Oh Boris ...

[blamebrampton]

I have long had a very disturbing thing for Boris Johnson. I rationalise it away by saying that he's a cyclist, so aside from his questionable use of his penis and occasionally nutty policies, he must be a decent chap underneath. [Poll #1480605]

Comments

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

That is not hoarding! That is a very messy arrangement of an appropriate amount of stuff. It's improved a bit since you were last here!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

That and the Latin.

[libby-drew.livejournal.com]

Hey, you said peins. :D

[waterbird.livejournal.com]

I fear for your friend post-apocalypse, LOL. Seriously, I'm trying to learn all sorts of useful skills to become more self-sufficient and have a gentler impact on the world: gardening, preserving, knitting. Granted, I'm pretty rubbish at all of these right now, but hoping to improve before the end of the world.

Yay, Boris. Don't love him, but he was certainly in the right place at the right time.

[i-autumnheart.livejournal.com]

I think I'm on treacle_tartlet's side... but I'm prepared to accept that it's not a static hoard :).

:hides the wardrobe containing own fabric stash:

[i-autumnheart.livejournal.com]

Good boots are *far* too hard to come by to not get them repaird when necessary. Ditto comfy jeans and formalwear... but I to the repair work on those myself.

[azurelunatic]

I was raised in Alaska, and in the event that I hadn't outgrown something by the time it had developed rips, it got patched. Though most of my shoes have been the sort that are too cheap to get properly repaired. I have one lovely good sort now, and it's got an elastic strap that needs seen to.

Every now and again I'll settle in front of the computer with a spool of thread and a needle and those things that have developed blown seams. I'm liable to wear clothing into the ground now that I'm an adult and won't get too tall for it in a year. I see no reason to get rid of a perfectly good pair of shorts if it's only got a blown crotch; that's time for the needle. (The habitual wearing of skirts and the not habitual inclination to be ladylike, and the presence of strong winds, results in the habitual wearing of shorts, with their excellent pockets, under my skirts.)

I wear cheap opaque knee-high stockings, and they tend to fail in ways that can't be invisibly darned, so they tend to get binned.

[carnadosa.livejournal.com]

I picked "should be taught widely" because 1) I wish it was something I had been taught (making a pillow in home ec that one time in eight grade seriously doesn't count) and 2) I'm looking for a job right now after graduating with a masters and kind of wish I had some tangible skills. It would make me feel better.

My opinions on repairing, to be perfectly honest, have been mostly informed by my family (I kind of find it weird it wasn't an answer in the poll). My grandmother has knitted me many awesome blankets (and despite the fact that I'm 26 she's completely tickled by the fact I still sleep with the baby one), built us a wooden dollhouse, painted some china dolls and made me many awesome sundresses. I only wish I was that cool.

Also: you have to have something worth repairing. I mean, if I spend 200 USD on a good suit, I'm not going to chuck it for a hole. If I spend 5 dollars on 2 thin cotton tees and they get a hole...I'm going use them for rags.

[symetric.livejournal.com]

HAHAHA! I DARN MY SOCKS TOO!

not really something i learnt from my generation, mind you, but our mum was always there to remind us gently with a pitchfork.

boris is a nice bloke. trufax. i never understood why more people didn't go for him. :D

[franalan.livejournal.com]

I tend to do less repairing and more remaking...I'm forever turning trousers into skirts!

[treacle-tartlet.livejournal.com]

*remains unconvinced*
I myself embrace the hoard (of fabric, and furniture, and books, and...). I'm sure it will all come in handy one day, and like Brammers's it is in a constant state of flux.

Let us speak not of Blondie's hoarding habits.

[fourth_rose]

Of course I have my shoes resoled - do these people have any idea how hard it is to find a really comfy pair of shoes? If you have found one, you should hang on to it until it starts to fall apart to a degree that even the best shoemaker can't mend anymore.

Plus, I hate shopping.

[bryoneybrynn.livejournal.com]

I couldn't resist all the old timer answers. Hee!

[anthraxia.livejournal.com]

Ah, darling Boris, my favourite floppy-haired dear buffer. I completely understand your position; my inner anarcho-left-wing-hippie-socialist turns bright red with embarrasment at having to acknowledge a fairly hefty crush for him. His politics infuriate me, but the man himself is a delight.

He always reminds me of a big friendly labrador who has some terrible habits but you can't help loving anyway. Even when he comes home from a self-appointed ramble and he stinks to high heaven because he's been rooting around in a right-wing rubbish tip or rolling in a stinky City pile of something financial, you can't help but roll your eyes and say 'oh Boris! before hauling your mental image of him off for a good bath. (Or is that just me?)

Blush slghtly to admit it, but Digby nearly got named Boris in honour of Mr Johnson.

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

You still darn socks? Shoes, bags, and clothing, obviously, but how can you like a pair of socks enough to keep them around..

[drgaellon]

I will resole a beloved pair of shoes, or especially boots, until the uppers are holed (or, in the case of one particularly well-loved pair of boots, the stacked heel is too worn away to repair). I seldom repair other things; pants tend to wear through the weave, rather than tearing along seams, and shirts tend to wear along the collar and cuffs, which makes them useless for wearing in public (unless I want to look like a homeless person). Old belts and leather jackets are turned over to my brother-in-law the leathersmith for repurposing.

[drgaellon]

Join the SCA; we're the largest non-mechanized standing army in the world, and the only ones who still know how to fight without electronic or gunpowder. And we can teach you anything you need to know to survive after the apocalypse.

[drgaellon]

ICONLOVE. Oh, Arthur. :D

[adevyish.livejournal.com]

I'm in my early twenties, and for me, fixing something and saving five dollars brings joy to my black heart. I once reattached a keyboard key with needle and thread.

[anthraxia.livejournal.com]

You knit them yourself out of pure angora or alpaca and silk blend yarn.

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

...
Good point ^^;;

[anna-wing.livejournal.com]

I have two pairs of Gucci loafers bought in 1997 and still going strong, due to regular re-soling and maintenance. My opinions were formed by upbringing rather than generation, I think. I was taught to buy good things and look after them too: wastefulness was considered very vulgar.

And I rather fancy Boris Johnson too, though not necessarily in any, er, physical way.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

It's what it said in most of the ones I read, too. I think that even though he and I would disagree on many things, we could probably be friends in the real world.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I have found some people who make clothes I like and that fit well, but they tend to be young designers working locally. I don't mind supporting them since I earn enough to, and lack the time to make more of my own clothes. And my shoemaking is AWFUL ;-)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I LOVE THOSE BOOTS! And that saree top is gorgeous. You should definitely have her pass on a few of her skills: I have to say that being able to do my own repairs is a skill that has saved me a great deal in both cash and angst!