Gumboots are a very important part of a young civil engineer's education. One has to experience having one's gumboots fi lled occasionally with water, and then have to dry them out by stuffing with newspaper and then removing the soggy paper later.
Gumboots are also subject to sweaty feet, and two bags of silica gel tied together with a length of string and left hanging in the boots overnight ensures that they are dry in the morning.
As an exercise, every junior engineer should be required as a CPD to make a boot jack.
This is an essential piece of site office equipment to enable a gumboot to be removed easily.
If you visit a site and - as often happens - the only gumboots are too big for you, then again stuff them with newspaper to get the right fit.
Harry Osborn (M), 15 Cowal View, Gourock, Renfrewshire PA19 1EX
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