jemjabella

Dear Skechers

Hello there, my name is Jem.

About 6 years ago I bought my first pair of Skechers. They were amazingly comfortable. I’d never before had a shoe (trainer/sneaker/whatever) which had been such a great fit straight from the box. This was the beginning of what I hoped to be a lasting, fulfilling relationship with your brand (you see, I hate shoe shopping, so if I have a go-to brand that makes my life easier).

Unfortunately those shoes wore out. Completely through. It took about 2 years, which is not bad going considering I was walking upwards of 6 miles a day, but nonetheless a little sad. I replaced them with another pair. Not quite as comfy out of the box but were spot on within a week or so of regular wear. They lasted a similar timespan until they too wore through. I don’t mind getting 2 years out of a pair of £40 shoes. I was a happy customer.

Long story short, I’m now on my 4th pair of Skechers (trainers) and also own a pair of your black shoes for more formal occasions. I’m obviously not making you rich beyond your wildest dreams, but I guess over a lifetime I could be spending a lot of money on Skechers.

Except, and here’s the problem… pair number 4, apparently called ‘Speedsters Nottingham’, were despatched to me on June 1st 2011, costing me £46. It is now October 5th 2011. In 4 months and 4 days these shoes have been destroyed. I have worn through the insole and partly through the rubber sole on both shoes. I have an excruciating blister on my right foot today and a growing build-up of hard skin on my left (I know you don’t want to hear these lovely fine details, I apologise if I put you off your dinner)

What I don’t understand is how I have managed to destroy your shoes in 4 months, when I’m walking less than I was this time 5-6 years ago. I’m also alternating my shoes more because of work/etc so if anything, they’ve had a fraction of the wear in 4 months than my old pairs will have had in the same span.

I’m losing faith. I don’t want to have to find another go-to brand. That would make me miserable, and waste valuable time that I could be spending doing other important things (like writing more nice reviews about your products on Amazon). Please, for my sake and yours, make sure this blip in build quality is a one-off.

Thank you,

Jem

Hungry? Cookbook Winner

The results for The Great Hungry? Cookbook Giveaway are in… 30 people entered, with 70 entries in total (tweets, comments, likes etc). Out of 70, random.org gives me a number of:

…which gives the winner:

Jennifer! The girl with the most entries, heh. Just goes to show that making the extra effort pays off :D Your book will be with you … as soon as you’ve sent me your postal address!

Ironbridge Photography Project

I have the privilege of living in the most beautiful county in the UK: Shropshire. (Not that I’m biased or anything.) This is highlighted in the towns surrounding my own; Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale and the like. Steeped in history, full of landmarks like The Iron Bridge… on their own, they are fairly interesting, but a recent work project by two of my colleagues only adds to that. Check this out:

The mix of old and new, people milling around just like they do now, what’s changed and what hasn’t. I find the whole lot fascinating. I’m actually gutted that I’m going to Wales this weekend so will miss them presented full size at the Ironbridge World Heritage Festival on Saturday.

Anyway, if you want to see the rest of the pictures, have a look at Creating windows into Shropshire’s history on my work’s blog.

The Great Hungry? Cookbook Giveaway

Remember how the other day I was all “ooh, I love the Hungry? cookbook too much to give it away“? Problem solved! I pulled some strings asked nicely and have secured a second copy of the innocent cookbook to give to one of you lovely people.

How do I enter the great ‘Hungry?’ giveaway, Jem?

Simples! Leave a comment on this post. That’s it. No purchase necessary. You don’t even have to say something clever and witty – “count me in!” should just about do it.

Want a better chance of winning? Enter multiple times! Here are other ways you can enter:

• “Like” the jemjabella.co.uk facebook page
• Tweet about the giveaway, including a link to this blog post (max of 3 tweets per day, spam is for losers)
• Follow @jemjabella on twitter (that’s me, hi!)
• “Like” the innocent drinks facebook page (as a thank you to our generous benefactor)
• Link to this post from your blog / tumblr / livejournal / whatever is trendy these days (each link gains you 1 entry)
• Tell a friend about the contest, and ask them to leave your name in their comment

Leave a comment with the details of your individual entries (one comment or over several, it doesn’t really matter).

What’s the catch then?

No catch. We do need to enforce a few guidelines though:

• Over 18s only (I’m fairly sure this counts as gambling, sorry kids)
• There are no country restrictions — I’m the poor mug forking out on postage here
• Please link to individual twitter updates or link/email a screenshot for protected accounts
• You’ll have to tell me your Facebook name so I can check for genuine likes (if you’d rather keep your name private, email me instead)
• You’ll also have to tell me your twitter username so that I can check for follows

Entries close on Friday 23rd September @ 7:00am GMT so don’t hang about. After the weekend I’ll tally the totals into a spreadsheet, jumble all the entries up and use a random number generator to pick a row. The winner will be announced next Wednesday.

Ready, steady, go…

ENTRIES NOW CLOSED

The Driving Test

Whilst bathing Isabel last week, Karl and I were playing the “what noise does … make?” game. Lions say rawr, monkeys say “ooh ooh” etc etc.

Karl then asks “what noise does mummy’s driving make?” Isabel replies: nee-naw-nee-naw

Thanks kid.

Anyway, this seemed like an appropriate way to lead into the results of my driving test today.

I failed. Speeding. Was doing roughly 37mph in a 30 zone. Stupid mistake, because I know the road and knew it was a 30. I was confused, I’d been overtaken, split second of doubting myself … that’s all it takes. Bit of an arse, but it’s all good – test rebooked for October.

But hey, at least I didn’t require a nee-naw-nee-naw. :)