In reply to ScraggyGoat:
Thanks everyone for your input and arguments. The fact of the matter is that I am not in the slightest worried about the rope - well not until I thought about it and started to wonder.
I have 5 or 6 ropes kicking about (sorry stored under optimal conditions), and this is certainly the oldest, but only just. I have another pair of ropes from 1997, and a brand new one from 1999.
I used to climb as often as I could before getting married. Even after we were married,we climbed together all the time, but since kids, it's been a bit of a mare.
A month or two ago the kids went to an activity weekend, so we had the opportunity to spend a week climbing. Bosigran and a posh hotel were the order of the day, and we ticked all the easy routes in Bosi. (I'm not kidding, even ledge route was an epic outing full of adventure). Since then, we've been to the Edges with the kids, who seem to love it, but it was while one of them was dangling on the end of the old rope that I got to thinking. Couldn't see any reason for it to be bad, but I've been out of it for a while, and sometimes things change. (Dear Lord, you should see the antique nature of my rack - I've still got a fully functional set of Quad Cams - remember those?)
Thanks again everyone.