Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Ideas

When travelling overseas, it is easy for some to think fondly of one's homeland, and develop a kind of nationalistic fervour. I don't. Travelling always reminds of what a dopey little shit-hole New Zealand is. We are surrounded by so many sheep, we have started behaving like them.

It's monsoon season, and a light rain sweeps through this city in seemingly unpredictable episodes. The moment it does so, these contraptions materialise outside the hotels and department stores.


I don't know what one would call them, but essentially one inserts one's umbrella, and hey presto! One's umbrella is neatly wrapped in plastic. No dripping umbrellas turning the inside of one's handbag to mush, or creating dangerous slip-n-slides in the Gucci shop. Fantastically simple yet brilliantly practical.

There is no monsoon season in New Zealand. Perversely, it can pour with rain at any given point. So why in hell have I never seen these in New Zealand? Why didn't a New Zealander invent one first? Decades of sodden weather and dripping umbrellas should have inspired someone to do something about it.

Baaa.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes I did miss those things as I walked slightly sodden into a store where I almost broke my neck.

Martha Craig said...

I can't answer for Aucklanders, but in Wellington umbrellas only last about 3 minutes, so basically they just go straight into the rubbish bin.

Kelly said...

Dear Mrs Smith,
If I didn't know better I would assume that you were in South Korea. Or at least in extremely close proximity.

Can I suggest giving the dog market a miss, but if you are still in Seoul, Insadong on a Sunday can be fun.

Annyong.

Mrs Smith said...

Kelly - if I were in South Korea, I'm sure that would be a great thing to do! I imagine a stop at the New and Old Tea-shop in a side-alley for a cup of Five-Flavour tea would also be nice...