The attack of the killer parasols!

In retrospect this tale of something that happened to me this afternoon is funny, but I can assure you that at the time is was somewhat less than funny and quite dangerous.

For those of you not in the UK we seem here to have recently developed a 'monsoon' season, it has barely stopped raining for weeks and for my part I have been driving the van from hell through constantly flooded roads day after day after day for what seems an interminable length of time.

So with that background today's tale:

Having finished work I decided on a stroll through the local town, a bit of window shopping and maybe a coffee. As I was strolling through the town centre in only light rain, minding my own business, from nowhere there was a clap of thunder, immediately followed by torrential rainfall and a sudden extremely strong wind. Accompanying this I was immediately aware of some god awful noise and looking up I was faced with the sight of two table, eight chairs, two parasols and two accompanying concrete weights hurtling towards me at break neck speed.

I kid you not, this wind was strong and the industrial strength patio furniture usually housed nicely on the pavement outside of Starbucks was moving en-mass at an unbelievable speed towards me.

There was only one thing between me and the killer parasols, a man also walking along the street, he pinned himself to the wall and with only a second to react I did the same.....only I happened (thankfully) to be by a shop doorway....which in my panic I duly fell through!!! Oh, forever elegant! Not!

The parasols and their incumbents came to a crashing halt against another shop just yards away....and broke up into their various, previously assembled parts!

Starbucks staff rushed out into the street all full of concern for any passers by and to survey their once reasonably attractive furniture and an assistant in the shop who's doorway I had made my rapid and in elegant entrance hauled me off the floor and checked I was still in one piece!

Ok, so it's funny now, you may titter, but had all that stuff hit me, or worse still some elderly frail soul, it might have been a whole less funny....this was industrial strength, heavy duty furniture and concrete travelling at an unbelievable speed in the middle of a town centre.

For my part....hey, the shop I fell into was a shoe shop....it was only polite that I should make a purchase by way of thanks for the staffs concern over me! ;o)