However hot or cold our good old British weather becomes one thing for sure, we will always see a shower or two within any season.
So it always amazes me how unprepared we are – as if we had never seen rain before. The traffic builds up, people run in all directions with no head gear or protection, looking amazed as the skies pour their hearts out to drench all and sundry.
I remember my Aunt Betty when I was a kid would sometimes pick me up from School, and I would wait at the school gate and see her coming, brolly first, often in the matching colour of her outfit. Whatever the season, she would always come equipped for the inevitable downpour. If it was raining she would make a feature of her matching accessory, dipping it up and down so that she would be visible amidst the torrent and make me laugh out loud.
I have decided to follow suit and have been doing my own research into the understated accessory. A bit of historical fact before we start. Did you know In Britain, umbrellas were sometimes referred to as “gamps” after the character Mrs. Gamp in the Charles Dickens novel Martin Chuzzlewit, as Mrs. Gamp’s character was well known for carrying an umbrella.
Brolly is a slang word for umbrella, used often in Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Kenya.
So now you are up to speed with the heritage, here are some fab umbrella ideas, websites and locations for you to step out in style, defy the rain and take a leaf out of Aunt Betty’s book.
From the flowery finest – and the sublime to the ridiculous price wise.
When the news came through that Elliott Randall had agreed to an interview with Glotime.tv, we were really excited. Here was a man who has been heralded as ‘the World’s greatest guitarist’ by some of the most prolific rock musicians – and he has agreed to be interviewed and appear on our channel. A rare occasion as Elliot is a shy and modest man, who rarely gives interviews, but has worked with the biggest stars in show business over several decades and whose talent has eclipsed some of the most iconic legends of rock.
When Elliott came to Pinewood Studios to meet us, he was as unassuming as we had imagined, and we all sat down to enjoy a cup of tea with this engaging gentleman, who though kissing seventy, has the energy and enthusiasm of a much younger man.
Jimi Hendrix was a close friend, as Elliott told me in our ‘one to one’ interview, and he had been deeply affected by his passing. Jimmy had confided in Elliott weeks before his untimely death, telling him he no longer knew who his true friends were.
A problem so many stars encounter, at the pinnacle of their career, which was a big contributory factor into why Elliott himself decided not to pursue fame, but preferred to stay in the background and play on records and with stars who would front the recordings, exonerating him from the dreaded public recognition.
If your head is reeling so was mine as Elliott’s story unraveled, and I discovered that he had played the famous guitar riff on the legendary Steely Dan track ‘reelin in the years’ which he performed as recently as 2009 in London’s Hammersmith Apollo, which you can view on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4tayZ9HzUc
I asked Elliott to recall the highlights of his career, and you can see in the interview that his sense of humour has survived in this relentless industry, as he reiterates when performing at a rock venue in the seventies called Winterland and how he had plunged into darkness as the stage had disappeared at one of his gigs, only to be saved by a thick black curtain. He also remembers playing at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, and looking out at a sea of people enjoying the moment, and marveling at the experience.
Elliot’s recent projects include recording, production, and consulting on streaming Internet content. As you can see in our interview, his knowledge is extensive about how to survive in an industry that is constantly changing in the fast lane of the Internet, and he generously affords us with his knowledge, which is gold for any new musician emerging on the scene who is looking to earn a living from their music.
Elliott is currently recording a new CD in London, New York, and Ireland that blends Celtic, Afro-Cuban, and other global musical influences. He recorded and plays with his London-based band Posse and NYC-based Randall’s Rangers.
I could go on forever with Elliott’s extraordinary achievements and accolades, but would like to conclude that Elliott Randall, in spite of his avoidance of public acclaim, will go down in history as one of the most talented guitarists in the business, with the talent of a legend and the soul of a saint.
ITV Studios Global Entertainment is pleased to announce that The Loch will beavailable on DVD and to download-to-own from the 17th July 2017
A village drowned in secrets
Staring Laura Fraser, Siobhan Finneran, John Sessions & Don Gilet
The Lochis available to pre-order now from Amazon & iTunes
Synopsis:On the beautiful, haunting shores of Scotland’s iconic Loch Ness, amid a community sustained by myth and bordered by untamed nature, the search for the truth becomes a matter of life and death in this gripping murder mystery. Here the monster doesn’t lurk in the depths – it walks amongst men, a serial killer who must be stopped. When a body is found at the foot of Carn Mohr Mountain, local detective Annie Redford is thrown into her first murder case. But as grief, terror and suspicion envelops the town and the repercussions of the investigation expose the fault-lines in Annie’s closest relationships, this tightly- plotted drama becomes about more than catching a killer; it’s about the survival of a family and community.
September 27, 2026 1907 Lord Bernard Miles 1942 Alvin Stardust 1947 Meatloaf 1947 Barbara Dickson 1948 Michele Dotrice 1953 Diane Abbott
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