English shoes: made for walking

It's nice to see some English brands taking the initiative and continuing to give a new twist to the classics.

Like these Clarks desert boots and Trickers Super Shoe. Both of them remain true to the trademark style but Ronnie Fieg has been at work with the blue dye on the desert boots and the Trickers (for the Bureau) have a suitably chunky white Vibram Christy sole.

Summer for your feet.

Visvim Gris Moc Hi-Folk: squishy

 The latest offering from the shoe department at Visvim looks a bit like a tarted up Ugg boot to me. I think it's the toes.

Maybe they look better from another angle. They probably quite comfy.

Cambridge to Southend: 76 miles into the wind

I am unsure how it can actually be possible for the wind to blow into your face regardless of which direction you turn, but that seemed to be the case a week ago last Saturday when Nathan and myself took part in the Cam to Coast ride from Cambridge to Southend.

It didn't really matter all that much - the scenery was gorgeous and the tough little climbs took our minds off it.

I finished in five hours 18 minutes, a civilised time really, given the weather.

Thanks loads to all the sponsors. I raised about £160 for the British Heart Foundation.

And thanks to Natasha for taking the picture, above.

P'tit velo: riding into the sunset

If there are any of you bothering to look at this blog after my week of neglect, you might like to know that I have two more P'tit Velo cyclists clad in a Rapha stylee on Ebay now. You will have to be quick, because they run out in a few hours although there's a whole tour following on.

Find them here and here.

Walls come down

Sorry it's been a bit barren on the blog front over the past few days, I've been knocking the hell out of this wall.

I thought it would be a straight forward job to get the plaster off, especially as it is only a little wall, but it has been a nightmare, frankly, accompanied by a lot of pain. My hands have so many blisters on them that I'm typing this with my elbows.

On top of the feature bare brick wall, we're also giving the room a bit of a freshen up, so posts might be sporadic for a day or so. But rest assured you will be witness to the result.

Chinese blue: seeing is believing

I must say Lizzie's idea of Chinese blue for the hallway didn't exactly have me brimming over with enthusiasm until I saw this pic. It actually looks quite cool with those pictures.

Another decorating job for the week ahead.

White mountaineering AW2011: I can see a pattern emerging

I still haven't really got my head around White Mountaineering. There are parallels with Visvim on the technical side which are totally up my street and the folk influences offer a unique enough angle.

But all those patterned knits and patchwork creations do have a whiff of the Libyan freedom fighter about them.

Whatever, my opinion counts for nothing in the scheme of things and if you're not into snowflake jumpers there's always the BLK line.

One thing is for sure, White Mountaineering doesn't appear ready to take a different direction anytime soon.