I could work from home in sweatpants and slippers, I suppose…nah!

Conveniently cut off my smug grin and my slippers!

Rare day off for the 421-IND yesterday.

Today, Ed is mostly wearing…

@Ross said in Iron Heart Japan Fit Pics - and other great images from Japan…:

Not sure I can pull that one off quite so cool…

So…@Alex very kindly reached out to me yesterday, and a little over 24 hours later, I have the sample on my back!
The phrase ‘standing on the shoulder of giants’ never felt more apt, bearing in mind the forum legends that have previously put sample items through their paces, as well as the legendary status of the 12oz hickory, as used on the IHSH-07.
My wife gave the fit a nod of approval, so there is no excuse not to wear it continuously for the new few months and see what desk surfing does to the elbows! Straight into a conference call this afternoon, with garage clearing duties and a tip run scheduled for the weekend - I’m showing it the high life from the off!

Interestingly (?) the pocket tabs are grey compared to the red of the IHSH-07 - everything else is the same as the 07 as far as I can tell, but obviously there may or may not be changes by the time the production run comes in.

@Denman-John - they are the Viberg Service Boot BCT in HRWN Oak Chromepak - on the 2030 last E fit, to be precise. Lovely boots - recent purchase, so very few miles on them so far, but will be my go to for the coming months.

So, it took more back and forth than your average tennis match, but thanks to @Shaun @Graham @Bailey and @JamesB, as well as a final nudge from @FlavourFade - we got there! Of course, the fit is spot on, just as you said it would be!

Why do I feel like I’m cheating on the 421-IND though?

Just prior to the party, my wife and myself spent a week in Italy - Tuscany and Liguria, to be specific.
We haven’t visited either of these regions previously, so we decided to bear the crowds and largely seek out the ‘greatest hits’ the area has to offer - hoping we’ll get the chance to go back in the future to get off the beaten track.

We stayed in Florence (Tuscany) for the first few days, which is a wonderful place to wonder round, see the sights, people watch, and generally eat and drink well.

Ponte Vecchio:

Piazzale Michelangelo (view from):

Opera Duomo (inc. view from the bell tower):

Piazza Santissima Annunziata:

Piazza Signoria:

We spent a day out visiting Pisa (see the tower, move on, type of place):

Then on to Lucca which is a beautiful walled city from the Renaissance era with a circular central piazza:

We then stayed a few days in La Spezia - ultimately, this is a fortified port town, but was a nice base for a few days:

From La Spezia, we visited Porto Venere:

We then spent a couple of days visiting the villages of Cinque Terre, although the weather restricted walking the (somewhat perilous) trails between the villages:

It’s definitely a tourist hot spot, so not for everyone, but we had a wonderful time there.

I’ll add a separate post in the next day or so with thoughts and recommendations based on information we were provided and/or gleaned from the week, in case anyone is travelling in the area.

It was @endo - surprised that over half the set was from Babel and Sigh No More, but that made for some great crowd sing-a-longs!

Mumford and Sons show last night in Birmingham.

They started at the front…

Spent some time in the middle…

And even did a lap of the entire venue…

Congrats @EdH!

@Daniel-San - surely Matt’s profile picture would be the ideal design for permanent inking…just a shame I can’t make it!

If it wasn’t for Haaland, I think I’d be on negative points overall! ‍️

Chicken Tikka Madras by Nocturama ‍

@Oaktavia - I didn’t see a Ravens shirt all day, until 1 appeared in the pub after the game… I blame the darkness for the poor image, not the fact that I’d spent the day drinking with my buddies…

Thanks for all the supportive comments!
I feel sorry for the (many) people who flew over to watch it!

A lot of orange in the crowd!
IHSH-101-BB and 555S-21s a great pairing too.

The less said about the game, the better…except to say that at least we didn’t get swept away by half time! Despite the game, was fantastic day out.