But the walking boot shop never did call. Disconsolate, I continued to wear my beloved old boots until the uppers had almost entirely come off the soles, and they were basically held together by a mixture of mud and willpower.
Today, I found myself not wanting to take mud off the boots, lest the boot should disintegrate. And so I decided to google my old boots, and found that some enterprising Amazon supplier has found a hidden stockpile of their siblings, and is selling them off at a discount! I have therefore taken the Sesame Street gamble that two of these boots might not be like the others, and ordered some. Have toes crossed.