Capes have been around since the beginning of time, the simplest version being a piece of material – an animal skin in the early days – with a slit to pop the head through. In South America they call them a poncho, often made from wool, in the Northern Hemisphere they are usually called capes and are made from waterproof material – wonder why! Some hill-walkers like them as they can be draped over both body and rucksack, also, as with the one we have here, it can be made into a crude shelter, usually by stretching a short piece of rope between two trees or boulders and draping it over – the eyelets are for pegging it down either side. This one was kindly donated by our old pal George Maurice and probably dates from the 1990s.