The Wellington boot is the most practical legacy of that very practical man, the Duke of Wellington. He was a man who got things done, whether it was beating the French or coming up with plain-speaking advice he was the originator of publish and be damned . Queen Victoria relied on him heavily. When pigeons swamped the newly built Crystal Palace, the Queen asked him what to do. His answer was succinct and to the point: Sparrow-hawks, Ma am. He was right. He had no time for fools.
The trouble is that fools now wear his boots. You can spot them a mile off in their brand new, shiny wellies. Shiny boots are worn by officials from Defra or politicians making a rare visit from urban Britain. To locals, new wellies are as welcome as a fox in a chicken run. They re the biggest fashion faux pas you can make in the countryside. However, I m now in that position. I am the owner of a new pair of wellies, albeit the new Hunter Balmorals. They re wonderful, but boots need ageing and quickly or ridicule will follow. It s only 12 weeks until the shooting season starts again. What would the Iron Duke do? All advice welcome.
