Manolo says, all of the recent talk of the stylish weatherproof boots reminds the Manolo that this year the Santy Claus brought the Manolo the brand new pair of the Blundstones, the Blunnies, the most famous Australian shoes you have never heard of. (Forget about the loathsome Uggs, these they are the real feetwear of the Antipodes!)

The Manolo, as you would imagine, receives many, many shoes as the gifts from the manufacturers, most of which, because he is particular about his feetwear, he tosses into the big box destined for the charity, to provide the shoes for the homeless street urchins and the out-of-work celebrity former hotties.

Occasionally, however, something will demand to be worn, and such was the case with the pair of the classic Blunnies, which the Manolo thinks handsome in the ruggedly traditional way.

Unfortunately, it is the same old problem for the Manolo, who suffers from having the excessively elegant feets, with the unusually high and graceful arches, so that even though the Blunnies they fit perfectly in the length and the width, they are painfully tight across the top of the Manolo’s foot. And so, even though they are something the Manolo would very much like to wear, it is into the box they must go.

Such are the trials of the Manolo.