The rain and wind in the city this morning were horrendous. Even with an umbrella it didn’t make a difference – I was still soaked by the time I got to work.
The main thing that worried me was my umbrella. The wind was bad and I was petrified it was going to snap. As I walked down Broadway, it nearly did. In the city where umbrellas are discarded in the gutter any time there is a storm and people have an umbrella for work, home, as a spare and then end up buying them on the corner, I am proud to say I own only one.
I have owned this umbrella for eleven years.
When I was living in London, Fiona and I headed up to Oxford for the day and I got caught out and had to spend the horrific sum of TEN POUNDS on this Marks and Spencer umbrella.
I think I have got my moneys worth!
This umbrella has seen me through a drought in Melbourne, multiple overseas trips, public transportation in too many cities to mention, the crazy Melbourne out-of-the-blue storms and the saturating New York rains. It has sat on the floor to dry in many jobs I have held over the years and more importantly, it has been a fixture in my handbag and I still have the protective sleeve that it came in.
I have found that the umbrella now has some tiny holes in the fabric – and it stresses me out just thinking about what umbrella to get next. Spend a lot or just use junk ones? Ekkk decisions! I doubt any umbrella I get next is going to last me eleven years.
Another shocking thought – I cannot believe I just did a blog post on my umbrella. Oh dear!