Waterproof fabric in pretty colours, cut from discarded, broken umbrellas. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
2 Where are the new umbrellas to buy or borrow?
3 Where are broken umbrellas?
4 What use are broken umbrellas?
5 Is it possible to repair them?
6 What can you retrieve?
1a I used to be puzzled that it was pouring with rain in my area of Singapore, yet friends or family on the other side of the island were enjoying sunshine. Why?
One side of the island is wetter and therefore greener. Water grows plants, greenery. Worth remembering where it is dry if you want to sunbathe and swim or go out working, visiting and shopping. And you want to wear summery clothes. The other side is wetter. Good if you are a keen gardener and want to grow plants , without constantly watering them. Good if you like to wear coats or jackets with hoods. Good for a matching umbrella to look coordinated or act as a concealed purpose or double use walking stick.
1b In Singapore it rains in the afternoon. So I need to swim first thing in the morning. The same goes for shopping. You set off in sunshine before lunch. You get caught in an afternoon downpour.
Rain was a serious problem. I could not swim in the rain. I could not go out because the rain damaged my shoes and the hem of my skirts. I tried investing in carrying a small foldable umbrella or a child's umbrella.
2 You can buy umbrellas in 7-11, supermarkets, and department stores. Small umbrellas protected my hair from getting wet, my clothes from changing colour where splashed with water, and my glasses from raindrops obscuring my vision. But side swiping rain wetted my bags and the contents, books, notebooks and newspapers.
Singapore is constantly improving. A covered way was built from local schools to the nearest railway station. This protected the children and their clothes and homework books and text books. And helped me.
The covered way often did not cross the main roads, nor side roads. Why not? In some places it did but was only partially effective.To allow double decker buses and high vehicles to pass, the roof is so high that it lets in rain blown diagonally at the sides.
Borrowed Umbrellas
Smart Singapore installed sponsored umbrellas at crossings. You picked them up from one side of the road and dropped them off the other side.
3 Sometimes I was caught in rain without an umbrella. I prayed for an umbrella. Once in a while an umbrella magically appeared by the side of the path. This happened several times.
At first I thought people had left umbrellas because they were dripping wet and a nuisance. So the umbrella was parked outside a home or office or shopping mall and the owner would collect it on the way back.
Sometimes the umbrellas were closed, and had a broken bit sticking out. Sometimes they were open and lopsided, obviously broken and lopsided. This left the umbrella only partially effective and inelegant. If the fabric had become detached a dangerous spike could strike your companions or people walking towards you.
4 On one occasion I was caught in the rain and a discarded misshapen umbrella was better than nothing. It got me home more or less dry. I left it by the door.
The next day an acquaintance called. Just before he left it started raining. He asked to borrow an umbrella and was happy to take the broken one.
The abandoned umbrella had helped two people. It was still useful.
The next time I photographed myself in dress of the day, I looked for a brolly as a prop.
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