Umbrellas - buying and repairing

Problems
1 I need an umbrella every day in some months in Singapore. So I carry one for use as both umbrella and parasol. But a small umbrella easily blows inside out and breaks. It's heavy to carry. So sometimes I go without.

Answers
I often look around and see an umbrella lying on the ground. At first I was reluctant to touch one. Maybe somebody had dropped it and would come back, so glad that everybody was honest and nobody had touched it.

Then I thought, I'll just pick it up and have a look. Invariably the discarded umbrella was broken. Somebody had chucked it away, even beside a bin but not obstructing the bin by putting it inside.

Great, good enough for a bit of protection for myself and the papers and books I was carrying. I could discard it once I got home - or at the destination, not wanting to look like a person who could not afford a new umbrella.

However, having got the broken umbrellas home, I soon acquired a set of three or more. What to do with them? Some were retrieved. Others were my own, lovely umbrellas I did not want to throw away.

In London there's a repair shop. Problems, first it is not cheap. Second, it's not a while you wait service. So you have to leave it to be repaired. It takes two trips into town. You must visit in daylight hours at times when it is open, and I mostly go into the city for an evening meal or show.

Finally I am likely to lose the reclaim ticket, forget or go overseas. They probably say if you haven't collected within three months they will discard it.

DIY repair of covers
How about a DIY repair? Surely I could combine the lovely top of one which had broken spokes, with another which had intact spokes but a stained cover?

Sometimes you can remove the end from the tip of the spokes. I discovered that many are attached just bey a triple thread through a hole, which is why they come apart. The end is sometimes sealed on with a cap, which also is easily detached - just clip it or slide it back on - or lost.

Unfortunately you may find that the centre of the cover is sealed into the top end of the upright trunk. You could cut around it neatly in a circle If you are good at cutting circles. Then stick it down on top of another cover. That might even look pretty. Hm?

Next step is to look online. Sure enough, there are guides to repairing umbrellas on YouTube and Wikihow. Who writes these articles? My first thought was it must be in the USA (largest numbers of people and therefore internet users). Maybe on isolated farms, like New Zealand, people far from city shops, with low incomes, used to repairing items.

My next thought was that there is an army, a human forest, of DIY res and people who (even though they might be able to afford a new umbrella - will spend more on repair tools than on new goods because like challenges.

The common elements of repair are that a wire along from the tip will support the spokes, both as prevention and as cure.

The second weak point is the link between the bending spokes. It's like links in a bracelet, which so often go when one circle breaks. It can be connected up or replaced with another circle or rather a piece of C shape metal whose ends are pinched together until the gap is so small or negligible that the circle of metal links the two other circles or straight pieces.

I learned the technical terms which is handy when seeking advice on repairs of buying parts; Umbrella canopy.

You can even buy an umbrella repair kit.

So there you have it. I hear thunder.

Tips
REPAIRING
http://www.umbrellify.net/how-to-repair-an-umbrella/
http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/cogit/item/020365/?sclid=a_sg_dsa_google_paid_nonbrand_rakutencbtglobal_sgdsaen_en_rlsa_nonpromo

BUYING

ONLINE
https://www.knirps.com.sg/?gclid=CKGLq_KjstMCFcWOaAodDSMOXw In my view expensive at $69 (free delivery in my area) but useful video on how they test umbrellas with a wind tunnel to be sure of durability.
Umbrellas can be customised and bought in bulk for conferences, companies, colleges or weddings. Large 'golfing umbrellas are used by hotels and are often on loan or used by chauffeur driven cars.

UK/USA
On ebay for delivery to UK and the USA you can be all kinds of designs such as Union Jacks, dogs, cats, chickens, clouds, hearts and seasonal designs as well as joke umbrellas, umbrella hats which sit on your head, so long as you don't nod.
Small umbrellas are usually for sale in supermarkets (such as Morrisons in the UK) and pharmacies (US called drug stores).

SINGAPORE
In Singapore try Cold Storage supermarket, Watsons and Guardian pharmacies. Remember your discount card from the company or your Passion card from the Community Centre membership when buying in supermarkets and pharmacies. Isetan used to have a huge department display of umbrellas in the ground floor along with shoes and bags. Umbrellas are probably displayed more in rainy season.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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