I first came to Wales in 1997 as a student and bought an umbrella then.  I realised very quickly that there was no point whatsoever and now I have a hooded coat wherever I go. It does mean that I fail spectacularly in looking elegant but I do stay warm and dry.

I have a little umbrella that I only use when it is drizzling and not windy, and too warm for a hood.  

Especially when we get 'taken by surprise' with bad weather, the town centre is littered with the miserable looking skeletons of many umbrellas and it is a sad sight.  The only umbrellas that seem to withstand the really nasty weather are huge golf umbrellas that poke everyone else in the eye, shove people off pavements and generally act rather selfishly. I hate them.