Anoraks

[firbeck 860]

Anoraks? Weren't they those jackets we used wear to go hiking in the Peak and Lake Districts, 'ey Bilbraborn.

Useless things, they were very tight fitting and you had to pull the damn things over your head, impossible to put on more than one jumper underneath. Once uncomfortably in place there was a cloth strap underneath to button underneath your crotch to hold the bloody thing down. Just in case it wasn't tight enough (no way!) there was a draw string round the waist (too high) and around the base which usually hung halfway up your backside. There was a long zip pocket across the chest clearly designed to take an OS map and two small waste pockets that weren't even big enough to take an economy bar of Kendal Mint Cake. As for weather protection, you had a hood, but the the thing was made of cotton which got soaked through if there was the slightest drop of rain, and almost impossible to take off, you needed assistance from friends to drag it over your head nearly causing decapitation in the process. Every time you went for a hike, you had to soak the thing several days previously in liquid waterproofer from the Army and Navy shop which wore off after a few hours, but then the jacket was so short the water ran off it and soaked your jeans anyway. If you got too hot, hard luck, you couldn't simply unzip the front and let the air circulate, so you got hotter, unless you fancied going through the difficult procedure of taking it off, only to get cold and have to struggle to put it back on again.

About 15 years ago modern designer versions of anoraks appeared, my teenage son bought one as he liked to think of himself as a fashion icon, he wore it twice and passed it on to me. I wore it once and got soaked, just like the good old days.

Why did we buy these things.

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

I remember them well Pete. It was usually our mum's who bought us the bloody things.

[firbeck 860]

Well I know you had one, I just can't lay my hands on a particular photo of you wearing it at the moment. Just to be going on with, I know you've seen it before, for those who aren't sure what the traditional keen types anorak looked like here's one being worn by John Smith, the lad sitting on the lock gate second from the right hand end. To make himself look particularly awesome, John clearly got his mum to sew a few badges on as well, if you happen to come across this site John, my apologies for embarrassing you. By the way this is a lock on the Erewash Canal near Ilkeston, taken by me circa 1966, note the embankment in the background complete with telegraph poles, that's the GNR Vic to Friargate line leading up to the trestle viaduct, that's still there but the embankments gone, just think, when I took this the iron ore trains were still pounding up there pulled by 8F's and Aussies.

I'm afraid the handsome chap attempting to dive in is Bilbraborn:-

Sorry, this hasn't got a lot to do with Weekday Cross has it, I don't know though, the iron ore train in the photo I published earlier must have gone across that embankment.

[Robbie 39]

Great photograph Firbeck, there is something special about B&W photographs.

I always wish I was a member of a gang when I was growing up but moving around a lot sort of curtailed any chance to bond like you obviously did. Great pic.

[firbeck 860]

Great photograph Firbeck, there is something special about B&W photographs.

I always wish I was a member of a gang when I was growing up but moving around a lot sort of curtailed any chance to bond like you obviously did. Great pic.

Robbie, just for the record if anyone knew them, and we were all at BGS at the time by the way, from left to right:-

Tim Allen, making his traditional crafty V sign for the camera. His sister Rosie, who also went to BGS, became famous as Rosie Barnes MP for Greenwich as one of the few SDP politicians in the House. Their mum and my mum were big pals, they used to meet up at the hairdressers near the Wheelhouse on a Friday and my mum would get all the latest Parliamentary gossip from her, I think that this was mainly discussing what Mrs Thatcher was wearing at Prime Ministers Question Time.

Every Sunday night when we were in the 6th form, a group of us met up in the lounge of the Admiral Rodney, me, Jacko, Tim, Jim Key, whoever. One Sunday night Tim wasn't there, it appeared he'd gone off to the Boat Club to see some unheard of band. He walked in about 10 o'clock,

"You're early, weren't they any good".

"Bloody rubbish, I walked out in the end".

"What were they called".

"Led Zeppelin, I think, we'll not be hearing of them again"

Dohhhh!

Next one Bilbraborn, enough said and not wearing his anorak for once.

Derrick Kent, he lived just off Melbury Road, Bilborough, he had an older sister who's name escapes me. I once let him borrow my bike to go to the Hucknall Airshow, somehow he managed to snap the main frame, I wasn't impressed. A retired Chartered Surveyor, he now lives in Dawlish.

John Smith, a quiet lad, I wonder if he's still got the collection of signal box track diagrams that he collected on our misadventures. He had a very nice scenic Hornby Dublo layout set up permanently in his spare bedroom, you could illuminate it at night, amazing. I don't know what happened to him, his dad was a miner at Cotgrave Colliery.

John Peck, the first person I sat next to in school, Firbeck Infants 1955. His dad was a plumber and was the first person I ever met who had a phone in the house as he was on call out for the council, the number was through the Wollaton telephone exchange Lime Tree 123 or something like that. He took a building diploma at Aston University and became a Health Inspector, last heard of living in the Mansfield area about ten years ago. At the time the photo was taken he was a Venture Scout, now, Bilbraborn and I were always really good with our map reading, but with Pecky about we had no chance of getting lost, didn't he come with you up the Pennine Way, Bilbraborn.

[firbeck 860]

Thanks for rearranging that mods!

[firbeck 860]

Bilbraborn is not going to thank me for this but there are two anoraks on show here:-

Bilbraborn in the foreground with his anorak that is clearly too small for him, he would have been in trouble if he'd tried to do up the crotch strap, I note a badge too, the previous picture of him in the series shows several badges on display, probably obtained from Youth Hostels and sewn on by his mum.

In the background we have John Peck again, his anorak seems to be a reasonable fit and looks fairly new and clean, but then he was a venture scout and didn't go rooting around in engine sheds like me and Bilbraborn did. The others are Pauline Barson, the reason for the grin on Bilbraborn's face, and Philip Heath. Right at the back is Mr 'Fruit' Robinson the Chemistry teacher. This picture was taken on the BGS Lake District trip, October 1966, judging by the one before it taken at Wasdale, I think it was during our trek up Scaffell Pike.

[firbeck 860]

While I'm doing this I'll put up the previous picture:-

Steve Wood and Bilbraborn at the top of Wasdale heading for Scaffell Pike. Steve had a far more sensible jacket to go hiking in, it was fairly long, had a zip front and was waterproof, dark green as I remember it. To the right is Styhead Tarn, I recall the bus dropped us off at Seathwaite and we approached the mountain from that direction.

Over 30 years on and we took a party of Finchingfield Scouts up there, the weather was unbearably hot and we took full camping gear with us, it was hard work climbing up Wasdale with full kit in that heat. We put up camp alongside the tarn, about 1000ft up and trekked up Scaffell Pike in the evening, getting to the summit at 7:00pm. I recall it was an incredible 70F on the summit, and the views were astonishing, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland all before us. It was something else sleeping out on the mountain as well, the moon on the summit of Scaffell Pike at midnight in that still, silent place was unforgettable. We came down to earth the next morning when we discovered that a fox had knicked all our bacon and sausages so we had only bread instead, great to have a shower under a waterfall though, that really woke you up.

No I didn't wear an anorak that day, I had all my Fleet Air Arm carrier deck waterproofs with me, now they really keep you dry.

[katyjay 5,091]

Weirdly, this thread has only just appeared on my screen and it is 3 days old! Still need to read it all but the first sentence described an anorak. The description sounds like a kagoul, the pics further down looks like one too. I always thought an anorak was the padded criss-cross stitched hooded jackets you bought from the market stalls run by a Pakistani? They were usually a dark colour with an orange lining.

[Robbie 39]

Firbeck,

You have some great memories and a fine talent for making them so interesting to read. I find like the majority of your postings absolutely enthralling. Just like your photo's Great.

[TBI 2,351]

No katyjay, anorak is someone who has an obsession about a particular subject or interest. Geek, nerd etc. I'm not an anorak by the way, although I do wear one sometimes if the weather is inclement.

[Cliff Ton 10,523]

Weirdly, this thread has only just appeared on my screen and it is 3 days old!

Explanation - it originally started life as part of the "Weekday Cross" thread, but firbeck suggested it be separated into a thread of its own.

[Robbie 39]

Mystery solved. What would we do without you mods?........and I'm not being facetious

[benjamin1945 16,278]

Firbeck requested a 'split'...................do try and keep up......Katyjay and Rob.

[Cliff Ton 10,523]

And when I was typing my reply there, the auto-correct-spelling thing decided that the person in question should be called Firebrick.

Maybe that's what we should call him from now on.

[benjamin1945 16,278]

Nearly right 'cliff ton'.........................sorry Firbrick..........only joking

[NewBasfordlad 3,599]

#9 Katy the kaggi/cagoule was usually a very light weight waterproof/windproof roll up that could be easily slipped over a much warmer garment such as a duvet jacket. French in origin I believe.

[firbeck 860]

Firebrick, hmm, I quite like that, it makes me sound real 'ard.

Katy, they were definitely referred to as anoraks back in the 60's, cagoules appeared later, I had several, you could roll em up and stick em in your pocket or rucksack, they didn't keep you warm, just dry. As the 60's were the heyday of trainspotting and we all wore anoraks (you could put your combi safely in that zip up pocket), that's where the term for keen type came from.

Don't forget there were'nt any Pakistani market stores in the 60's the Army and Navy shop was just about the only outlet for anoraks in those days.

Don't forget another type of outdoor jacket then was the 'windcheater'. These had a zip up front and a rubbery type of finish, definitely waterproof. My brother had one, when I got a bit bigger I inherited it, always a bit big for me though, I tended to stick with the dreaded anorak.

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

Yes Pete, Pecky definitely did the Pennine Way with us. Along with Dave Walton, Tim Allen, Pete Beeching, Andy Nettleton, Brian Shaw, Phil Heath and someone else whose name I forget. We were referred to as 'The Nottingham Nine'.

I love the canal photo. Sadly I've never changed, always acting the fool.

John Smith lived near the TSB bank on Bracebridge Drive. He sat next to me at Glenbrook Infants and I used to go to his house after school. Yes on my own at the age of five!

Back to Anoraks. My brother had one of the first generation Anoraks and it was a light brown colour. I think they had become grey by the time our lot had them.

Happy Days.

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

By the way, Derrick's elder sister was called Penelope or Penny for short. At 18 (or even younger) had a taste for the booze. Not surprising being as her mum was from Glasgow.

Penny was a lovely lass anyway.

[firbeck 860]

Mate, I was sure that the other person who went up the Pennine Way with you was Derrick Kent, I thought his dad drove up to Kirk Yetholm to rescue some of you when you ran out of money. One of life's great regrets is that I didn't come on that trip with you lot, I believe that the group were one of the first to complete the whole trip as soon as the route was fully open in 1967. I know I had it in my mind at the time that I wanted a 'proper' summer holiday by the seaside so I went off youth hosteling round the South Coast and Isle of White with Steve Wood instead, we had a great time, not an anorak taken, needed or in sight, but with hindsight, I wish I'd done the trek. I have a photo of most of the group assembling outside our house prior to leaving, they'd probably gone round to collect Nettleton from next door but one and found he was still in bed, bless him.

Yes I recall Penny Kent now, she was about 3 years ahead of us at BGS, always lurking around the kitchen with a glass of something when she was home from Uni. Her best mate, also from BGS and whose name I won't mention was a right one, she was one of Mr Kirton's selected girlfriends who used to disappear up the Broad Oak and beyond with him at lunchtimes. I recall bumping into her and Penny at the Playhouse Bar one Saturday evening when I was much older, they were both slaughtered, could hardly stand and Miss X got over friendly with me which I didn't take to kindly to as I was trying to have a drink with H Rider Haggards glamorous grandaughter who nearly smacked her one. Miss X ended up lying on the floor anyway, so we left. She had a brother called Chris?? Tim?? his party trick was to take out his false teeth and put them on his nose. I recall meeting him winding down from a bad 'acid' trip claiming he'd been attacked by 'purple spheres', "They were everywhere man".

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

Course it was Pete. And here's me on about his sister. We all loved Penny. If Miss X is who I think you mean, I had a short romantic interlude with her. A bit too hot to handle. Last I heard she was a WPC. It's a wonder old Kirton hasn't had problems. He was brilliant, but boy did he love the women. I don't think he ever found out we were making fake half crowns for the fag machine at the top of Aspley Lane.

[mercurydancer 1,104]

When I was doing a course in the army prior to Sandhurst, we knew that we were going on some long hikes in the Lakes, so being smart, we went to London and bought all the latest kit, packable waterproofs, pocket ponchos, windproofs, the lot. It didnt matter what we bought, the directing staff just threw at us some literally mouldy anoraks and for heavens sake, corduroy breeches, and would not let us wear any of our shiny new kit. I still recall the horror of putting on soaking wet breeks on a very cold November day and sitting in the back of an army truck before they threw us out and we had to complete the route march.

[banjo48 928]

Remember pestering mums eye's out for an anorak in the early 60's, I used to cycle daily to school and also had two paper rounds, so convinced her one would be perfect for me instead of my usual yellow oilskin cape and souwester hat.

First rain proved me wrong ! as said cotton was not particularly good at being waterproof but boy I felt good in my new blue anorak, bought from bottom of exchange walk, army & navy stores I think.

I've always loved outdoor gear and whenever I come back to the uk, I always end up buying a new super duper rain coat - jacket, bit silly really as I rarely ever wear them again here in oz but my collection is growing.

I've still got my old Telecom Gortex one in bright orange, and here's the sad bit, a Gortex camo one ex army bought from Anchor sales, superb bit of quality gear for the price but I stand out like a retired army colonel in it, and my missus hates it, wont be seen within a mile of me in my ex army kit !

Oh and I have a nice naval officers Gortex too that my lad purloined when he was in the navy, now I've come clean with my obsession I realise how sad I've become :-)).

Just thought on my last trip last year I bought two ! a nice gortex 3/4 lenght light weight one (mind it did come handy there in the wind and rain) and a Steve McQueen style Barbour motor cycle jacket in oiled cotton, not much good for rain but sure feels and looks good when I'm on my motor bike, being black though it gets a bit warm on our warmer days.

[mercurydancer 1,104]

I have three jackets. All of them cost a King's ransom but they last for years and years.

1. Barbour Northumbria. Practically bulletproof. Now into its 7th year and is starting to look a bit classy with that worn look. I wear it over my business suit when off to London or Manchester and it still looks smart, but can cope with awful weather. I've slept in it, used it as a tent, its been all over the world and still it looks good.

2. Mountain Equipment Annapurna jacket. I need this for my trips to Russia in the depths of winter. Comfortable to minus 20 and below. Its my second annapurna, the last one lasted more than a decade. Tough and reliable. Again it has seen some rough times. Its my bed in various airports and trains, been a sleeping bag on some cold nights in the Lakes, and more.

3. A thin Berghaus goretex waterproof for those rare days when it is too warm for the Barbour, and I need something totally waterproof.