The other day, the boyfriend and I got caught in an almighty downpour and he said my next blog post should be about the futility of umbrellas, so here it is.

Dear Umbrella,

We met around 6pm on an unexpectedly wet Tuesday evening.  I dashed into Woolworths at Town Hall, seeking shelter from the storm, and there you were, a little blue umbrella with white dots.  You were the very last umbrella on the stand, but you were perfect.

Of course, when you do sing along, you'll be drowning out those beautiful vocals with your caterwauling (or may that's just me), but just turn it up and sing your heart out anyway!

I’m sure there was a time when going shopping was a happy Saturday pastime, often enjoyed with friends, punctuated by a café pit stop for coffee and cake.  I’d try on a few bits and bobs, see if anything I liked had moved from the front window to the sale rack yet, maybe even start my summer holiday wardrobe, or the Christmas shopping, if something caught my eye.
Now it seems that for a long as I can remember, shopping has been a confusing, disappointing, rushed and stressful experience. 

A piece I wrote a few weeks ago for thebigsmoke.com.au, commenting from my previous experience of City 2 Surf and other running events:

http://thebigsmoke.com.au/2014/08/09/sm-city-2-surf-business-running/