Muddy boot diplomacy

The back doorstep marks the border between garden and kitchen, and it is here where the greatest hazard awaits the weary gardener. Forgetting to remove one’s muddy boots when entering the kitchen is an unfailing recipe for stirring the cook’s wrath!

Yet the transport of produce, calls to meals, ringing telephones and filling out rainfall records may all inadvertently trigger this particular diplomatic crisis between cook and gardener.

This must be a universal sort of crisis, because the solution I found to defuse such forgetfulness was invented in America – ‘Sloggers!’ These slip-on garden clogs are even better than my old pull-on Blundstone boots, as they show none of the latter’s tendency to go hard and crotchety when left out in the weather. Thoroughly waterproof and good for most garden jobs even on wet days, they are also easily kicked off when entering the cook’s spotless domain.

I purchased my pair from a nice young lady down at the Norwood Garden Centre, where they even have a seat for old blokes like me to sit down and try them on.

Hanging them on a hook outside the back door prevents them filling up with water on rainy days, and makes them handy for the sort of quick exit needed when muddy knees brought on by seed-planting or weeding also spread havoc and chaos …