A Rare Compliment

A new experience was visited upon me this evening as I strolled through the grounds of Birmingham Cathedral on my way to do the night shift this evening. I passed two guys sat on a bench enjoying cans of Super Strength cider. I didn’t stare of course, that’s asking for trouble, but I did take note of them- given my own struggles with alcohol I can’t help it I’m afraid.

Anyway, it’s lucky for my self-esteem that I did, for I overheard one of the gentlemen say to his colleague “doesn’t he look smart?” to which the other man agreed wholeheartedly. Well that fair put a spring in my step. Upon receiving a compliment directly, the obvious response is to consider the ulterior motive or- more often- disbelieve it as empty small-talk. On the other hand this kind of unsolicited and, indeed, unintentional validation is priceless.

For the record I was wearing a vintage 1960s Wrangler denim jacket with the cuffs rolled back (an ostentatious touch which comes of watching far too many episodes of Jason King), a burgundy merino wool v-neck, white Albany collared shirt, charcoal pinstriped casual-fitting flannel trousers, red socks and oxblood Loake semi-brogues.

In fact, I took a picture when I arrived home at the end of my shift (and here it is). The glasses are an addition to cover the bags under my eyes after a thirteen-hour night shift in front of a computer monitor.

Polishing shoes with Olga Berluti

I have always tried to avoid shoe polishing. I used to think highly-polished shoes look bit too try hard, but with my increased maturity (well, increased age at least) I've come around to appreciating both the look and the long-term benefits that polishing brings. Well, I've just turned thirty-six and haven't polished a pair of shoes since doing bob-a-job week as a young scout and so I decided to do a search on the best methods and products to use and ran across this advice which I liked immensely- though I don't think I'll be following all of the advice therein (the laces must come out first). It is from the Wall Street Journal on March 12, 2009:

Olga Berluti doesn't take shoe-cleaning lightly. "A shoe is your companion. It is the physical imprint of your life," explains the creative director of the men's luxury shoemaker Berluti. "Cleaning shoes is a very noble act."

Ms. Berluti, who has hand-made shoes for the likes of Andy Warhol and John F. Kennedy, treats cleaning, waxing and buffing as a ritual. She even has a shoe-cleaning club made up of her favorite clients. It's called the Swann Club, and every few years, the members get together to dine and shine.

But you don't have to be a Berluti client to enjoy polishing a fine leather shoe. On any given Sunday, Ms. Berluti likes to get her male friends together for some group buffing. Where you do it doesn't matter, she says. "The important thing is to respect the shoe. You are the artist."

After placing the shoes on a waist-high table, she selects appropriate music. If they are moccasins, she may put on some Vivaldi; if they are boots, she will listen to Wagner. Bigger shoes need big music, she says.

Her next move is to place a suitable shoe tree inside the shoe. The shoe tree should be made of plastic, which is lighter than wood and less likely to deform the shoe. Once the leather is tight, she gives it a good dusting using a linen cloth.

After tucking the laces into the shoe, she takes a small brush, taps it in some white neutral wax, and rubs around the edges of the soles and heels. This ensures the stitching is well-greased and remains watertight. She doesn't wax the bottom of the shoe, because the wearer could slip and hurt himself.

Ms. Berluti then takes some linen -- she likes to use old Venetian linen sheets but any old shirt will do -- and wraps it tightly round her fingers. She rubs the shoes using white wax until all the dirt comes off.

Next comes the most enjoyable part: the polishing. This is where Ms. Berluti really hits her stride. After pouring out a small amount of iced spring water, she dabs her linen-clad fingers into a pot of colored wax. Red wax is best if you have black shoes. With a small regular circular motion she rubs in the colored wax until the leather "squeals with pleasure," she says. Depending on the polisher's skill and the size of the shoe, this can take up to 20 minutes.

She flecks some water on the shoe and rubs it in to ensure the wax is sealed in. It's important not to use too much wax or water, as that could damage the leather.

The finishing touch is to massage in some Chianti, Pinot Noir or vintage Champagne. This removes excess wax and makes the shoe sparkle. "It's not snobbism," Ms. Berluti explains. "The great officers of the Tsars used this technique to get their boots to shine."

The Fifth Doctor

I'm working nights at the moment and the consequent catastrophic effect upon my barely adequate grasp on reality is such that I've been thinking all the time about Peter Davison's great Doctor Who costume. I'm not a fan of the series by any means- I haven't seen an episode since the 80s- but I remember being struck during my childhood by how dashing the whole thing looks. It's really stuck with me too.



Taking this as a template and personalising the look is something I could really have fun with. According to Wikipedia (and who am I to dispute it?) "The Fifth Doctor's chosen mode of dress was a variation of an Edwardian cricketer's uniform, and he was even seen to carry a cricket ball in one of his pockets (which saved his life in one adventure). He wore a cream-coloured frock coat, striped trousers, plimsoll shoes, and occasionally a pair of spectacles.". Improving on the trousers and plimsolls would be a necessity, but I think there's plenty there to go on. Now where can I get a cricket ball?

Lessons From History

The 1945-51 Labour Government which inherited the largest structural deficit- not that this actually matters- and debt in UK history and proceeded to deal with this by creating the National Health Service, nationalising the coal and steel industry and embarking upon the most far-reaching house-building programme of any UK government. What they did essentially was to repair the economy through full employment, by circulating the available money and by achieving growth through investment. This is where the opportunity presented by the infrastructure failings we have at present should have been, I thought, immediately apparent.

The coalition are choosing a different tactic, one of shrinking the economy (VAT cuts hitting expenditure, wholesale redundancies preventing money circulation, cancelling the school-building programme in order to fund their 'free schools' (for selected kids in affluent areas) programme and opening up the NHS to speculators from here and abroad) and hoping that the private sector will grow sufficiently to not only make up the shortfall but also to pay off the second largest debt in UK history. And where does that public sector growth come from? Well, as no-one here will have much money it will have to come from abroad. But with the EU (by far our biggest customer for exports) in much the same boat then it can't come from abroad either.

It's a conundrum isn't it?

The Stone Roses: My Part In Their Downfall.

I have a terrible record with the Roses; I was at Spike Island (which was the penultimate gig before Reni left), I saw them at Wembley Arena (the last gig before John left) and I was at the Reading festival gig (the last they ever did and one of the most heartbreaking events of my life).

It was almost like a countdown: two to go, one to go, none to go, gone!

I also happened to stumble into the press mobbing them outside Wolverhampton Magistrates Court after the Silvertone/paint court case.

I blame myself. You always hurt the ones you love.

Hangin' With Howard Marks

Here I am with the rest of the Squad meeting Howard Marks after his evening in the Adam and Eve Digbeth. This was taken on my phone's camera and the quality is a disappointment.

I'm wearing a Fred Perry bomber jacket that Laura complains sounds like rustling paper. It's a pretty stiff cotton and needs to wear in is all.

Silvio Berlusconi

Speaking about the Italian Government's refusal to fund scientific research, the curiously dark-haired megalomaniac and serial user of prostitutes stated "Why do we need to pay scientists when we make the best shoes in the world?".

He may be corrupt, stupid, spiteful and racist but you can argue that he has a point: England might be world leaders in pharmaceutical research but we also have ShoeZone and Brantano.

Self-Portrait (with ineptitude)

The idea of this picture was to see how massive my Vespa Italia helmet looked on me (open-face helmets always look massive but massive is, like everything else, a matter of degree) but I was too busy fiddling with the steering lock to pose in time for the self-timer on my phone's camera. I was delighted with the happy accident that is the almost perfect obscuration in the shot though.