Often referred to as the ‘aneroid’ by mountaineers, aneroid barometers were very much part of the outdoor adventurers kit in the days before we had 24/7 weather forecasting, most homes had a barometer on the wall, and mountaineers had the pocket version. They basically monitored the air pressure, loosely indicating a trend in the weather rather than an exact forecast, though coupled with the observations of cloud formations and wind velocities, a good idea of what was about to happen could be ascertained. As with this one, most pocket aneroids incorporated an altimeter which could be a useful navigation aid roughly indicating your altitude, though the changes in air pressure didn’t help accuracy. Griffin & George seem to have begun life in 1954, an amalgamation of various other companies and joining a fairly busy marketplace, one that was soon to be overtaken by radio & TV weather forecasting, consigning aneroids to collectors fairs. This particular one once belonged to Sam Falconer, a well-travelled cyclist rather than a mountaineer, and was kindly donated by his daughter, Morag.