Out with the Old

Garden shoes/boots are a key piece of gardening kit.  Above all else when I talk of constant companions in the garden, the shoes I am wearing are pretty much a constant.  For many years I have had these trusty gardening shoes.  These are not proper gardening shoes, bought with that purpose in mind.  They were originally just a pair of shoes I wore fairly often but I gradually fell out of love with them.  I am not sure why they began to displease but once I had the thought in mind that I did not like them then I felt they needed a new purpose in mind.  They were promoted to be my gardening shoes and whilst I am not sure how long they have held that honour, it is a good seven or eight years I reckon.
In truth it is clear they have seen better days.  The side seam has gone on both shoes, they were once suede but you cannot tell that any more and they also show paint spots from the shed painting earlier this year.  They gave up being waterproof a while ago and that has been their downfall.  I can stand most things but cold wet feet is not a happy thing.
I have been looking at replacements for some time but somehow could not settle on what I wanted to get.  Then the other day a gardening friend came to visit and as she took her boots off to come into the house I remarked how nice I thought her boots were.  There was a brief  discussion and moment of admiration and the name of a website changed hands.
Even then it took me a week or so still to get around to ordering the new boots, but one soggy footed day in the garden too many and the die was cast - there had to be new boots.
Colour choice was easy, if red is in the choice of colours then red it will be.  A click later and the boots were finally ordered and delivered in time for the next weekend of gardening.
They are waterproof (hurrah) and dry (hurrah)
They can be artfully arranged, (that's as artful as I can get)
and they fit.  Even though it has been far too wet to garden this weekend, the ground is totally saturated, a good wander around the garden in the new boots led them to be declared a success,
I now need some decent gardening trousers!
There was even a small, but distinct, happy boot dance.
There should also be a song, this did take some thought as really I knew only Nancy Sinatra would do - this is one of my all time favorite songs and videos, but
....I felt that another contender had to be included as I kept thinking of one my favorite albums from back in the day - what else could it be but 'New Boots and Panties' (1977 Ian Dury) and probably my favorite track off the album and one of the first singles I ever bought for myself which is:
and my old boots - well, they are now in the bin, discarded, unloved and just a fading memory.  Totally replaced by the new red boots.  They do not rate the veneration of Gertrude Jekyll's boots, they are not worthy of the Leaping Beryllians to jump in honor of.  No they are just now sad cast-offs, destined for the rubbish tip.  I almost feel a twinge of sorrow for them but then the red new boots wink at me again and the old ones are promptly forgotten.  Such is life.