Larry Norman fans might remember the third verse of his blues rock tune, Twelve Good Men: “I’ve got this black leather jacket, the one I had through all my youth…”. I didn’t have a black leather jacket through all my youth but I got one for my eighteenth birthday which was the main outer garment I wore for most of the next decade.

Such garments are long lasting but they don’t go on forever. I can’t honestly remember quite what happened to it but there came a point when it became too “well-ventilated” and eventually it must have got retired and disposed of. I’ve still got another black leather jacket though and, since the denim one I’ve been wearing a lot this summer is becoming both seasonally unsuitable and threadbare itself, I’ve been back to BLJ mode for the last few days.

By the way, here’s the song that lived in my head for much of my original leather jacket days: