Andrea was still trying to finish the planting of her new pond. The bull rushes had taken well but now she needed oxygenating plants to keep the water clean and fresh. There were plenty such plants in the other ponds around the farm, but they needed pulling-out and transplanting.

It was just the opportunity that Andrea had been waiting for, because she had a new pair of shiny green Klobba waders, the kind with the under-knee fastening inside the boot and also with side straps to tighten the tops around your thighs.

Surely, those aren't going to be tall enough for the water in the dam, I asked her. And with a knowing smile she readily agreed that they weren't and that she was going to get very wet. But then she reminded me of what she'd always said: "waders are for getting wet in." Wearing a blue one-piece Faithful DriTex waterproof suit, she pushed her feet into the waders, fastened them below her knees and eased them up her thighs. They really were very shiny, and she really liked them.

There was lots of muddy silt in the dam; it hadn't rained properly in the North of England for over 8 weeks, and it takes a good flow of water to keep the silt moving and hence the dam clear. Stepping into the water, the mud sucked at her feet and she had to kneel to start pulling out the plants she wanted. For the first few minutes she stayed dry, but of course she kept pushing the limits until the tops of her waders disappeared below the surface of the muddy water and she was soon wading buttock deep. Her waders filled to the brims, and she felt the water slowly rising up inside her waterproof suit: firstly her feet got wet and then her ankles, her calves, knees, thighs and then higher To make things even more interesting, she bent down to grasp the roots of plants in the deep water, letting it trickle into her gauntlets and run down inside the front of her suit from the opening at the neck. She was getting very wet indeed, and it was just as she'd intended.

She dragged her 4 buckets full of plants to the new pond and commenced the planting process. It was hot and tiring work! After a few minutes she unzipped the front of her waterproof suit down to her waist and let the cool pond water swirl around inside. Climbing out of the pond she removed her waders and waterproofs to reveal a pair of PS of Sweden faux-leather jodhpurs which clung to her body like a second skin. She thrust her wet-socked feet into her Hunter Balmoral leather-lined boots, pulled-on a Eqcouture riding jacket and made her way to the house carrying her soaked waders and waterproofs in the now-empty buckets. It was a job well done, she felt very satisfied, and she loved her new waders.