I agree, Alan, a well-polished pair of shoes is an absolute must.
It reminds me of my CCF days, when we were given a brand new pair of boots, with 'bobbles' all over them. The wheeze was to smother them with polish, take an electric iron, and literally rub down every 'bobble' to flatten them.
The next stage was the spit and polish sessions, which could take weeks!
When they were in tip-top condition, with toecaps blindingly brilliant, the first thing that happened, was that we went away to CCF camp, and had to scramble over drystone walls, scrape them across stony ground, get them totally soaked in a stream, then start all over again...