Absolutely Fabulous - General Discussion

[David T. Cole]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs, guests, and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

Edited May 3, 2014 by stacey
Updating Topic Info

[Brn2bwild]

This was the first British TV series I genuinely liked, and IMO, the best of this show came with the first 12 episodes.  Then something happened and it just tilted too far in the direction of strained, over-the-top humor.  Saff lost her edge, and Bubble started to appear far too often.

[Bastet]

I love the first three series, especially the first two (something close to brilliance, really), and initially found subsequent episodes a real letdown.  I still think they're inferior to the original run, but I now generally enjoy them.

[Kaboom 2.0]

I still cannot get enough of AbFab, especially the first three series. Fab-u-lous. I pretty much say a quote from AbFab, the Simpsons or Futurama on a daily basis.

I kept forgetting to post this over at TWoP, I don't think anyone did, but Kate O'Mara, who portrayed Patsy's fabulous on an international scale sister Jacks, passed away a couple of weeks ago. I'm really bad at linking so hope this works, http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26809417 

[Bastet]

"She is there, behind the rich and powerful, beside the rich and powerful ... under the rich and powerful."

I hadn't heard of her passing.  I never watched Dynasty, so she'll always be "Jacks" to me.  I absolutely love her in the New Year's Eve episode (and obviously stole her line "too late to flush her now" in titling Saffy's thread).

This link to that BBC article should work.

Edited April 15, 2014 by Bastet

[Kaboom 2.0]

Thank you, bastet! :-)

[sugarbaker design]

I absolutely love her in the New Year's Eve episode

My favorite episode.  If I could be for only an hour...

[midge]

I utterly adored this show, especially the first 3 seasons (although later seasons had their moments.   the most recent seasons not so much.) 

 

I think my favorite episode is the orgy episode though.   "What are we looking for?"  "Oh, who knows.  We're just caught up in the drama!"  Or myabe the France episode.  Or the one where they're stuck in the living room after the fire.  Or the one where Saffy gets hit on by the married professor and Eddie clocks him.   

 

Sigh.   So many awesome moments. 

[Bastet]

I can't choose a favorite, but France is certainly a contender.  To this day, when a friend and I go wine tasting, we do the "This one we didn't like, the empty one" routine.  (This same friend and I, when younger, were also known to open our mouths and let wine rain down while cackling like Eddy.)  I love everything that happens at the "chateau," everything that happens among Saffy, Gran and Bubble back home, and really love when they get to Customs - Patsy's realization she actually enjoyed playing ping pong and her outrage at having paid good money for what turned out to be talcum powder.

 

"Shit!  Someone has taken the steering wheel!"

[TiffanyNichelle]

I love the France episode! Bubbles knowing how to speak French, Patsy and the ping-pong game, them being in the wrong house the whole time, it was great. I also loved the trip to Morocco where we find out that Patsy for a man for a while but then it fell off, lol. Whenever I'm leaving for a trip I always want to rush around the house shouting "money, tickets, passport!" I also love the episode where they all get locked in the living room and revisit their births and Saffy slaps Patsy. The noise she makes is just hilarious.

 

Eddy punching Saffy's professor was a great rare motherly moment for her.

[Kaboom 2.0]

TiffanyNichelle, to this day I STILL shout "money tickets passport!" as I dart around the room in a faux-tizzy whenever the boyfriend and I are getting ready to drive to the airport. And I've never traveled outside of the U.S. :-)

[stcroix]

Jennifer Saunders announced an Ab Fab movie is coming out in 2015!!!  I don't know how to link but this is the  website: http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Jennifer-Saunders-confirms-Ab-Fab-film-2015/story-21140191-detail/story.html

 

She was at the Welsh Hay Festival where she said:

"ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS comedienne Jennifer Saunders has revealed at a Welsh festival the film adaption of the cult comedy will be released next year.

Show creator Jennifer, aged 55, who played Edina Monsoon alongside co-star Joanna Lumley, said she was in the process of writing the movie at the Hay Festival.

Glee star Chris Colfer, 23, is expected to be among the stars in the movie.

Jennifer, who was speaking about her book Bonkers: My Life in Laughs, at the Hay Festival, said: “I am writing the film as we speak – it’s in the pipeline."

Read more: http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Jennifer-Saunders-confirms-Ab-Fab-film-2015/story-21140191-detail/story.html#ixzz33eEKgRZ1

Read more at http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Jennifer-Saunders-confirms-Ab-Fab-film-2015/story-21140191-detail/story.html#WUGFreeBTqoVERwk.99

[AnnieBeez]

I'm torn with the movie news. I love the early AbFabs but was pretty disappointed in the latest ones. I cannot stand Chris Colfer--blech, I hope it's a tiny part or not at all.

[Bastet]

The movie has been "in the pipeline" pretty much ever since series three went off the air, though; by the time it actually gets made - if it does - Chris Colfer will have probably fallen off the face of the earth.

[iMonrey]

Yeah, who knows if it will ever get made. In fact I think they should have probably ended the series sooner than they did; the novelty wore off after the first few seasons/series. They had done about all they could with the characters by the time they did "The End" at the end of series 3, although "The Last Shout" special was pretty good. After that, they kind of ran out of ideas. There were some good episodes here and there (especially the one where Saffy wrote a play about her life in series 4) but most of series 5 was sub par. 

 

In fact while I was writing this I looked up the list of episodes for reference and discovered there have been several specials since the end of series 5 I have never seen. I'll have to search for them on Hulu I guess.

[atomationage]

I always enjoyed seeing Pasty and Eddie, with Saffron as their foil.  I did like it when Eddie got tough and hit people, like the teacher that was bothering Saffy, and Bubble when she emailed the entire contents of her files to everyone, including Claudia Bing.  Bubble was my least favorite character in the show.   I mostly liked the newer series and specials, even some of the stunt casting.  The episode where Saffy wrote the play was one of my favorites. Also, the episode that the quote in the title come from, The PR persons award dinner in Jealousy, where Eddie wears that "Vivienne Westwood" corset thing.

Edited June 14, 2014 by atomationage

[Bastet]

I've rewatched most of the original three seasons recently, and reminded myself how much of my vocabulary comes from AbFab.  I must take care to do this only among the right crowd, but I like to say, "If you won't let me [do X], I'll adopt a Romanian baby."

 

A lot of television has come and gone since this aired, but the "25 years later" version of Eddy and Patsy that closed out what was originally the series finale remains one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

[turbogirlnyc]

Gosh, I've loved this show since I was in high school. I watched and taped marathons on Comedy Central because I was in love! Never mind that my friends thought I was crazy. The first 3 seasons were hilarious. I didn't care that the main characters were spoiled, immature, vain, etc. That was part of the fun. Anyway, because of this show, I never had any trouble understanding any British accent. After Magda, Edwina, Saf, Patsy, Bubble, etc., I was set!

 

*Edited because the channel was Comedy Central, not The Comedy Channel.

Edited October 27, 2014 by turbogirlnyc

[Bastet]

I've always had a knack for deciphering accents that stump many others (I "translate" Scottish a fair bit), and I had a British boss at the time this series first aired in the US, so I didn't give 98% of what was said a second thought.  But Magda could be a challenge!

[Lorna Mae]

I have a question about Christopher Ryan's character; you know, the one of Edina's ex-husbands who is not Saffy's father. How is it that he's basically an invalid and has to have Mo Gaffney smash up his crisps for him? 

[Lady Cassandra]

I don't think he was an invalid.  I think she was just overly "motherly" towards him.

[joelene]

POP SPECS. *dives onto conveyor belt*

(I watched Morocco the other day.)

[Bastet]

(I watched Morocco the other day.)

 

"Let her go to Morocco -- we're going to Marrakesh."

...

"Alright, but as your mother, I cannot be held responsible for your well being."

 

"It's legal here, so you can't disapprove.  In fact, it's compulsory, darling."

 

"If you could try to look a little less like a Christian missionary, we'd all be a lot safer."

 

"That man pinched me!"

"Don't worry, he's obviously very old and completely blind."

 

And my favorite ...

 

My mom is always nice enough to pick me up and take me to the airport, but she also always insists on asking me if I have everything even though I've doing my own packing for decades.  Thanks to this show, it doesn't annoy me, because I get to say yes and then run about shouting, "Tickets, money, passport!"

[joelene]

"She's being humped by some laundry."

The episode's also got one of my favorite scenes with Bubble, trying to explain what happened to "the mouse that's got a telly with VD."

"It fell off the table when I took the mouse home."

"You broke the computer?"

"Yeah!"

"When?"

"Who can say."

And speaking of Christian missionary...

"You may dress like a Christian but the similarity ends there. I think you do it on purpose. How long does it take you to get the crease so crisp down the front of your jeans, you torturer?"

Edited February 10, 2015 by joelene

[AndySmith]

Patsy: The last mosquito that bit me had to check in to the Betty Ford clinic.

 

Edina: I mean what you two don't seem to realize is that inside of me, inside of me, there is a thin person just screaming to get out.
Gran: Just the one, dear?

 

Gran: Talking to yourself dear? That's the first sign of madness, you know.

Edina: Really? I thought it was talking to you.

 

Edina: This is my daughter, Saffy.
Jackie: Never mind, too late to flush her now.
Justin: I'm Saffy's father.
Jackie: How sweet of you to admit to a thing like that.

 

Justin: Did you have the same father?
Jackie: No one knows. Mother was such a slut.
Patsy: It could have been any of the men in any of the bars in France. Y'know, she was always the entertainment.
Oliver: Before slot machines?
Edina: She was the slot machine!

Edited March 14, 2016 by AndySmith

[AndySmith]

I love this show. One of my favorite comedies ever. The first 3 series and the first 2 specials are all gold. Series 4 and 5, and specials 3 and 4 I liked, even if they aren't as good as the previous ones. Diminishing returns definitely begin to kick in. Basically, 90s Ab Fab = awesome, 2000s Ab Fab =  good too, just not as good.

 

I do need to check out the four 20th Anniversary episodes that came out in 2011 and 2012. Are they any good?

Edited March 14, 2016 by AndySmith

[Bastet]

Edina: I mean what you two don't seem to realize is that inside of me, inside of me, there is a thin person just screaming to get out.

Gran: Just the one, dear?

 

Similarly, I love:

 

Edina: Why [am I so fat]?!

Saffy: Because you eat too much, you drink too much, and you take no exercise.

Edina: It's far more likely to be an allergy to something.  A build-up of toxins or something, or hormone imbalance, isn't it, hmm?  And, also, you know, I've got a very heavy aura.  Did you know that? That's why animals love me, darling.

Saffy: They just see you as something to hibernate in.

[Avaleigh]

On 4/15/2014 at 9:20 AM, Bastet said:

I love the first three series, especially the first two (something close to brilliance, really), and initially found subsequent episodes a real letdown.  I still think they're inferior to the original run, but I now generally enjoy them.

I agree that the first three series were the strongest but I came to love the characters so much that I enjoyed series 4 and 5 and think that there were some pretty funny moments. The specials weren't that great though like that one where Whoopi appears. 

I've been wanting to give this series a rewatch at some point.

Post series three stuff that I enjoyed-- (At least I think these are all post series 3.)

Patsy bringing up the fact that she and Eddy took Saffy to the park and they're playing Adam Ant's Prince Charming. The swing hitting Patsy in the face. I thought that stuff was gold.

All of the Patsy Eddy scenes in Huntin' Fishin' and Shootin' especially the opening black and white newsreel. Or Eddy not recognizing the sound and Patsy telling her that it's the sound of 'silence'.

Patsy saying that she's 'not happy' in that Christmas episode. It brought me back to her saying "I'm not happy" in an episode from one of the earlier seasons where she slid a bunch of things onto the stairs to demonstrate her level of unhappiness.

I also thought Patsy was hilarious in the Paris episode in series four. First there's her passport photo (Eddy's is pretty funny too) then there's her "No, no, NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!' Smoking two cigs at once, gagging when she sees her outfit, her facial expressions that are driving the photographer batshit, trying to bond with Erin O'Connor and another model giving the line "I hardly know her". That episode was among my faves. 

As far as a favorite episode from one of the early seasons, I agree that France is a good one. 

Another episode that stands out to me is 'Poor'. 'Go for it, Eddy!' '*Patsy sees the boot on the car* Eddy, what's this?' 'Is this the car clamp club?' Patsy's dealer's name coming up again and again while the accountant is sorting through Eddy's finances. 

[turbogirlnyc]

Recently saw Ab Fab in a movie line up for 2016. It didn't mention Saunders or Lumley (sp?) as the 2 starring actors. How could that ever work? I should look into it further because that cannot be.

[Canada]

Okay, reading this topic has inspired me to crack open my Ab Fab DVDs and have a marathon.  Cheers, darling!!

[Canada]

Looks like the movie is happening: IMDB

[voiceover]

"It's like I hit an oil patch at 37 and now I'm just skidding towards the grave, darling..."

 

-- from the "40" episode, which I used to give to all my friends when they turned that age.

[Avaleigh]

On 5/9/2016 at 6:11 PM, Canada said:

Okay, reading this topic has inspired me to crack open my Ab Fab DVDs and have a marathon.  Cheers, darling!!

I'm hoping that I'll have time for my own marathon at some point this summer. Going down memory lane with this show is great. It's surprising how funny, memorable and quotable this show is. I hadn't thought about it in years and then reading these posts brought all of those episodes back.

I can't say that I have high hopes for the movie exactly but I am looking forward to seeing Patsy and Eddy again. I hope we get the usual cameos in addition to some new ones. I'd be curious what Jennifer could come up with if they had Victoria Beckham do a cameo. Patsy and Eddy running into someone like Cara Delevigne would be pretty funny too. 

As for one time actors/characters that I'd like to see return, Miranda Richardson, Naomi Campbell, and Twiggy would all be welcome. 

[Avaleigh]

With Patsy, there are a bunch of lines that run through my head when I think of her character.

'Moiselle...Madamoiselle!'

*Describing Saffy*: '[she's] a stale old piece of toast.' '

*Patsy has a horrific daydream about the rest of her existence* 'Yeah, I'll be all right.'

*To Eddy*'But, what am I supposed to do if you die?' It's just sex, Eddy.' 'Don't ever make me a cup of tea.' 'I'm not happy.'

'My name is Patsy Stone and I'm an alcoholic. What she did was an act of humanitarian mercy.'

Eddy: You're not crying are you?

Patsy: No sweetie, there's just this little wound under my eye that won't heal. The wound on this side won't heal either. Eddy!'

[azshadowwalker]

So, the movie is a theatrical release? While I loved the early episodes, I don't see myself spending movie theater money to see this. I guess I will check it out when it hits OnDemand or the streaming services. 

[craziness]

It is to be released on July 22.  I can't wait! 

[Canada]

It pains me to say this, but I just saw a trailer for the new movie and it looks awful!  I don't know if it's a part of the storyline, but Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders look really haggard and like they've both had a lot of work done.... and not done very well.  And the story seemed stupid.  I feel like this might be a big fail!

[AndySmith]

It seems to be doing well in the UK box office. 

[nyxy]

Thans- good to know it's doing well in the UK.

But I'm apprehensive too. I believe Jennifer Saunders said she'd been working on the script for well over a decade- maybe 15 years.All that build up and waiting...I will feel bad for her if it misfires.

The IMDB ratings were in the upper 5s. Not mindblowing but not a disaster.

And for myself and other AB fans. But I will watch it regardless- many times over most probably. I won't get to see it till nearly 3 weeks after its release. Hope it sticks around in my tiny town.

Maybe it is time for me to do a serious rewatch of the episodes in order. I used to remember whole dialogues from it, but that's gone, so I'm sure I'll get as much sheer joy from it as I did on the first few viewings.

[atomationage]

It looks very low energy, but I did laugh at Bubble's "your death threats m'lady".  They seem to be doing some bits from the series:

There are about ten other AbFab videos on the same YT channel.

Edited July 14, 2016 by atomationage

[Willowsmom]

As much as I loved this  it just feels like  it should have been left in the 90's.

For me its just not funny that these women never learn.

[One Tough Cookie]

From Iso Tank: 

I want complete and total sensory deprivation.With back-up. {to her doctor when she has a splinter in her toe}

Saffy to the dr: She's much happier that way, believe me.

 

This is a really bad thread for me, I could probably recite the first two seasons by rote.  And my son is perpetually pissed off because his nickname has become Sweetie Darling. I'm the only one who can call him that without a death stare.

I just KNOW  I'll spend the rest of tonight updating this post.

[Brn2bwild]

Saw the movie, and I liked it better than I thought it would.  To me, Eddie's relationship with Saffy was as much of a cornerstone of the series as her relationship with Patsy, and there was more devoted to it in the movie than I expected.  I especially liked

Spoiler

when Kurt from Glee came over to Saffy at the club and said "What did that woman do to you?", and also when Saffy thought she was having a touching conversation with her daughter, only to find an afro wig.

But it left me wondering: why does Saffy still live with Eddie?  It made sense in 1992-1994, when she was a teenager, but now she's in her early 40s.  And really

Spoiler

wouldn't Saffy know exactly who was paying for Eddie's house by now?  She seems responsible enough to take charge of that sort of thing.

Also, could someone else who saw the movie confirm for me

Spoiler

whether Saff was the only character in the movie to say "Fuck," thus earning the movie its R rating?

Edited August 6, 2016 by Brn2bwild
I keep remembering things to add.

[One Tough Cookie]

I can always adopt a Romanian baby!

{Patsy, looking at a photo of herself} "I think the photographer caught something here"  Saffy "Syphilis?"

[AndySmith]

Quote

From Iso Tank: 

I want complete and total sensory deprivation.With back-up. {to her doctor when she has a splinter in her toe}

Saffy to the dr: She's much happier that way, believe me.

Wasn't that from Hospital?

[sleepyjean]

Edina "It's La Croix, Sweetie. La Croix!"

[One Tough Cookie]

On ‎9‎/‎30‎/‎2016 at 2:56 AM, AndySmith said:

Wasn't that from Hospital?

Yes indeed.  My bad.

[Bastet]

I've had the first three seasons on DVD for eons, and have watched them enough to know them quite well, but seasons four and five I barely remember and there are things after that I never even saw.  So a while back I bought the "Absolutely All of It" boxed set and the movie, and have recently started making my way through it all.

I finished season four last night, which was a lot funnier than I remembered, but I did not like "Paris," so it was interesting to hear in the audio commentary by Jennifer Saunders and Jon Plowman that Saunders doesn't like it, either; she thinks it's the worst episode.  There are funny moments, but with Patsy and Eddy separated for most of the episode, it just never comes together. 

But "Small Opening," with Saffy's autobiographical play, is hilarious.  I love Patsy heckling from the audience, and Saffy's horror that the audience and actors are all so entertained by her horrible life.  Plus the male actor playing Patsy apologizing to her for not getting the tits right. 

(Bit of trivia via the commentary: They shot the "tits out" scene atop the Eiffel Tower early on, and the characters didn't have all those shopping bags with them.  So when shooting the scene at the base of the tower, where Eddy persuades Saffy to go through with it, Saunders ad-libbed the line about stowing their bags with security.  Oh, another: Saunders is afraid of heights, yet kept writing Edina into such scenes - being in the helicopter when Eddy comes to retrieve Patsy in NY scared the hell out of her, and then the way the shot was framed you couldn't even see the scale of her and the building at the same time, so she could have got away with faking it.)

The boxed set has "The Last Shout" on a disc with the NY special ("Gay") and placed that disc after season four's, which I didn't notice, so when Saffy referenced her wedding dress in "Paris", I suddenly thought, Oh, wait, yeah, there was a special in there somewhere!  I was too lazy to get out of bed and investigate the discs at that point and just carried on, so I'll watch those two specials and then get back on track.

Edited October 29, 2019 by Bastet

[Bastet]

I've watched everything but the movie, which I'll watch after I finish the special features in the boxed set, and I was surprised by how little of season five I remembered.  When Saffy came home a little puffy, I remembered, "Oh yeah, she's pregnant," but I'd forgotten about the nine other wives. 

Season five is a bit uneven, but I still busted a gut laughing at times; Huntin' Shootin' & Fishin' really had me going, and Birthin' was quite funny, too (Patsy realizing she gave Bo and Marshall the placenta, not the baby, to sell!).  Schmoozin' - in which Eddy is briefly engaged to Pete, until he finds out she and Patsy accidentally recorded over the lost Beatles recordings - was fairly boring, until they got to the part where Patsy showed one of her old porno flicks, Booberella, at the listening party -- Booberella is pitch perfect fantastic in its awfulness (and that Patsy thinks it was great cinema).

The 20th Anniversary specials were okay to good, but I thought Saunders did a nice job of tweaking just a few little things about the characters to acknowledge how much time had passed; Eddy and Patsy are simultaneously stuck in the past and obsessed with the newest trends, so the right balance when giving us these characters again after many years - and years in which the world changed a lot - is tricky.

Patsy being so old she's got a shit ton of money in unclaimed pension sitting in the government coffers is a hilarious payoff to all the jokes about her age - as is the fact they have to use the money to pay off Patsy's drug dealer so she'll stop treating former prison-mate Saffy as her wifey.  I love Patsy's "respect" street handshake when Saffy is released, as Patsy had heard she was top dog.

A bit of trivia I'm not at all surprised by, but had not heard said so specifically before: Virtually everything out of Bo's mouth was an ad lib by Mo Gaffney; Saunders would just write "Bo goes on about [subject]" in the scripts and Gaffney would take it from there.

Also, I knew Saunders was notorious for writing/changing scripts at the last minute, but I didn't know just how routine that was.  It makes me wonder how many versions of the movie script she went through, given how long that was in the pipeline before finally being made.

[Bastet]

The movie was okay.  It's a properly outlandish storyline, it takes the piss out of the fashion, PR, and media industries, it mocks ageism, it's centered around the utterly dysfunctional relationship between generations of mothers and daughters, it's packed with celebrity cameos, and it has Eddy and Patsy on a series of booze-fueled schemes and misadventures (complete with falling drunk out of a car). It's AbFab, as AbFab has always been.  It's just, like everything that came after the original three seasons, not as sharp.

It's filled with familiar lines (the return of "you little bitch troll from hell" is great), and familiar faces.  I wish we'd seen Titicaca/Sarah, but otherwise everyone was there -- Marshall & Bo, Magda and those other two women whose names I never learned, the nurse/beautician who mocks Eddy relentlessly, Claudia Bing, Lulu, Baby Spice, Stella McCartney ...

I didn't realize "Justin" (Christopher Malcolm) had died until he wasn't in the film - I looked it up, because I figured that had to be the reason.  And this was the last screen role for June Whitfield, although I think she was still working on radio up until her death. 

It plays more like a special episode that goes on too long than a proper film, but it's still a decent watch for a fan.

(It has been three years, so no spoiler tags, but I think many still haven't gotten around to watching it, so fair warning that I'm going to discuss specific plots from here on.)

It's very interesting that Edina finally admits to self awareness and tells Saffy what she's deserved to hear her whole life when she thinks these are her final moments (and that Patsy just sits there next to her, ready to go down to that watery grave with her) - and hilariously perfect that she goes right back to her old ways once she is exonerated.  Like she said, she just wants to keep the fun going.  She knows she's old and fat, and that it's pathetic to still carry on like a vapid teenager and squish herself into too-tight clothing instead of accepting the responsibilities that inevitably come with adulthood and dressing the body she has, but she'll indeed keep avoiding reality until there are only a few moments of it left.

And I love Lola (even Saffy doesn't bother trying to call her Jane anymore) going along with Eddy and Patsy.  Eddy rebelled against everything Mother was, Saffy rebelled against that by clinging to her Gran and that way of life, and now Lola rebels by throwing in with Eddy's shenanigans.  It's perfect, and also poignant when Saffy tells her to do what she wants, but don't do it to get at her -- she ruined her life devoting herself to not making her mother happy, and doesn't want Lola to do the same.

All the old women hanging out together in Cannes because the old men are all out on the patio trying to score a young gold digger is hilariously apt, as is Eddy fixing "Pat" up with the richest woman in the world once they realize Patsy is too old to pull off their original plan of marrying a rich old coot and waiting for him to die.

The news coverage of the whole Kate Moss story wonderfully skewers the press, specifically the BBC, which is fun.

My favorite thing is that Bubble has a villa on the French Riviera because she handles her own paychecks and has been overpaying herself for years. 

I also loved "Your death threats, m'lady" as Bubble delivered all the hate mail to Eddy, and Patsy reacting to the news Marshall intended to become a woman by saying, "You're small, you'll be able to get shoes."