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Main Boards => General Walking Discussion => Topic started by: Agentorange on 07:50:30, 11/02/20

Title: Venus in Tweed
Post by: Agentorange on 07:50:30, 11/02/20
Now, I had occasion to be looking at the British Association of Shooting and Conservation website the other day, and I noticed that Tweed seems to be the material of choice for the hunting guy or gel. Which made me wonder is Tweed a particularly durable material. Is it waterproof ? windproof ? quick to dry out ? warm ?

If not then why do all these country types buy it, surely they'd be better off with a Berghaus waterproof and a good fleece ?

Just made me curious...
Title: Re: Venus in Tweed
Post by: Owen on 08:04:09, 11/02/20
It's not waterproof but as it's a tight weve it take quite a while to become soaked. It is warm and fairly windproof. It's main advantage for hunting types is it doesn't make any noise when you move.


It's big disadvantage is it's heavy and once soaked it takes days to dry. It's also very rough on the skin.
Title: Re: Venus in Tweed
Post by: gunwharfman on 09:30:45, 11/02/20
If you wear it perhaps it identifies that you can enter a particular level of society? In the lifestyle that I live in I would use an identity card, a phone or maybe a name tag to 'get in?'

Whenever I see people wearing tweed it always reminds me of the TV comedy series 'Goodness Gracious Me,' I can't remember the name of the two characters, was one called 'Robinson???'
Title: Re: Venus in Tweed
Post by: Bhod on 09:54:04, 11/02/20
Good for standing around in a shooting butt or stalking across moorland but too heavy and cumbersome for any other sort of physical walking activity.
Title: Re: Venus in Tweed
Post by: Pitboot on 10:27:22, 11/02/20
If you wear it perhaps it identifies that you can enter a particular level of society? In the lifestyle that I live in I would use an identity card, a phone or maybe a name tag to 'get in?'

Whenever I see people wearing tweed it always reminds me of the TV comedy series 'Goodness Gracious Me,' I can't remember the name of the two characters, was one called 'Robinson???'


There's the old saying, "You can't judge a book by its cover."

Title: Re: Venus in Tweed
Post by: barewirewalker on 12:06:57, 11/02/20
 :smitten:
Great outfit for walking Off Piste, surprising the guises that can be adopted that explain away quite distant detour off the 'righteous way'. :angel:
Throw in a few "Sorry old chap"s, "Didn't I see you the County Magazine a couple of months ago" blah blah. And you could go far...................... ^-^
Title: Re: Venus in Tweed
Post by: Pitboot on 12:40:52, 11/02/20
If the wearing of a tweed outfit identifies you as a member of a certain section of society does it follow then that most of the contestants on the ITV2 show "Take me out" are prostitutes?
Title: Re: Venus in Tweed
Post by: ninthace on 12:57:05, 11/02/20
A lot of tweed wearers aren't toffs.  In Cumbria I used to drink with them in my local, they were either agricultural or estate workers.  Most of the sheep farmers in the area wore tweed too.  Tweed was working clothing.  We had a tailor's shop in the village that seemed to sell nothing but tweed as far as I could tell.
Title: Re: Venus in Tweed
Post by: jimbob on 13:35:50, 11/02/20
A lot of tweed wearers aren't toffs.  In Cumbria I used to drink with them in my local, they were either agricultural or estate workers.  Most of the sheep farmers in the area wore tweed too.  Tweed was working clothing.  We had a tailor's shop in the village that seemed to sell nothing but tweed as far as I could tell.
My experience also. Often they were hand me downs, jumble sake purchases or just bought new because they would last for years and eventually work out cheap. Most would be able to outlast any of the petrochemical induced materials that replaced them on fashion looks and cost. I remember my dad's oiled wool plaid that he wire out in the fields on rainy days. It stank to high heavens and was confined to the hemel.
Title: Re: Venus in Tweed
Post by: gunwharfman on 15:02:37, 11/02/20
'Take me out,' you've got me on that one, I've never seen it. A number of people down the pub think that the contestants on 'Love Island' are prostitutes, both men and women, I've never seen that programme either.

Actually the subject of tweed is a good example of another style of dress that I've seen many times down here in the South. Farm people who walk around their domains or frequent the local pubs in brown brogue shoes, a pair of light coloured slim style slacks (as I call them) a light coloured check long-sleeved shirt and a flat cap, glasses are optional, I've seen this 'uniform' many times. I saw three when I walked a few miles on the High Weald Trail in East Sussex last year. One in the pub in Bodium, one walking through and talking to his tractor driver in his apple orchard just before Peasmarsh, one in the pub in Bodium and another after Hawkhurst who seemed a bit peeved that I didn't walk directly though his farmyard. In fact, I was a bit lost at this point, couldn't quite establish where the footpath was, but he soon set me back on course and kept his eye on me until I climbed over a stile into a local wood. They were not clones of each other of course, but I knew from their 'uniform' who they were and so did the locals!
Title: Re: Venus in Tweed
Post by: Rigel on 18:25:09, 20/03/20
If walking abroad, you'd do well to avoid wearing tweed.


"It was my impression in Spain it is not wise to wear tweeds. Black is the accepted colour for all people. All respectable beggars wear black. On the other hand, state visits are made in black." ~ The Gentle Art of Tramping.


To summarise - no matter where you walk, tweed would likely do nothing but attract much unwanted and negative attention.
Title: Re: Venus in Tweed
Post by: Ridge on 18:34:27, 20/03/20
That confused me Rigel I just glanced at the list of posts and thought, I'm sure I didn't post in that thread.