Now you have to imagine a very large an empty field, with people scattered about and a smaller roped off arena where the bands play. Some people bring low-slung chairs, others, like us, spread out on blankets. We left a respectable gap between the arena rope and our blanket, into which wandered a party of four, two women, one man and a younger girl. One of the women carried a garish blue and green umbrella that she must have got for free judging by the logos adorning its sides. It wasn't raining, nor did it appear likely. No this monstrosity was a sunshade (in April) and shielded the woman, and could have kept the suns warming rays of everyone in the party. Rays that would have meant she might have been able to remove the fleece blanket-like jacket she wore.
As she made herself comfortable a few feet in front of me I asked politely, or so I thought, if she intended to use the sunshade once the bands started to play.
"Aren't you high enough to see over it?" she asked without making eye contact, although that would have been difficult through her sunglasses.
"Well no, not really and I think it's a bit rude," I said.
What I wanted to say was, "Is this how your mother taught you? I this any example you set your daughter, to push in front, to have no regard for anyone else, to carry such an obnoxious glaring piece of Chinese produced crap and place it right in front of me," but she had already turned away, obscured behind the umbrella.
It occurred to me that perhaps the woman was unwell, perhaps a cancer survivor or undergoing treatment. I demurred and moved away, but it seemed that every angle, every photograph featured the umbrella. I have no way of knowing if she was ill or just ill mannered, but it added a sour note to an otherwise excellent musical event.
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