Lorraine has recommended to Wobke the purchase of a new raincoat …

Dear Lorraine,

I suppose you want to know my experiences wearing my new coat. I'm still a little bit reluctant to share this, as I explained earlier. But here goes. I like the summer, but I also like wind and rain, which is very much the case here in Holland. I can spend hours walking along the coast struggling against the wind. A friend of mine sometimes walks along, but she always wants to go back after fifteen minutes. I am still finding out if I am the only one who likes bicycling to my work in sometimes atrocious Dutch weather (windy, rainy and sometimes freezing cold), but I somehow enjoy it.

Do you also like that, and do you understand why? Lorraine, you don't have to, but am I asking too much if you would like to tell me some of your experiences?

On Saturday I took the opportunity to inaugurate a new mackintosh in typical Dutch weather: it was raining quite hard. I was expecting the material to feel cold, but I did not notice that until the cotton was saturated. I began to feel a little bit cold through my blouse, but I was dry inside even after spending an hour in the sometimes heavy rain. I looked soaking wet, however, as my neighbor remarked and when I saw myself in the mirror.

Kind regards,

Wobke

Dear Wobke

Thank you so much for your letter. I am thrilled to hear your new mackintosh is working - keeping the rain out, and working some magic too. (I hope I'm right about the magic - I'm reading a bit between the lines here.)

I'm surprised actually that you feel dry after an hour's outing. Rubberised cotton doesn't let the rain in, but it doesn't let perspiration out either, so often it does make one feel wet. Some of us think that is an exciting feature, though I don't know why it should be so. As you say, it is a bit awkward to speak about these things. But I do know this thing about the mackintosh making you hot and wet is really important to some people.

Lorraine

Dear Lorraine,

I am pleased you are very honest in sharing your feelings about mackintoshes with me, I really appreciate that. The magic of mackintosh for me is both emotional and practical. As I told before, I am absolutely fond of wind, rain and cold and to tuck away deep in my coat, feeling how it tries to protect me from the storm. Until now that was in vain and I felt sometimes so bitterly cold, the wind always blowing right through and under my coat. My Lady Windermere will protect me very much better. I experience both discomfort and excitement during my walks and bicycle rides. Last winter I even sometimes took detours to home, because I wanted to enjoy the wind, snow and the cold. Normally getting home takes me just over half an hour, but I arrived there after two hours, covered under a layer of snow, windbeaten and almost frozen.

I can spend hours walking along the coast in a heavy storm. During my outings it was quite cold and I was wearing a long skirt and warm blouse, so the wet feeling was not present, I was feeling merely a little bit cold. Actually I do not dislike the perfume of the mackintosh, but I am not yet used to it.

Kind regards,

Wobke

Dear Wobke

It's ages since you wrote - I'm so sorry. I very much enjoyed what you said. Thank you for sharing it with me.

August has come and gone now, and with us it was really quite wet enough! Lots of opportunities for sensible walks, but alas not taken by me. It has been a very busy month. From what you say, doing your kind of walks in the cold and storm without enough clothing would be life-threatening! Someone once recommended to me trying a mackintosh skirt and top underneath. Nice at the beginning of the walk, she said, and at the end still powerful, but you're invariably absolutely soaking and every movement is opposed by the closely clinging mackintosh fabric! Must stop! Sorry again for the long silence.

Best wishes

Lorraine

Dear Lorraine,

Thank you for your kind and understanding letter. I would not go out with just my coat on, and certainly not in the cold! I would also think people would stare at me.

I have enjoyed the summer, as it was very warm here, and I did not give much thought to rainwear etc. But last weekend I got excited to hear a heavy rainstorm raging around my house. I could not sleep, it was about 2 o' clock midnight. I always get a little bit excited from this kind of weather. I quickly clothed in my new Windermere and took my bicycle out. The wind was tugging at my coat and the rain completely drenched me. As I had forgotten to put on the belt, my coat flapped wildly about me and was sometimes tossed up high in the air, making a loud, whacking sound. I liked that sound, that is part of the magic you are talking about? The hood was torn off my head, the scarf was soaked, water seeping through it, so I put up my collar and tried to tuck away in it. The wind and rain were sometimes fierce, but I rode on because I was so excited.

After two hours I started to feel a bit cold, as the wind blew underneath the skirt of my coat and through the sleeves and buttons. My legs and feet were soaked. Finally at home I felt great, despite a completely drenched coat and feeling very cold! I went out again for a walk, seeking out the windiest place between two buildings, trying to make a stand against the wind and the rain. I stood there for almost half an hour. I think you would have liked it too.

I live in the outskirts of a reasonable city, but within ten minutes I am out in the open, so it is very quiet here. I am still afraid people would see me, a silly woman exposing herself to the elements and enjoying it.

On Monday I cycled to my work in the same kind of weather, and I was worried my skirt and blazer would get wet, but my Windermere protected me very good. At work the other girls admired my coat. I am very happy with it, I hope it will be warm enough when it really gets cold. In the afternoon the wind blew again very hard and it rained, and I made my detour again. I think that is what you call magic?

Regards,

Wobke

Dear Wobke

Thank you for your nice note. I do not think you are silly at all, and I think I would have enjoyed it too! I'm not sure your Windermere will give you all the warmth you will need in the coming months. You make even the summer sound bitterly windswept and wet! The wind won't penetrate any more than the rain, but the cloth doesn't offer much in the way of insulation, which I think is what the body needs when it's Winter cold.

Best

Lorraine

Dear Lorraine,

I think you also would have liked standing in the rain and leaning against the wind, like I did. The last days of summer here were indeed windy and rainy. We will have to wait and see whether my Lady Windermere will give enough warmth. Do you have bad experiences?

My current wintercoat, a short swagger, does not protect me very much either, rain, wind and cold just go through it. I can do no worse (I think even better, because I stay dry), and I am used to it. If it is too cold I always wear a warm sweater, a long skirt and boots. I begin to feel chilly rapidly (my teeth always start to chatter after a few minutes), but the excitement seems to compensate, and then I can spent hours outside.

Regards,

Wobke

Dear Wobke

I don't think your thrill in wrestling so intimately with storms is unique at all. In fact I think it is at least close to something that a lot of people have - the thousands who go walking on the hills, and who take care to dress so that they can battle against the elements. Or am I on the wrong track - maybe I've not really got hold of your passion yet. Does the discomfort of the cold - you must get bitterly cold - play any part of your enjoyment? Does it actually add to the thrill of the storm, or is it just something you put up as a price worth paying?

Best

Lorraine

Dear Lorraine,

I am so glad I can talk with you this way about these matters. You are right, there are quite a few people walking long the beach if there is a storm, but like the people walking in the hills, they are tightly dressed in trousers (or pants), warm windjacks, sturdy boots. I find they look so ungainly, I always like to dress myself neatly. They look protected and invincible, but still they seek shelter when the wind is too strong or when it is too cold. I struggle on, probably looking helpless in my neat and barely sufficient clothes. Until now I was helpless, especially in the rain, because my coat could not protect me. My Windermere will! Cold indeed adds to the thrill because it makes feel very vulnerable. Do not worry about me, I will put on warm clothes underneath my Windermere, I promise! I always wear gloves, boots and a shawl in the winter.

Kind regards,

Wobke