Whooga Australia ugg Boot Website Launch

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While news of business closures flood the media, the innovative young upstart continues to buck the economic trend. Business owners credit an emphasis on warmth, comfort and luxury with a customer driven focus as the primary drivers of growth. “Many businesses have focused on reducing production costs, reducing staff numbers and really preparing their businesses for harsh times. We couldn’t see the sense of effectively reducing the quality of service and product during a time where the inefficient and uncompetitive business models will not likely see the end of the economic downturn. We’re a luxury product first and foremost, as soon as we stop offering class leading comfort and service we’re going to fall short of our customers’ expectations”

Australian customers will be backed by the same outstanding customer service and guarantees which has helped the company gain an outstanding reputation in both the US and UK. Comprehensive sizing guides assist customers in choosing the right size and no cost exchanges remove any sizing doubts.

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Location: Iraq, Sulaimaniya

It’s been 29 days and 3 hours since I landed in Sulaimaniya. It’s official. This is the longest time I have ever been away from the UK. A time during which I learnt to be an editor, a journalist, a communicator, in both Arabic and English (the Arabic part is debatable), mud puddles survivor, a taxi fare haggler and a Barclays bank plc hater. Home sweet home(s).

My favourite part of the day, and sometimes not, is getting in the taxi to go down town Sulaimaniya. It is my only chance to have a direct genuine conversation with people. ‘I am Iraqi speak no Arabi,’ mocked one of the drivers. ‘I am Iraqi speak no Kurdi,’ I replied. We both laughed.

I learnt that it is considered inappropriate to strike a conversation with people you do not know and that smiling would be an invitation to flirt. But the adorable way Kurds try to communicate in Arabic is irresistible, especially if they are old men who like to reminisce about Iraq’s good days and Baghdad. Could they be talking about the early 70s? The only time Iraq has ever seen some kind of prosperity and not many had to suffer, although peace never prevailed. Not the Monarchy or the British occupation surely. Neither could it be Saddam’s reign. Perhaps they are just ordinary people who just enjoyed being them and living their lives despite the hardships they were subjected to. What I heard and read in newspapers on Kurds and Arabs have almost been non-existent in Sulaimaniya during the past 4 weeks. True, there are more Kurds than Arabs here, but not one so far seemed to consider themselves anything but Iraqi, and sometimes the word Kurdish preceded the word Iraqi. Were they being nice to me because I am a customer? Or perhaps when they realize I had no hand in the gassing of Kurds, and instead talked to them in a civil manner, they react accordingly. Perhaps I am making progress already. Perhaps through me, they believe we are one. Perhaps they will regain their patriotism to Iraq as a whole. Perhaps it’s the politician’s game that makes things look ugly. Or perhaps I am being unrealistic and naive. Who knows!

Sulaimaniya is a modern, up and coming city that has a limited choice of entertainment but a vast history and a beautiful nature. The mountains surrounding it are breathtaking, while trekking the way up to the tips of them is surreal. What attracts me to it mainly is the endless long road it was built around. Salem Street is prefect for people like me who easily get lost. Modern cafes dotted along the street have become my home for the past 4 weeks. I eat, write, make phone calls, shop, edit the magazine and work till dawn while drinking tons of lemon and pomegranate juices. My day is made when Kathem Alsaher, my favourite Iraqi singer, comes on one of the plasma screen TVs in the cafe. Only then I feel I am in Iraq.

I often drift into thoughts about my life in the UK when I see the pen I received as a gift for graduating from university, now the pen I use during interviews. A key ring that became the one for my first home in Iraq. A notebook; my travels’ official diary. My lucky charm necklaces that I alternate everyday. My business card holder that will be effective from tomorrow. My watch, of course, to keep track of time, and yet another one sitting on my desk amongst lots and lots of cards scattered on my messy desk; a reminder that I am loved.

It is quite common to be sitting with a client discussing the latest issues in Iraq, or be having dinner with a friend in the evening, when a power cut occurs. Everyone pauses their activities for a few minutes till power resumes, and they carry on going about their business as normal. Like someone has paused a movie for a few minutes, or seconds sometimes. This happens several times a day.

I noticed that I yawn much more often and my hair needs more regular washing. My chocolate Ugg boots have now become yellowy cream. It never stopped raining since I arrived and the days get much colder at night. Mud puddles became my worst enemy as the city is going under wide construction and development and workmen are everywhere. The only problem is that in Iraq, workmen take eternity to finish a job.

I moved into a block of apartments in a secluded village just outside of Sulaimaniya. Thankfully, Sulaimaniya isn’t a large city so I am able to reach Salem Street in just under half an hour, if a taxi passes by that is. Leaving me stranded on top of the hill for the dust to settle right behind my contact lenses. Taxi drivers often think I am crying.

I will be in Baghdad soon to interview people regarding the magazine cover story as well as a few other stories. I will once again, after many years, visit places in Baghdad I had not been to for almost two decades. Once Zainab the quiet struggling school girl carrying her books to school while adjusting her glasses, now Zainab the editor, the writer, with her dictaphone, pen and notebook, and of course a laptop bag that doesn’t fit my laptop in it properly which often makes me look clumsy.

So here I am, grumbling about mud, dust, rain and Uggs. Having just been scared the devil out of as all lights in my apartment went out whilst in the shower. To crawl my way out and hope someone would call me so my mobile would light the way. Nothing like a power cut during a shower in a secluded home in the mountains of Iraq.

I apologize for the long absence as settling in has not been easy. With no internet at home, I am truly lost.

I am here. I live here. I work here. I am pursuing my dreams here. This is where I want to be and these are only the beginnings of what I want to do.

Footwear and Foot Problems

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 43.1 million Americans (one in six people) have foot problems. Women are nine times more at risk than men because females are more likely to wear tight or poorly-fitted shoes.

During an average day of walking, the feet bear the equivalent weight of several tons. When combined with poorly-fitting shoes, those forces can lead to a number of painful conditions. Two common foot problems associated with shoe fit are bunions and hammertoes.

A bunion is an enlargement of the joint at the base of the big toe (the metatarsophalangeal joint). It occurs when the big toe is misaligned, with the tip angling inward toward the other toes. This pushes the base of the joint outward. The skin over the protruding joint can become red, swollen and painful. The joint can become stiff and swollen, causing pain while wearing shoes or walking.

Hammertoe is a condition in which one or more of the toes is bent upward at the middle joint, causing the affected toe(s) to look like a hammer. A callus can also develop on top of the toe. It most commonly affects the second toe. Initially, the joint is still moveable and can be straightened. But if the condition isn’t treated, the joint can become stiff and rigid.

The Need for Support

Philadelphia Podiatrist Edward Chairman, D.P.M., says adult feet need support to bear the weight of standing and walking. Shoes without support increase the risk for foot problems, like bunions and hammertoes.

One popular line of footwear is UGG®. Chairman says some women are wearing UGG boots because they are soft, comfortable and wide enough to relieve pressure on the toes. So, even patients with bunions and hammertoes find them to be more comfortable than some shoes and boots. However, over time, women tend to develop more pain and discomfort. Chairman says that’s because boots like the UGGs have no support. The extra pressure on the feet eventually causes alignment problems in the toes to worsen. Although bunions and hammertoes are typically more common in middle-aged and older women, Chairman is seeing the early signs of the problems in teenagers who “live” in their UGGs.

Chairman recommends that women who want to use footwear that doesn’t have adequate support get custom-made orthotics, or shoe inserts. The orthotics are designed to minimize force on the feet and improve foot function. For UGGs and similar boots, he recommends sports orthotics, which are a little bulkier and longer than orthotics designed for dress shoes.cheap ugg boots

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A Brand Re-Booted

In July 2006 Michael Todd was reading the Guardian newspaper when in it he spotted a paparazzo photo of model Kate Moss. She was stomping through the mud at the Glastonbury music festival in a pair of black, clunky knee-high rubber boots, made by Hunter, a 150-year-old British footwearmaker. Shortly after, Todd called Hunter’s chief executive, Peter Mullen, with some unsolicited advice. Moss’ choice of the stuffy Wellington boot brand–it wasn’t pushed on her by Hunter–meant it might be poised to shed its dumpy image. To build the company, said Todd, a veteran of faddish bootmaker Ugg boots, Mullen needed to start pushing Hunter toward a younger, more fashion-conscious crowd.

OK! Interview: Peter André & Katie Price

The former UK glamour model and her pop star hubby stopped by OK!’s Beverly Hills office, and opened up about their life in the US, the Beckhams, and Jade Goody .

Do you live a normal life here in the US?

Peter: In England, it is constant. Here you get some days when they are there, and some days when they are not. You can be normal.

Katie: You think it’s pretty normal to go and have a 13-mile run along Malibu beach and have twelve paparazzi following you around?

The Beckhams attempt to “conquer America,” was short-lived because it looks like they’re now going back to Europe. What are your thoughts?

KP: Well, we never said that we were trying to break America. I don’t know if they said that they were trying to. It’s sad they’re going to be leaving. I’m sure that she loves it here, and her boys love it here. Just — good luck to them!

PA: I think that they are so successful anyway –who cares. It doesn’t matter, and I think –you know, good luck to them! We love them.

What are your thoughts on Victoria Beckham’s style?

KP: Sometimes, I do think that she tries too hard. I would actually like to see her in a tracksuit, and UGG boots going to the shop buying newspaper – smiling.

What are your thoughts and feelings on fellow UK reality star Jade Goody’s battle with cancer?

KP: Oh, it is awful. But I think that it is so brave and I am just gutted for her. We talk about her day and night. I would love to be by her side just the whole way, you know.

PA: It’s really put everything into perspective for us. We are living the American dream but what does it all mean when you think back to someone who can’t see their children after a certain period of time. She will never see them again.

Have the both of you reached out to her?

KP: I’m supporting her.

PA: We’ve sent her some messages, and we have sent her some flowers.

KP: I do say that they need to do a Jade charity, and I would love to be a part of that. I said that next year, I would run the marathon to raise money for that.

PA: Well, I was actually thinking of writing her name across my forehead when I do the London marathon. Buy cheap ugg boots .

MCC members guide on how to dress

The exclusive social club has sent members a two-page illustrated guide of its strict dress code.

Bare midriffs, torn jeans and thongs are banned from the Member’s Reserve.

Men will be refused entry to the Long Room or Member’s Dining Room if they have no tie or wear a zippered jacket and women will be turned away in leggings, denim jackets or three-quarter pants.

In case members don’t know what tracksuit pants and ugg boots look like, the MCC had models pose in the unacceptable clothes.

The latest MCC membership letter warns members they will not be admitted unless they can pass the fashion police.

“To avoid any embarrassment at the turnstiles, please ensure that your attire, and that of your guests, is appropriate.”

MCC chief Stephen Gough said the guide was necessary to inform members, who will this year pay up to $726 in fees.

“It’s come about because we have so many occasions when members might bring guests that are unaware of the requirements,” he said.

“Sometimes members themselves don’t know what is expected of them.

“So we’ve done this because it can be embarrassing for people to get knocked back and a major inconvenience.”

But MCC members said the dress guide was a step too far.

Country member Brendan Carrick said the MCC was pointing out the obvious.

“If you’re a member, you know what you’re expected to wear,” he said.

“You don’t need a two-page guide to remind you to wear a collar or to remind your guest that they have to wear a tie.”

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Podiatrist: Ugg Boots Do Uggly Things To Your Feet

Ugg boots have become something of a phenomenon lately. Hollywood made them trendy and the Midwest made them mainstream.

At more than $100, they’re not cheap but they’ve become a must have — especially for teenage girls. What many Uggs lovers don’t realize though is, according to one podiatrist, the flat, shear ling lined boots are actually bad for your feet.

“They keep your feet warm in the winter and summer. You don’t have to wear socks with them, that’s the main reason I bought them,” said Crystal resident Angie Peterson.

“They’re comfortable,” said Minneapolis resident Amanda Weinkauf.

They’re a major fashion trend that hasn’t gone out of style yet in Minnesota.

“I think they’re ugly,” said Weinkauf.

That doesn’t stop thousands of women and girls from wearing and loving the Ugg boots.

“Very comfortable, they feel like pillows on your feet,” said Peterson.

However, podiatrists warn the shear ling boots are actually hard on your feet.

“The biggest problem with them is the fact that they have no support. They’re completely flat on the bottom,” podiatrist Dr. Kari Prescott.

Doctors say that lack of arch support can lead to foot and leg problems.

“If you don’t have external support, all the muscles in your legs, really from the knee down, can become achy, sore. Some people refer to that as shin splints,” said Prescott.

A foot condition called plantar fasciitis, or heel spurs, may also happen. Slipping in an arch support can help.

“This provides some curvature and it’s not ideal,” said Prescott.

And even forewarned about potential problems, Ugg wearers still love their boots.

“No, I’d probably still wear them,” said Peterson.

“I’d still wear them,” said Weinkauf.

“It’s always fashion over practicality, isn’t it?” said Prescott.

Republicans Will Fight the Next Cycle“Who are these kids?”

That was the buzz in Northeastern Pennsylvania during the first week of November last year. It was high noon in what would become the most contentious election of our lifetime.

Yet, a group of relentless students screaming themselves hoarse in the town square, daring the disapproval of former President Clinton by showing up uninvited to his rally, and storming the streets armed with literature, captivated the locals. Newspapers and television crews seemed to follow our every move, asking with a detectable degree of incredulity: why did a group of young students come all the way from D.C. to help Congressional candidate Lou Barletta?

We think, with all due respect to our liberal friends, that they were duped. His face was on t-shirts at Urban Outfitters, he had an application for your iPhone, and the DNC looked more like MTV with all of those Obama-crazed stars slinking around the place. Obama was cool, but has he earned our generation’s vote?

To give you some perspective here, Republicans view President Obama and his policies roughly the same way guys look at UGG boots: attractive in the short-run, but ultimately too costly and impractical to sustain.

Admittedly, our Party failed. It neither communicated our message in a modern way nor nominated a candidate to represent those ideals. For this, we are sorry, but before you pick up an Obama pin for your backpack, we ask that you join us, one of the most active College Republicans chapters in the nation, and help us to build a new face for the Party of Lincoln.

Oxnard College offers free English classes for workers

Oxnard College is offering free English classes for workers at local businesses.The idea is to teach employees the English they need to do their jobs, said Christopher Jones, project director. So a hotel might request a class focusing on housekeeping terms. Or a hospital could offer a class on medical terms.

The college received a $399,000, two-year grant from the chancellor of the California Community College System to start the pilot program, which has 400 spaces available.

So far, two companies have signed up — Catalytic Solutions Inc. in Oxnard, which makes catalytic converters, and Deckers Outdoor Corp. in Camarillo and Ventura.

Deckers, which markets Ugg boots and Teva sandals as well as other products, has about 30 people in the classes, said Lou Flores, human resources manager.

The company signed up for the program because it wanted to improve communication between workers and managers, he said.

“Our manager likes to go out on the floor and talk to people directly,” Flores said. “We also wanted to give employees opportunities to take new positions. We look at it as an opportunity for both the employees and for us.”

Spring forward and fashion back

A few tips ont he new spring chic

Spring is finally here, girls. That means time for a rejuvenation of the mind, spirit and beauty icon inside us all.

DON’T buy jeans that are too small for you. It looks uncomfortable, it feels uncomfortable and nobody wants to see your underwear every time you sit down.

DON’T wear your Ugg boots with shorts. This is tacky. If it’s warm enough to wear shorts, it’s time to break away from the Uggs and get with the spring season.

DO opt for strappy sandals. These are flat shoes but are incredibly elongating to the legs. Right now, golden and black strappy sandals are the top style, some with a cute flower embroidery near the toe strap. Chunky wedges are also big right now, and can be found in every style and color.

DON’T wear a choker, what are you a dog? This look can work wonderfully at times during the cold winter months, but it’s too confining for spring.

DO try a bold necklace, an over-sized ring or a funky bracelet to pop out of any outfit making it fun and unique.

These are just a few pointers and tips about the fashion world right now. As college students our main focus is our education, but it doesn’t hurt to look cute while we work toward our degrees!

Chaos is nearer the surface than we imagine, waiting to break through

YOU could argue that for our sanity we need to believe in certain things. We need to believe in order, for example. We need to believe that things are in some way under control, that we, or someone else, is on top of things, has a grip. Beyond our belief in order lies the appalling vista. It is the stuff of nightmares, of horror films.

We need to believe, too, that the Government is in charge. Despite increasing evidence to the contrary, we cling needily to the notion of this paternalistic institution to which we have delegated the running of the bigger picture. Once we can believe that they are there fighting the macro-battle, then we can focus on our own petty struggles. And every time we read about further deterioration in the economy, or the world order, we can console ourselves with the notion that while we are powerless to do anything, we have a Government and it is, presumably, on top of things.

So we literally suspend disbelief as we observe the weekly routine that is the Oireachtas. We will ourselves to believe that the talking, and the plans, and all the rest of it, are going to make a difference, maybe even that they will work. We may disagree with the talk and the plans at times, but part of us gullibly thinks that these guys are, in some way, competent to be in charge. This necessary gullibility is revealed by the fact that until very recently, most of the media — and many of the public — wilfully allowed themselves to believe that this Government was on top of things, despite the fact that since before last summer the Government has been adrift.

While much has been made of this Government’s apparent need to “get real”, many of these exhortations have come from an Opposition that has resolutely refused to get real itself. It is an Opposition that has put playing political games and political opportunism ahead of actually eyeballing what is an extraordinary shift in our whole world, and positioning ourselves for this shift . buy uggs .

But then again, who is going to be the politician to turn to the people and say the real truth? “Things are never going to be the same again. The world as we know it is disintegrating. You need to radically alter your expectations of life. The value of everything is up in the air and could be nothing, as are all the systems and certainties that our lives up to now were based on. Indeed, the very sovereignty of our State is now in doubt as we are moving, with increasing haste, towards bankruptcy. There is a high possibility the country is going to run out of money, and one week soon we simply will not be able to pay people’s dole, or nurses’ wages or any other bills.

“We’re not really sure what will happen then because the very institutions that might bail us out in that situation, like the IMF or the ECB, might not at that point be able to bail us out. We can take nothing for granted anymore, including the world order.”

The closest any politician has come to looking the people in the eye and telling them the mind-blowing truth about what’s going on is, funnily enough, Brian Cowen, when he told the Dublin Chamber of Commerce that our children would probably not enjoy the same standard of living as we do. It was, when you think about it, a fairly radical thing to tell people because you are asking Irish people to let go of another one of our core beliefs — that the country is constantly getting better and that each generation enjoys a standard of living that is higher than that of our parents. Remember, this is a country that went from hobnail boots to Ugg boots, from poor farmers to farmers’ markets, in little more than two generations. We are a country that believed a year ago that things could only get better. The notion that we could now slip back, from being one of the richest countries in the world, to being a Second World, or indeed a Third World country again, is unimaginable for most of us.

Just as we need to believe we have tamed our demons with civilisation and order — two immutables that cannot break down — we need to believe too that we have conquered poverty and our past with unrelenting progress.

Of course, one of the reasons that no politician has told people how much in freefall the foundations upon which we have built our lives actually are is because most politicians are in denial too. They believe that conducting the weekly circus in the Dail, having pops at each other and dissing whatever plan the opposite side moots is still, in some way, acceptable behaviour. They do not realise that democracy as currently practised in this country has failed, is in terminal failure, and is now irrelevant.

Can you believe for example, that the Government is still waiting for a report from the Commission on Taxation? Its effort to speed things up has apparently been to tell the Commission to report in July instead of September. We could, as the man says, all be dead in July, but somehow it seems that the Government thinks it is still OK to wait for some report on what we should do about wider tax reform.

This at a time when any taxi driver could probably offer a decent stab of a taxation plan for the country — and at a time when people are prepared for the worst in terms of taxation. It was last Tuesday before Brian Cowen realised the country was screwed and needed a mini-budget, despite the fact that schoolchildren were muttering the day after the last Budget that it was not enough and we would need another one within months. Mary Coughlan thought, just the other day, that the country’s finances were in good shape. Fintan O’Toole, who has set himself up as a tax expert, appears to be running the Opposition’s policy — which is “Eat the rich”. Trust me: politics is not working here.

So now we need to consider something different, now we need to consider something that could get a grip on things. If our politicians don’t realise this, they will realise it soon enough. Who among them, do you think, will dare leave

the safety of Leinster House to campaign for local or European elections, or, indeed, for a Lisbon Treaty? Who among them will relish going out among the people if there is a general election? Can’t you picture it? Politicians getting egged, getting a dig instead of a dig-out? Rival factions of canvassers and supporters going at each other?

Of course by then we will presumably have unrest on the streets anyway, as unions or taxi drivers or whoever else having taken to the city centre are encouraged by the kind of sinister elements who start sowing seeds of unrest wherever there is discontent. It’s a miracle that some public gathering hasn’t ended in rioting yet, but it will happen soon enough as people lose hope even further and as the vague sense of chaos and drift out there begins to crystallise in people’s minds.

The mini-Budget and the continuing inability of the Government to seem to be in charge will form the background to unrest — will, if you like, provide an ambience that is conducive to unrest. The opportunity and immediate catalyst for unrest will be protests or election campaigns. And once it has happened once, and civil society is breached, and the world doesn’t end, then it will happen more and more, and soon at every place where people gather in public there will be tension and the potential for unrest. With trust in the financial system and the political system gone, soon enough people will lose faith in all systems. Chaos is much nearer the surface than we imagine, waiting to break through, and once it breaks through, it’s like a virus.

So what kinds of measures should we consider? The idea of a so-called National Government has been batted around a bit recently. However, it is difficult to say if there is anything inherently inspiring about the current incumbents of Leinster House all working together instead of agin each other.

What we probably need to try now are some kind of emergency measures that allow us to react to the situation as quickly as it develops. Waiting for the Commission on Taxation or an Bord Snip Nua to report months down the line makes no sense now. Neither does the Government being unable to cut civil service pay because the legal advice is that they can’t. Similarly a Government that needs to spend months fooling around with the social partners before it can make a decision about economics has no place in the world right now. Neither has a Government that is legally constrained from cutting tribunal lawyers’ fees. Buy cheap ugg boots .

In fact, come to think of it, much of the country is tied up in red tape that was designed for more genteel times. This is not a particularly relevant example right now but it is a rather telling one: Did you know that 85 per cent of the staff of the Office of Public Works, the Government department responsible for decentralisation, are refusing to move to their decentralised location? Irrelevant right now, but just another example of the kind of rubbish that is still going on as Rome burns.

These are sterner and more urgent circumstances, and it is perhaps time that we looked at suspending some of our more civilised instruments of running the country. After all, it is the very collapse of civilisation that we are battling for right now, so we need to fight a bit dirty, just so the centre can hold in some way. Standing on ceremony, as we are wont to do, could only be a recipe for greater chaos.

Moir’s Big Yin routine is one big yawn

There are 370 shows at the forthcoming Magners Glasgow International Comedy Festival. At 369 of them, the performers will be following the two unwritten laws of comedy: find your own voice and write your own material. At one of them, a man in a black Spandex one-piece and “banana-fied” Ugg boots will perform a set “inspired by Billy Connolly’s classics”.

Gary Moir, a former winner of Stars in Their Eyes, makes much of the fact that he, like Connolly, is a failed welder from the Glasgow shipyards. Normally, this would qualify him for delivering Chinese meals or restocking the freezers in Asda, but not Moir.

He had wearied, so his legend goes, of people telling him he was as funny as Billy Connolly. So shipbuilding’s loss would be comedy’s gain. But instead of becoming Gary Moir, hilarious individual performer who wears normal clothes and relies on his own imagination, he became the Big Yin, a Connolly tribute act.

He is not alone. There are a host of banjo-strumming, glottal-stopping faux Billys out there, appearing in the sticky-carpet clubs that Connolly played in at the start of his career. (They are also available for weddings, parties and corporate events, for people who imagine their big day would be improved by a singalong version of D-I-V-O-R-C-E.) Moir’s show has been a Glasgow Comedy Festival sell-out for the past three years; this time around, he is expected to fill the Barrowlands.

When Connolly started out, the Barrowlands was a dance hall. He played folk clubs and function rooms: his career-starting Billy Connolly Live! was recorded in the Tudor Hotel, Airdrie. Back then, Connolly was a fresh voice, an accent never heard before on Michael Parkinson’s BBC chat show.

He cheekily mixed up scatology and social observation with spoof songs. Among the mother-in-law gags of the 1970s, reimagining the Last Supper as a bar room rammy was bold and original. He swore like he was still working in the shipyard and made jokes about subjects — masturbation, flatulence, piles — that many of his audience would blush to discuss with their GP.

It was sensational and shocking, while being accessible in a way that the alternative comedians of the next decade never quite pulled off. But it is a product of its time and place: Connolly’s stand-up is a period piece, tied to a time when buses were orange, green and operated by the corporation. Neither Moir nor the other tribute acts on the circuit have adopted the purple beard or flowery shirts favoured by the latter-day Connolly. He has not sung In the Brownies, or worn the big banana boots that Moir copies in his stage costume for 30-odd years. The originals are where they belong — in a museum.

Unpleasant illnesses, evil families, problem drinking . . . the material that took Connolly’s audiences into wild, uncharted territory is now available back-to-back on television. The fabulous Glesca patter has been cleaned up and repackaged for telly, radio and in the acts of plenty of comedians who can stand up on stage without hiding behind somebody else’s hairstyle.

Connolly himself has run into difficulty dealing with contemporary events — there was a huge uproar in 2004 when, at the Hammersmith Apollo, he made a joke about the hostage Kenneth Bigley, who was soon to be beheaded in Iraq.

So the tribute acts such as Moir stay on safe comedy territory. He even borrows other comedians’ lines and puts them into his phoney Connolly mouth. Does his bum, he asks the audience, look big in his catsuit? It was Arabella Weir, not Connolly, who originally posed that question. He ploughs on regardless, with a charmless discussion of the size of other parts of his anatomy. It is about as daring as Kate Middleton’s dress sense and as challenging as an episode of Fireman Sam.

Of course, the audience that goes to see the Big Yin does not want to be taunted or challenged or made to feel uncomfortable. If they did, they would stay in and watch a Sarah Silverman DVD. They are going for nostalgia, for the values of the1970s wrapped up in a fancy-dress outfit. It’s not grown-up and it’s not very funny.

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Tozzi sets scene for more drama

NOT content with being an actor on the rise, Cronulla’s Tahyna Tozzi has launched a career as a film producer.

Tozzi, 22, said she had started Avakea Productions in Los Angeles with fellow Australian starlets Teresa Palmer and Nathalie Kelley.

“We are currently working on a film and looking to go into production next year,” she said.

The film is a dark, psychological crime thriller set in Sydney in the 1970s.

Tozzi makes her film debut in Beautiful, an Australian drama released today that has her flirtatious character sunbaking in the rain.

“It was so cold that particular day - I remember walking on to set seeing everyone in parkas and ugg boots and here I am in a bathing suit about to be drenched by a ginormous hose.”

Tozzi, a graduate of Blue Water High with a role in the coming X-Men Origins: Wolverine, said she was slowly adjusting to life in LA, where she has been based for a year.

“I have managed to find little hobbies and things to do to keep me away from being absorbed by glitz of this town,” she said.

Experts reveal how to take the agony out of towering stilettos

EVERY woman understands the power of a pair of sexy high heels.

But we felt Victoria Beckham’s agony as she teetered round a Los Angeles theme park last week in five-inch Christian Louboutins.

She broke the pain barrier while tottering on her tip-toes on a family day out but is not alone with the average woman owning 10 pairs of toe-crunching heel-bending heels.

Here GAYLE RITCHIE asks the experts - what is the best way to survive in stilettos?

THE SURGEON

MIKE O’NEILL repairs the damage caused by high heels on a daily basis - and it’s an ugly business.

The Society of Chiropodists’ surgeon said: “Cramming feet into ridiculous heeled shoes is like a modern day version of Chinese bound feet - a 21st-century torture.

“You squash your foot into an unnatural position, it moulds and eventually takes that shape. Victoria Beckham’s feet are full of bunions but she probably only wears them to be photographed. My concern is for the average woman who wears heels all day.

“Feet aren’t so glamorous when covered in corns, calluses, blisters and fungal infections. Joints can develop all sorts of deformities which not even surgery can correct. It’s ghastly, not glamorous.

“Get the balance right. Wear heels for fashion moments and comfort shoes for everything else.

“And mirror American women by wearing trainers to get to work then change when you get there.”

THE SPECIALIST

PODIATRIST Aileen Kelly says it is important to choose the right shoe.

She said: “Get a shoe that suits your foot shape.

Get measured for both width of foot and depth of toe and visit a podiatrist.

“Make sure your shoes are supportive. uggs support the ankle joint and shoes with straps or laces are good.”

Aileen also recommends regular treatments to keep toes in tip-top condition. She said: “Go for a foot soak, get the hard skin off, indulge in a massage and deep moisturising treatment. Wear Fit-Flops or MBTs and try comfort pads.

Look after your feet as surgery should be a last resort.

“There’s nothing beautiful about limping down the street in agony on a big night out.”

THE DESIGNER

SHOE designer Helen Bateman says the secret to happy feet is to train yourself to wear heels.

The Perth-based independent shoemaker said: “Everyone has their comfort zone. Some women run around all day in two inches but find it hard to step up to three.

“Thankfully it is possible to train yourself how to wear heels. It’s like exercise - you teach your body to get used to the sensation.

“In high heels, all the muscles in your legs, bum and feet work differently. If you’re used to flats, start low and go up a notch at a time.”

Helen says it is worth buying good quality shoes with built-in support and cushioning.

She said: “The balance of the shoe is critical - the toe should be raised slightly when you look at it on the shelf.

“Also check the back. It should be slightly pinched at the top if it’s good quality.”

THE MODEL

FORMER Miss Scotland Nieve Jennings is a dedicated heel wearer.

Her favourites are a pair of 5in Christian Louboutins, similar to those sported by Posh.

She said: “Heels are a beautiful, feminine treat every woman should enjoy.

“I’ve just learned to suffer the pain. After five fashion shoots in a day, the backs of my heels and the arch ofmy foot ache but I’ve never needed to use insoles.

“High heels should never be clumpy - a thin stiletto is best. I give my feet a rest in Gucci trainers or Ugg boots but mostly I’m in heels. I’d tell people who aren’t used to heels to buy only soft leather shoes and get sponge soles.”

Summit teen starts program to help needy children

FRISCO — Kristin Anderson’s vision to bring joy to-less fortunate children began in fifth grade. Now, the 13-year-old eighth grader is days away from her first program to help needy kids at Child to Child — a carnival-like fair at Denver Children’s Advocacy Center Saturday.

Anderson, along with 18 student volunteers at Summit Middle School, will take a bus to the center where they’ll distribute gifts and run numerous games and art projects. Denver Children’s Advocacy Center’s services include children’s counseling, therapeutic work and family resources.

“I can’t remember when I exactly thought of it,” said Anderson, an animated blonde wearing a neon-colored sweatshirt and Ugg boots. “I’ve always just wanted to help kids that are less fortunate and with disabilities.”

On Wednesday, Anderson and her volunteers gathered in the middle school’s art room to make T-shirts to wear at Saturday’s event. The petite girl took control of 16 other kids, helping with them with decorating ideas, discussing each volunteer’s responsibilities for Saturday and even getting her hands covered in Puffy Paint.

The urban swan

Picture Estelle in the video for American Boy, her No 1 hit from April 2008.

And while she may ostensibly be just another in a string of R&B ingénues to grace the charts with her aerated paean to Stateside masculinity – a West London girl gone global, jamming with Kanye West – she might also just be something new altogether: the first hip-hop swan princess.

Today, Estelle is wearing a grey jumper with asymmetric zips that looks very much like European avant-garde designer Martin Margiela. It turns out to be Alexander Wang, teamed with second-skin indigo jeans, knee boots and a Louis Vuitton headscarf.

While Hepburn may seem like something of a hackneyed reference point, with everyone from Coleen to Posh citing her as their stylistic exemplar, the miscegenation of Hepburn’s look being adopted by an urban girl does offer a whole new aesthetic. “In Funny Face she was all in black for the majority of the film, and she was an underground hipster kind of a girl,” muses Estelle. “She was able to morph, she was able to go in any direction and still set a trend. Grace Jones was a piece of frigging art, she was a mannequin, she went with the androgynous thing, she took it and went as far as she could go with it; that’s fearless, that’s crazy, that’s not been done and I admire that.”

So, if everyone else is wearing PVC leggings or Ugg boots or any of the other unthinking trends that pollute our sartorial cosmos, does she buy into them? “No. I’d do it when it had finished or I’d do it way before they would do it.”

As you’d expect of a new-school swan, she’s a resolute classicist when it comes to labels. Her favourites are Fendi, Chanel and YSL. “Mr Lagerfeld, we love you. I’d love to meet him,” she enthuses. “I also like Jean-Pierre Braganza. He is great.”

But it’s shoes she reserves her most intense passion for. “I’m a shoe freak – the first thing I go for is a shoe. I’ve got 400 or 500 pairs. I go in for new shoe designers, like Charlotte Olympia. I love Nicholas Kirkwood; I’ve been standing in his shoes for two years. Shoes are like an artwork – they’re investments as well, and they always fit. For regular days, I’m all about the flats. I’m not into people who always run around in dumb high heels. The higher the better on stage, the higher the better when you’re going to a party and the higher the better when you wanna feel sexy.”

Police search for missing sisters

POLICE are becoming increasingly anxious to locate two girls who went missing last week.

Sisters Nicole and Bobbie-Jo Critchley, who are both under the care of social services, are believed to be with their mother somewhere in Stoke-on-Trent.

The pair went missing on Friday, April 17 from an address in Stone and officers have carried out a number of enquiries in the Potteries in the past week.

Twelve-year-old Bobbie-Jo is described as white, slim build, and about 5ft 2ins tall. She has shoulder length blonde hair and was last seen wearing black jeans, black Ugg boots, a black strap top and a black zip-up hooded jacket.

Her sister, 13-year-old Nicole, is also white, of medium build and about 5ft 3ins tall. She has shoulder length dark brown hair and was last seen wearing black jeans, black jumper and a belt.

Sergeant Dave Ingham, of Stone Neighbourhood Policing Unit (NPU), said: “Nicole and Bobbie-Jo have links within the Stoke area as well as in Stafford and while we believe they are with their mother, we are appealing to the public for their help in locating them.

“We would also urge the pair to make

Anyone with information on Nicole or Bobbie-Jo’s whereabouts is urged to contact Stone police on 0300 123 4455.

Razing Yahoo!’s GeoCities

Content isn’t king at Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO). In fact, it may not even be fit to be a jester. It’s more like the messenger getting slain, if we go by the struggling online titan’s move to close down its GeoCities site.

Believe it or not, a company that is clearly hungry for traffic and pages to populate with ads — given its 15% revenue slide this past quarter — is axing a source of free content generation. GeoCities has stopped taking in new registrations, and is advising existing users to move out before the bulldozers come in later this year.

As anyone who has surfed through GeoCities over the years will tell you, an Internet without GeoCities is like a world of celluloid without Keanu Reeves flicks. The absence of GeoCities won’t create a cultural void. Few will miss its passing. It’s loaded mostly with hobbyist tribute pages, authored by penny-pinching cybersurfers who put up with primitive tools and gaudy ads in exchange for free hosting. Many of the pages were created years ago, and abandoned like bunny rabbits after Easter Sunday, Ugg boots after winter, and anything Reeves did after the first Matrix movie.

Let’s not harp on the fact that Yahoo! acquired GeoCities 10 years ago in a deal originally valued at $3.6 billion — on the pricey side of the dot-com bubble. Everyone was overpaying at the time.

Yahoo!’s real crime was in neglecting its costly municipality. Instead of making GeoCities more attractive and fleshing out its potential as a social destination for niche audiences, Yahoo! appears to have dusted it under the rug as it moved to sell commercial hosting services instead.

Stupid, right? The guy in GeoCities who is showing off his collection of hissing Madagascar cockroaches or the YMCA basketball coach posting game-day snapshots is never going to upgrade to a paid hosting plan. However, a site like GeoCities can still nurture loyalty from its authors and appreciation from folks who stumble on sites put up by like-minded souls. That has to be worth something, right?

Killing GeoCities is just an invitation for bad karma, even if it’s already clear that Yahoo! did something to anger the gods several years ago. 

WOMANS DEATH IN SEA ISLE STILL A MYSTERY

SEA ISLE CITY— The Cape May Co. Prosecutors Office appealed to the public for assistance, on Friday, regarding the death of a Pennsylvania woman whose body was found near a boat ramp in Sea Isle City last Sunday.

Shortly before 8:00 am Sunday morning (Feb. 15) the body of 35 year old Tracy Hottenstein was discovered on a tiny sliver of marsh next to a public boat ramp at the street end of 42nd Pl.

The Conshohocken Pa. resident had been in town for Saturday’s annual Polar Bear Plunge.

According to the Cape May Co. Prosecutors Office, Hottenstein was at the Ocean Drive Bar, on Landis Av. later Saturday night, and was last seen leaving the OD around 2:15 Sunday morning.

Although her body had been in the water at some point, an autopsy has failed to determine how Hottenstein died — furthermore, sources tell NBC 40 that the cause of death is not drowning.

Authorities are still waiting for the results of toxicology tests.

On Thursday and again Friday morning, Middle Twp. and State Police divers searched the bay near where Hottenstein was found.

Described as 5′4″ tall and weighing approximately 135 pounds, she was last seen wearing a pink plaid hat, pink scarf, a black long sleeved top and a black vest, along with dark jeans and tan Ugg boots.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Cape May Co. Prosecutors Office — Major Crime Unit, at: (609) 465-1135.

Boot haul helps stamp out crime

A £2,000 haul of designer boots was found by police during their clean up Cardiff operation.

The Ugg boots were recovered alongside stolen motorbikes and industrial tools, many of which have been traced back to burglaries in Cardiff and Penarth.

Police released the details after the latest leg of their Operation Clean Sweep in Llanrumney and Rumney.

The operation is moving through the city area by area.

Warrants were executed in Llanrumney and Trowbridge and five arrests made for offences ranging from handling stolen goods to burglary.

The Uggs, which may have been fake, have been handed over to the council’s trading standards department.