Best posts made by Nocturama

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.

Contemplating whether to go 666 or 777 when the ducks restock…
IHSH-303

Hope you’re well, Reuben. @neph93

Mum, he’s doing that photo thing again…!

Good few years back now, but I unexpectedly saw a barn owl when out taking some landscape photos one evening. The camera was not set up for a movement shot, and the lens was less than ideal in terms of focal length (so this is a significant crop), but I was so pumped for seeing the bird, let along getting any kind of shot of it…

Can’t be too long now…
Wears 35/48 days

Oh, and I forgot the @endo homage in our Florence apartment building!

Thanks guys. My brother lives in an area where they have re-introduced the Red Kite (not far from @ARNC) and they are regularly seen scanning the ground at low level looking for an easy meal…

@Mizmazzle - we were just sat round listing everything we’ve done so far, and it’s been a lot, rain notwithstanding. The only fail has been going 91 stories up Summit One into a complete white out.

Helicopter today made up for it though…

Loving that we’re close enough to the holidays for things to be festive around the city, but not too close to be cloying…just yet.

16 wears in 21 days with 1 wash - it’s not missed a beat, whatever I’ve thrown at it so far…

After cleaning out the barbecue recently, and more work in the garage, the shirt was looking a bit grimy. I’ve started to see some wear and a little bit of smudging in high wear/crease areas, as reported in the other hickory shirt threads, so it’s been in for the second wash…currently drip drying. Pre-rinse, then 30’ wash for 30 minutes (400rpm spin) and I’ve tugged the shirt out to maintain the length in the body and the arms.

Of course, the crew were the true stars (along with all you partygoers), but a special shout out to the wider team, as the food, beer and music were absolutely spot on too.

Spent the night on my study window - the delicacy of the wings is
EDIT: now the sun has moved round I managed to get a better photo.