The Intrepid Umbrella Huntress
I am known, in some circles, as the Wrecker of Parasols, the Destroyer of Umbrellas, the Saboteur of Sunshades. Alas, it is all too true. It all comes about by an unfortunate concatenation of circumstance, which can usually be blamed on the wildness of Melbourne’s weather, or the freakish driving skills of our city’s illustrious public transport servants. (Once a tram driver braked so suddenly my newest parasol banged against the door of the tram, and the celluloid handle snapped right off. I am still not over that tragedy.)
I am also known as the Procuress of Vintage Parasols, the Intrepid Umbrella Huntress …
The flipside, however, is that I am also known as the Procuress of Vintage Parasols, the Intrepid Umbrella Huntress – for I am always having to hunt down a worthy replacement for the last carcass. I can’t possibly carry an ordinary black collapsible umbrella from a supermarket, for instance. (It always amuses me when I see upended umbrella skeletons – a common sight in Melbourne – poking out of rubbish bins where they have patently been thrust in rage by commuters, exhausted with wrestling with them.)
My newest umbrella is quite possibly the girliest umbrella known to man. It is a pagoda style (sigh); strawberry-pink-and-cream striped and trimmed with a frill, with 50s-style black and white illustrations of two pooches snuggling together. There are even darling little ribbons sewn onto one of the dogs’ collars. The handle is a bow, and there is a tasselled loop hanging off it for ease of carrying. So far it has been surprisingly resilient in the gale-force winds and rain we’ve been experiencing in the last fortnight.
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The umbrella is by Black Rhinoceros and I found it in a cute little Melbourne boutique full of amusing Chinese imports, but you can buy it here. There is a collapsible version also available. Also search eBay for pagoda umbrellas (nothing came up for Black Rhinoceros); poodles here, and there is also a pussycat version – the last one in black and white.