U is for Umbrellas

Umbrellas - yup - a whole blog post about that nifty anti-rain invention we always lose or forget, just when we need it most! Being British, I have a love/hate relationship with my brolly - I have to find one that folds down small enough to fit in my handbag but then it isn't as strong or as big as it needs to be to keep more than my head and shoulders dry. I've lost count of how many umbrellas I've had over the years. They also make a fantastic accessory for photo shoots or of course, as the main subject of a shoot.

That's just a few umbrella images I found quickly on Flickr - I also carry 5 white umbrellas with me when I do a photo shoot or if I'm shooting a wedding. They always come in handy for a general shoot too as I can use one to bounce light around my picture. At home I use a silvered one for that but they are too expensive to use in the rain!

Funny enough, one of my happiest moments came last year when I didn't have an umbrella but I really could have done with one! We'd gone out to lunch on a late Spring day, warm enough to not worry about a jacket and as we came out of the restaurant, the sky was black! We were in an area I'd not been to before so my fella had planned to show me around but as the heavens opened, we ducked into a manicure/pedicure place.

After a couple of margaritas lunchtime, I was all a bit a fluster (hehehe!) and as I'd never had a pedicure, he said he'd treat me. Well! I don't know which one of us was more amused - me at the motions of the massage chair or him at my face when it kicked into high gear! I giggled most of the way through my pedicure though!

When we eventually left, the skies had cleared so we headed for home. As we left the train station, it started spotting with rain again. We'd arrived between buses though so we decided to start walking, hoping we could get home before the downpour started. Needless to say, we didn't make it and as we sheltered beneath an overpass, the wind howling through and bringing a lot of water with it, we weren't very happy! About 10 long minutes later, will no let up in sight, we saw a bus at the stop we'd just left. We were about halfway to the next stop so we decided to run for it.

Well, I have to say, I'm no gazelle and as I leapt across a huge puddle, I ended up ankle deep in rainwater. I was huffing and puffing my way to the bus stop, soaked through to my skin and giggling like a total idiot. Luckily the bus driver saw us and waited a few seconds and as we got on, both of us laughing, the whole bus kind of laughed with us too. I haven't been that wet, laughed that much or run that far in years and I'm sure it will stick as a very special memory for a long, long time to come.

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