Hedges and Umbrellas

Lately I have found myself getting really irritated by hedges (not so much the hedges themselves as the people who plant hedges in their front gardens and then don't bother trim them). Some of the hedges I walk past on my way to the train station have seriously gotten out of control and are actually starting to take over the side-walks. These plants are so massive that I can no longer fit between them and light poles in certain places and as I walk down the side walk, my umbrella is constantly getting stuck. (I even whacked Ross in the eye one morning with my umbrella when I pulled to dislodge it from a particularly beastly hedge.)

It is this hedge-umbrella war that really gets the blood boiling. Summertime is normally the time for overgrown foliage in Scotland, as the warmer weather and longer days spur on the growth of greenery. And normally in summertime, I wouldn't need to worry about the right of way for my umbrella. But I live in Scotland and this summer has been a particularly wet and dreary and, did I say wet? The use of my umbrella on my daily commute has become a necessity, and not being able to walk down the road with it up is a real frustration.

Still I was starting to get a little concerned when I found myself muttering and even bordering on shouting at hedges on my way home from work. But I was sure my craziness was the fault of the neglectful hedge owners- I mean they surely can see the impediment their hedge growth is causing for pedestrians!

Until I was humbled last week, when my umbrella became royally stuck walking between the light post and a perfectly trim and tidy hedge. It got me thinking...

Maybe my umbrella is too big?