September 12. Day 255. Light and shade

 Apparently umbrellas are not like Coke cans and designed for one use only. In my hands, no matter how beautiful or expensive the umbrella is, I can lose it on the first outing. Perhaps this is why I find the growing trend of carrying around an  umbrella to keep the sun rather than rain off weird. It could also be that while an umbrella to shade yourself from the hot Aussie sun is sensible, I still equate the parasol with a quaint relic of days gone by. However, given the decided lack of wet stuff from the sky over recent months perhaps it makes sense for those who manage not to lose their umbrellas to find another use for them. Failing that you could turn them into giant lamp shades. That's what was happening today in the Theatre Republic precinct which is being erected between my office and the nearest coffee shop. My guess that this is an artistic statement and has nothing to do with providing actual protection from any element. But there may be lessons I can learn, such as securing your umbrella to the roof is one sure way not to lose it. This may not be the most practical of solutions but it is attractive and as with the parasol that matters a lot.