Grown up macs

Dear Lorraine,

When I was fourteen, wonder of wonders, my school decided to relax its uniform regulations for raincoats. I think it was because, by this time, supplies of traditional gaberdine macs were drying up, and their hands were forced. Most of my friends made the switch into various anoraks or parkas, but my eye had fallen on something different. I wanted a trenchcoat, and something with a bit of style. Now it was a peculiarity of my parents psychology that, while it was difficult to persuade them to spend money on what they considered 'frivolous', a mac, being a 'practical' garment, never presented any difficulty. And they even let me go and get it myself!

This was to be my first 'grown up' coat, and I spent a lot of time browsing the stores to choose it. I had the money from my parents, and some more 'birthday' money from an indulgent grandmother, and I eventually reduced myself to penury by buying a red full length double-breasted, belted 'mac' with a big collar and all the fashion trimmings, epaulettes, cuff straps, storm flaps amd big back yoke. It was a 'Telemac'And by red, I mean red. It literally glowed! I had a pair of white boots, a royal blue bag, a white headscarf with blue dots and a royal blue folding umbrella with white dots. The day I finally bought my mac it was pouring with rain so I went up to the 'ladies room' in the store, changed out of my old gaberdine mac and went out straight out in it. To my joy, as I came out of the store, it was still pouring! I went to join a bus queue and joined on the end outside the shelter and let the rain cascade over me. I even let the first two buses go so I could stay there longer and listen to the drops drumming against my umbrella!

The teacher's seemed to think it was bit old for me, but I didn't care. I abandoned the bus and walked to and from school every day. Some mornings drizzly rain would patter down, and in the afternoons there would sometimes be heavy showers. I was old enough now to go into town on my own on Saturdays, and I became an avid window shopper on wet days so I could catch my reflection in the shop windows. Sometimes I was caught in heavy downpours which made the handle of my umbrella shake, and sent water streaming from the cover. One of the downpours even produced a really savage ten minute cloudburst that resulted in a fine mist of spray penetrating the brolly. I loved my new mac, and, as I began to be aware, so did some of the boys. One in particular, Jason, seemed particularly attracted, and as time went on, we began to spend time together. Jas sported a full length orange cagoule which he used on his weekend fell walking expeditions with his family, so he was happy enough to walk back through the rain with me! Being an outdoor type didn't mind my prediliction for being outside on wet days, and one evening, as we stood outside the local chippy, standing in the rain inder my blue umbrella, he introduced me to the notion and gentle art of kissing!

After a few months my eye fell on another trenchcoat. This time it was a lovely green Dannimac, which came with a matching rain hat. I had to have it and again had no difficulty persuading my mother (practical again!) to shell out for it. It had a sort of shiny finish to the cloth, and I thought it would be more 'rain resistant' than the Telemac. It actually had a label inside which had boxes for showerproof, rainproof and waterproof, with the rainproof box ticked!

I'd arranged to go out with Jason the Sunday following my new purchase to visit the costume museum at Castle Howard (He was long suffering!) Castle Howard is set back from the main A64 and to get there we had to get off the bus at the main road and walk there and back to get the bus home. We got there all right , but we did notice that when we went into the house it did seem to be clouding up. And when we came out, rising out of the south was one of the blackest storm clouds I'd seen since the Robert Hirst gaberdine disaster!

We reached to within about 100 yards of the bus stop before the rain began to pelt down, and that's when we realised our mistake! The buses normally ran every hour, but it was Sunday, and the company reduced the service to one every two hours. It was ten to four and the next bus was not five past four but five past five!

Jason put on his waterpoof orange cagoule and I put my faith in my still untried Dannimac. It was new and well made and it handled the downpour really well. The rain just rolled of the shiny fiinished cloth and the beautifully stitched seams showed no signs of weakness. Ten minutes passed, achingly slowly, as lightning flickered, thunder roared, and my lovely mac battled against the deluge. Soon we were right under the heart of the storm, and so crashingly heavy was rain that I began to fear my mac could not possibly hold out much longer! And I was right - stubbornly resistant as it was, the mac was gradually forced to give way, as waterstains spread from the shoulders down to my belted waist, and eventually all the way to the skirt. No longer did the water roll away, now it soaked and trickled inwards, eventually turning my clothes into a sodden mass clinging to my shivering body. My rainhat sort of ... drooped! Eventually, the bus arrived and we escaped, Jason quite untroubled, me in desperate straits!

Like the gaberdine before it, the proofing on the green mac was damaged by the storm and it remained only shower resistant from then on. Although I continued to wear it for another two years, the water droplets never rolled off it in quite the same way!

'Stormstroller'

Another v. interesting account - many thanks indeed. Ought I to collect your reports together, do you think? I find I have scattered them across our pages, I think because your interests cross boundaries!

Very good of you to write.

Best wishes

Lorraine