Get Yourself an Umbrella – Make it Yellow.

I often find myself painting umbrellas. I’m not sure why. Maybe they pull me back to childhood. Many people get gloomy when the rain starts and they have to carry one. To me an umbrella is cheerful, childlike, positive, colourful – a little burst of brightness in a grey day.

My children don’t mind rain at all. Their umbrellas are vivid and they can’t wait to use them. A 10‑minute walk to kindergarten or school easily stretches to 45, and they don’t care in the slightest.

Maybe we should all have a colourful umbrella (skip the dull dark ones) so we keep noticing the small lovely things even on the drabbest day.