The day Strictly dies.

Love it if Una did it though, she's my favourite Saturday.

thanks peeve and zedders (no problem with the sarky, I don't blame you!) was very nice of you to say what you said, and yes it's good it's turned into a funny thread. I might start enquiring about waterproof boots in here, anything goes

What do you want to know? Aldi and Lidl often do some really good waterproof hiking boots when they do their snow weather clothing offers.

The thing is though that Brendan worked the system and put all Lisa's eggs in the basket she was good at namely the ballroom side whilst Erin tried to make both dances reasonable. Sadly the DO being done on the best dances not the worst - which is wrong as it's the worse one that evitably lands you in the DO - he didn't stand a chance and Lisa was a bit of a judges' pet that year.

Also it's ultimately not about what the judges want in the final it's about what the public want and most people wanted an Austin / Tom final. Austin wasn't good that week because he was dealing with teething todlers - he might have got better if the toddlers had stopped teething or it might all have gone a bit Scott Maslin - the fact is that we never got to find out because the system worked against Eriaustin and their fans. Although I suppose without it we won't have had the effed up glory that was Bacofoil so I suppose it wasn't all bad

If you really think so then watch that Jive again and tell me he wasn't good enough - and for that matter watch the previous weeks waltz and the tango. The worst you can see is that he ran out of steam during the competition but you can't say there weren't highlights along the way. This is what created the goodwill that fuels the outrage - or and BTW - just as a contrast watch Lisa's latin (especially her jive which was performed the week Austin was elimated) because the lion's share of it was bloody awful and even the bits that weren't were chronically overmarked - do not get me started on her final 'perfect' CCC.

God, it's awful, isn't it?

I find it ironic that Lisa was the ringeriest of ringers that year (Italia Conti alumna and she taught dance and yoga, ffs) but she was actually rather poor, particularly at Latin dances. Luckily, despite the judges giving her two perfect 40s for her final dances, the voting public basically went to the judges and she finished third.

I did, I watched his jive, paso, tango and waltz yesterday and although I absolutely loved him at the time and he was far better than anyone else in his year, they haven't aged well for me.

They we're brilliant at the time and I'll love him forever and that the roller coaster ride I went on with him, I want to hold on to those memories and not revisit. It's why I didn't watch him in the Christmas special he was in.

Sorry, just my opinion.

Cheek of me - I have a paddy over a few minutes then I take a day to respond Lesson learned there!!

I've posted this in another thread in advice but will post it in here too, in case you can help -

Re snow boots/waterproof boots - that's what I ordered but still they leaked, so I don't know if I'm just unlucky! Paid quite a bit for some Romika TopDryTEX boots a year of so ago, and they really hurt at the ankles so took ages to bed them in around the house, when they finally felt comfortable I found they weren't waterproof at all, but too late for me to do much about it now. So ordered a pair of snow boots and my feet were soaked after just one time of wearing, and only walking through wet grass (I think both pair are leaking through top of the foot). I'm a bit stumped. Looked at the wellies but but they're just too uncomfortable for walking distance (I have got quite sensitive feet). Just wondered if anyone had actually worn a pair of snow boots and they were tried and tested in proper wet conditions, not just ok for skimming across the snow or wet ground, but that the actuall tops (instep) were waterproof too.

edit - and in keeping with the original theme - yes healey was robbed!

Hubby walked home 2 hours in the snow last year in his Aldi one and his feet were bone dry.

If I was you, I'd contact Romika and tell them how unhappy you are with their product and they're not fit for the purpose for which you bought them and what are they going to do. Don't just leave it. Waterproof boots are meant to be that.

Good thing about Aldi and Lidl is they are German and Swedish, so they get a lot of snow, therefore they know what they're doing with snow equipment.

On topic - spent a lovely hour yesterday going through Austin's Strictly highlights on YouTube I hadn't done that since the year he was in. I'd completely forgotten his tango.

Everything happens for a reason, and Oz being engineered out was the Dancing Gods' way of ensuring Lisa is remembered for the Bacofoil dance rather than anything else and that Oz is still talked about passionately to this day. (Was it really 5 years ago?)

Had Oz progressed, he'd be just another runner-up and Lisa's last dance would have been just another final dance.

I fall more in love with Austin every time I watch him - great way to spend an hour!

Good news on the Romika front, I had the same idea as you after thinking about it and they responded almost immediately, are happy for me to send them the boots so they can see if it's a manufacturing problem and what they can do about it, so pretty chuffed about that. They cost around £90 though, so not to be sniffed at.

Thanks Alli-F

Sorry to cut your post, but serves you right for being off-topic. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 should be on the national curriculum with compulsory exams. Then everybody would know that goods must be:
[LIST][*]as described[*]of satisfactory quality; and[*]fit for purpose[/LIST]
Frankly, if boots are described as waterproof - and aren't - then they fail all three of these criteria. The law is hazy on how long you can hang on to goods before taking them back and complaining, but the key word here is 'reasonable'. Is it reasonable for you to wear them in before wearing them out (as it were)? I would say yes. Anyhoo, take them back to the shop where you bought them (your contract of sale is with the vendor, not the manufacturer) and demand your money back.

And, did you know, Austinwuzzrobbed?


You are so right. Very Zen. Poor Lisa - what a thing to have inscribed on your tombstone... 'We will always have Bacofoil'.

Anyone has the link to the bacofoil with subtitles? It was hilarious...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAZ0nOmfWwY

I'm fascinated by how much discussion there is of the Tom/Rachel/Lisa/Austen year at the moment. Is there a reason I don't know about or does this year remind people of that one?

And AUSTENWZZROBBED obviously.

I think that this year is just a bit dull.

With Lisa, Rachel, Tom and Austin, none of it was dull, it was 'edge of your seat' - with a good dash of outrage at Lisa's 'pet' status and gratuitous overmarking.

We were more 'partisan' perhaps.

I find Abbey rather irritating and think she's a bit overmarked, people are 'doing the ringy ringah' with Nat and having a go at Susannah a bit, but it's not the same.

I don't mind all the others this year, I admire Nat as a dancer, but I'm not really 'passionate' - I suspect that may be true for many.

Rachel, Tom, Austin and Lisa, had intense fans, the dancing was discussed at least as much as the characters, and it was all far more interesting and exciting.

Nostalgia then, I suppose. Certainly for me.

I bought them online and it was a while ago but as I explained up there somewhere ^^^ Romika have asked me to post them back so they can sort it out. I know about the Sale of Goods act, but having had them for a while...still I'll see what happens.

It's Mark and Iveta's fault they used the same music as Austin's jive and it provoked the OP to ask for footage except they thought it was a a jitterbug and a contravesy was re-born.

I was one of the original Austinwozrobbed mob and time has not changed my mind although it was made me dislike Lisa a lot less and Brendan having to endure Lulu he made me not hate him anymore.

Thank you!
It doesn't get old... The first few seconds looks like it is not going to be as bad as remembered, and then it gets even worst!

Austinwasrobbed! And I think he still thinks so too.

I loved his paso, jive and probably more if I could remember.

No way Lisa taught Dance and Yoga? This is news to me!

That series was fantastic, I have great memories of being seriously into it and loving the rivalries, personalities and competition. A brilliant year.