I have spent ages "buying" up gear in my mind for the last month or so and have slowly learned that quite a lot of it I would have regretted buying, fairly quickly.
Earlier this year, I had 13 carrier bags and two dustbin liners full of clothes which went to the Sally Anne's. I don't want to replace all that crap, but I do want to "improve my wardrobe", shall we say. At the moment, it consists of so little and such useless material that it really is pathetic, Rik. With it being 5 very long and boring years since I was last able to work and money being so seriously tight at times (£71 a week income for one 15 month period) that beyond the suit for my dads funeral (which crippled my finances completely) there's nothing even casually presentable at the moment. So, I shall set about replacing what I actually need as opposed to what takes my eye. Sally Anne's got way too many pairs of jeans and stuff with the price tags still on them that I learnt another lesson about what could be termed as "over indulgence". And I hate shopping, lol. You know, I still have two fleece tops - smock style - from the '90's from Primark's and they're still going strong! Such are the places I shall be haunting for everyday, indoor and casual clothing. But between the kayaking and this, I want what fits and serves me best. I don't care if it's dirt cheap or expensive (although dirt cheap would be soooo much nicer
) I just want to buy the right things, once.
Ahh, the mods and their oversized hair dryers
So tempting to buy a black leather jacket and put a denim cut down jacket over the top of it again. But at 50 years old, I would look so very very stupid. Mutton dressed up as lamb , springs to mind ha ha ha! Warmth and comfort mean so much more to me than image. As such, I will be buying an M65 and liner. After I have called Alpha and spoke to them so as to try and ensure I get the right fit, first time around - according to one of the comments, the person says that it states "Made In China" on the jacket!?!?!? The Swedish parka seems to be out of stock in my size in so many places that by the time I get around to possibly buying one, they will have shot up in price, I reckon. Such is life, I guess.