Glove in a cold climate

The letter in the March issue from Mick Dugan about ex-War Department despatch riders' gloves brought to mind that I too had a pair of the same found in Exchange & Mart.

In the early 1960s my girlfriend, now my wife, attended teacher training college at Matlock, Derbyshire. Often I would ride whatever steed I happened to have to Matlock to spend the weekend with her. On one springtime visit it was unseasonably warm and I thought the unlined gloves would be ideal for the journey.

On the Sunday morning I ate breakfast at the guesthouse where I had got to know the owner quite well. He advised me not to leave it too late in the afternoon before I headed back to Norfolk. He had heard the weather forecast, which warned that, by late afternoon, the temperature was due to plummet and there was a chance of snow. Sure enough, by midday the sun had disappeared and the temperature fell like a stone.

I left earlier than normal, but not early enough. After a short time I was heading into a full-blown blizzard. Suffice to say, it turned into a nightmare journey and my chamois-like gloves became worse than useless.

We had no telephone at home so, unlike today, there was no way I could let my parents know that, in spite of being three hours overdue, I was still moving – with the bike in gear and me walking alongside.

The experience didn’t put me off bikes, but it put me off cheap gloves. Ever since, I have always carried spare, warm, dry gloves. We all live and learn, especially when we’re young!

Bill Woolnough, Norfolk