FOOTWEAR FOCUS ROAD TEST
Henry Harington comes under fire in Kabul, but his trusty " H
Chatham Orwell Desert boots save the day - and elicit compliments from the PM! Secrecy is a function of vanity as far as politicians are concerned. As soon
i Henry, it's the Number 10 press office here. Your editor tells us that you're not gainfully employed for the next few days so we thought you might like to go on a little trip."
"Not gainfully employed" was my editor's way of describing my taking a
few days well-earned leave. His agreeing to grant one leave is like extracting teeth. But this time I had put my foot down so I could have a few days to attend my son's university graduation and my daughter's engagement party. But my newspaper editor, described as one of "Fleet Street's Finest," a misnomer if ever there was one, as newspapers are no longer published in Fleet Street and he is simply a bully who considers annual leave is for wimps and that family life an intrusion into one’s professional obligations. The voice on the phone continued, "RAF Northolt at oh-three hundred-
hours tomorrow. OK? Pack for four days, summer dress code and, oh yes Henry, pack your Kevin and your piss pot - we may be seeing some light lead showers and mum's the word eh! Tootle pip." The reference to Kevin, the piss pot and lead showers meant to bring my
Kevlar flak jacket and my tin helmet as it was likely to be hot, not just climatically, but militarily too. And I was to treat the trip as secret.
Flying with the Prime Minister on such a mission one is not granted the privilege of "checking in." The rule is simple: only hand luggage. So no simpering over which clothes to take or weighing yourself carrying your bag on the bathroom scales and then weighing yourself alone to see if you exceed the baggage allowance. It's the clothes you stand up in and a change of shirt, socks and knickers and your toothbrush - that's your lot. Fortunately the other editor I work for, a far more
sympathetic figure, at Footwear Today, had just sent me a pair of Chatham Desert boots to road test. Neither she nor I had thought for a moment that these may actually be
tested in a real desert, or in such distinguished company. These Desert boots had a distinct advantage over others I have tried. On the one hand they are classic desert boot, the type that foreign correspondents traditionally wear, or you wear at the weekend with a pair of jeans. But, on the other, Chatham boots have managed to "knock the edges" off that standard footwear and produce a smart shoe in the same boot! From the airport in Lashkar Gar we clattered by helicopter to Camp
Bastion trailing aluminium foil litter in the hope that the Taliban's surface-to-air missiles have a short attention span and would hit the litter and not the helicopter.
as we landed the PM was glad-handing the troops and looking interested as a technician explained in endless detail the complexities of some or other piece of military hardware. These were the photo opportunities the prime minister was hoping would appear on the front pages of tomorrow's papers with comments about, "our fine troops" and "keeping the terrorist at bay" etc.
My Chatham Desert boots were proving their worth. As you know when
you fly your feet swell but the desert boots were soft and pliable enough accommodate my feet's extra bulk. The great thing about being a journalist is that you simply never know
what you will be doing tomorrow. By the end of the third day, after a sphincter-contracting, Right-Guard requiring patrol with troops in a supposedly IED-proof vehicle in an area controlled by the Taliban, we were flown to Kabul and told we were attending a reception at the British Embassy that evening. Moss Bros. don't yet have a branch in the Afghan capital and I didn't fancy
my chances going in national dress that is allowed on such occasions! I didn't have the clothes but thankfully the press officer at the embassy was a former newspaper colleague and he lent me a tie and jacket. At the hotel I held my desert boots out of the window and banged them together - only afterwards did I think someone may have thought the noise a Taliban attack and "returned fire" cutting the reception guest list by one - me! My boot banging elicited clouds of desert dust from my desert boots accumulated from clambering over tanks, wandering around Afghan villages and hopping on and off helicopters in the previous three days. The boots looked as good as
new and I felt quite confident wearing them to the embassy that
evening for what was a formal occasion. That's where I think the Chatham Desert boots have the edge over the competition - looking cool with a pair of jeans but looking smart with a pair of trousers at work or even in a formal environment. I managed to collar the PM towards the end of the evening. He was of
course dressed "properly," but then he didn't have a baggage limit imposed on him. We had a few words about the trip and I bid him good night. As we parted he said, "Henry, like the shoes." The trouble with prime ministers is that one never knows when to take them seriously but I took it as a compliment as the shoes had earned it.
Details:
Orwell: The perfect Desert Boot for all seasons. Made in waxy leather and suedes, with a padded insock for comfort, and spot on style for the season. Features a sticky rubber sole unit for grip.
Colours: Red Brown, Dark Brown, Navy, Taupe and Black. Trade Price: £24.60 - RRP: £59.00
www.chatham.co.uk
14 • FOOTWEAR TODAY
• SEPTEMBER 2013
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