Stormy outside today, so decided to sort out my climbing/walking cupboard and the overflow in the spare bedroom. This proved a bigger task than I had imagined. Out went some old Karrimor rucksacks which I had cannibalised for repairs. Out went old meths stoves, old battered billy sets, lanterns and torches. Out went tattered gaiters, stop tous [remember them] and pocket hand warmers! Couldn’t part with my cotton Blacks Tinker tent, bought for about £20 in the sixties. 4ld in weight, no groundsheet but room for two, just. Found a picture on the net….
Next came the climbing gear. Out went old slings and quick-draws, probably weak with age, and frayed wired nuts and heavy carabiners. But I couldn’t send my Joe Brown helmet to the tip nor my Whillan’s harness, strap on crampons nor wooden shafted ice axe.
Not doing very well with the junk? But I’ve been privately immersed in great memories of my past climbing and camping days, old friends many now no longer with us and all that evocative cotton and leather equipment.
And as for rock-boots eat your heart out Imelda Marcos….…sadly no PAs or EBs – wore them out!
My Tinker Tent, purchased in the early 1960s, DID have a sewn in groundsheet – perhaps a later version than yours? It also had an [optional] flysheet which I never purchased or needed, although in later years without a flysheet it did let in the rain a bit. Very well designed tent, ok for two, ideal for one travelling on a bike.