how I write text messages to my favourite people, it isn't how I write emails to my boss, it's not how I write in birthday cards. Is one right and others wrong? Of course not. And in the same way, our American friends' English is fine, and equal with mine.

To sum up, as long as someone expresses their meaning, then their version of English is fine. This is a community, not an exam paper! Let's get back to sharing our experiences, discussing shoes and the wonderful digressions we all share, and stop poking each other with sharpened dictionaries!

I can't promise keeping it up for long... It's likely it'll be sporadic for the moment... distractions always seem to be looming round the corner! I'm sure you know what I mean!SH

I've no idea, Squirrel. Feel free to explain (or indeed, 'heel free to explain', which is what I typed the first time. Is there a psychoanalyst in the house?)

gaze

from her head

Much as I'm a big fan of ankle cuffs, I think I prefer the first pair. But there's not a lot in it!

Bother! I could have done Manchester, although not at that short notice. Oh well, if you fancy a repeat excursion, I may be able to make it!

Great pictures Xa. I'm a fan of the bulidings in the great European cities. It's a shame so much damage was done during WWII. Maybe if some heels are more visible they won't get nuked. Otherwise I might be able to host them for you.

Why not try and find an architecturally awesome shoe shop? Perhaps that'd work

switch

Great adverts! Shows how times have changed, I think. And Xaphod, I'm glad to see you've got over your "trying to be normal" thing, and are enjoying your true nature!

I'm starting to love wearing stockings. I don't know if I'll go farther than heels and stockings though

Well, it's panties next, if you keep heading in the same direction

Actually, trouser socks are nice too. I've bought some, and I like the feeling of those. Now I often feel that "men's" socks are far too loose and baggy. Somehow a strange feeling, but I quite like the reminder that I've experienced rare pleasures!

Mine are a little better, but more practice is still needed. Wore them a little the other night, and I'm getting there, but it'll be a while before I'm walking in them! And mine are a UK8-9, US10W, so I think they're the highest of all

I've wobbled back from pubs in heels several times. The worst occasion I've had was missing my seat in a taxi and ending up rolling about on the floor... Never broken anything either!

While visiting Washington, DC on business, I held a door open for a woman while leaving the building. She stopped, surprised, and said "You must be from out of town. No one around here would ever be polite like that!"

Ah, but what shoes was she wearing ?

cat

prevarication

Those are high! They are nice, tho'. A US14W is quite large, tho - I think I'm a US10W, so your feet are rather bigger than mine. But the shoes look in proportion, so nice.

Wow, thanks everyone! So many questions, let's see now... Well, first, I didn't have any help with the photos, I took them myself. My digi cam has a delay option, so I use that. I prop the camera up on the top of a small flip-top bin (no, really!) so it's about three or four inches off the ground. I also found a big piece of white card and propped that up for better contrast. And I set the flash to 'auto', as I was taking them last thing at night. All I did with the basic images off the camera was shrink them to half their original size, and that's it. I thought about cropping them a bit, but I decided to leave them, so that the proportions stayed OK. I must admit, I love the calf-high spiky boots. I wore them again yesterday to drive to London. They are very comfortable, and look good under long jeans. Not sure if I was spotted in them, but I felt good in them anyway. They are one of my favourite pairs, and next time I'm out with the lads, I'll wear either these or the J Lo's, depending on what clothes I take. SQ: The knee-high ones are quite old, even though I haven't worn them often. I bought them from Barratts a couple of years ago. Actually, that trip I bought one pair from each side of the shop. I got a discount for buying two pairs, and no-one made any negative comment whatsoever. I haven't seen a similar style since, but that doesn't mean they aren't around. So no, they aren't Raid - in fact, there's no label in them at all. jo: My J-Lo boots are labelled 'BSV'. I've seen them with higher heels too. I quite like the pair I have, tho', as the slightly lower heel makes them great for wearing outside. I hadn't worn stilettos outside before these, so I was glad of the practice. I think they had some much higher ones in a shop near where I am tomorrow... may go to site early and try and find that shop again! Oh, and Akev44: I hadn't noticed that Flat Eric had sneaked in there, but you know what he's like. I decided to leave him in and see if anyone noticed.

Don't let the thought of marriage worry you , mk4625. I'm sure that it's basically elderly relatives' way of saying that they like you! For me, if I go out with someone, it's because I enjoy their company, and want to be with them. That might be just sharing chips in a pub somewhere, or it might be more. The main thing for me is that the both of us want to be there and are enjoying each other's company, and sharing a special time. Whatever else happens is less important than sharing that special time.

Absolutely. If you're going to communicate, I think you should have enough respect for the reader/listener to put in the effort to express yourself as best you can. And that's my rant over with. Actually, I find that the general quality of written English here on this forum is well above the rest of the web. One of the reasons I've been here so long is the high quality of the writing here. At work, I often see documents sent out that I'm ashamed of being associated with! Here, I find everything easy to read, thought-provoking, and exciting.

Welcome one and all! Glad you found our little corner of the web.

The last time I checked, there is no requirement in the United States to carry any form of identification. However there are more than a few "law and order" types who are trying at every turn to force a national ID card upon us.

Sadly, the same is true here in the UK. When the debate gets on the news, the tone is often 'the innocent have nothing to worry about, so anyone objecting must be guilty of something'. I believe that anyone recieving any kind of state benefit or tax allowance will soon be required to hold a card stating their entitlement, which is the thin end of the wedge.

Argh! Beat me to it!