You can do anything with these suede shoes

When selecting footwear to take to the Glastonbury Festival, the Diary usually opts for a pair of wellies (for practicality) and a pair of sandals (for infiltrating groups of hippies).

But now one shoe brand aims to change all that. The company behind Hush Puppies has decided that the perfect material for keeping out the mud in a giant field full of people is… suede. To prove it, Hush Puppies is handing out complementary “Worry Free” suede shoes to workers at summer festivals. The shoes are specially treated to be “impenetrable to mud, red wine, lager, cider and beer”, though there is no mention of patchouli oil and bottled urine, both of which have caused the Diary problems in the past.

It all sounds marvellous, but the publicity shots are cause for concern. They show a basset hound, covered in mud, which is surely irrelevant, unless… what animal is suede made from, again?