It is rainingin Garrow.
It usually is.
Pluvia & Sons have kept the city dry, one head at a time, since 1871.
Hold the umbrella over the words to read them dry. Click to close it, at your own risk.Drag the umbrella over the words to read them dry. Tap it to close it, at your own risk.
Meet the Garrow No. 4The flagship · made since 1904
The Garrow No. 4
- 1FerruleTurned brass. Points at the weather, accusingly.
- 2CanopyGarrow cloth, woven at 190 threads per inch. Water has tried.
- 3RibsEight, of solid carbon steel, 61 cm each. Not hollow. We checked all of them.
- 4StretchersEight more, riveted by hand. They do the pushing.
- 5RunnerThe part that travels up. Sprung, so that it stays there.
- 6ShaftA single piece of ash, tip to grip. No joins to argue with.
- 7HandleMalacca cane, steam-bent over a week. Fits a hand, or the crook of an arm.
Tested in a car wash on Finch Street. Twice, because the attendant asked to see it again. Workshop ledger, entry 4,112
£185re-covered free, for life
Reserve one at the counterHouse reference · eleven grades
A Short Catalogue of Rain
Other cities have weather. Garrow has a filing system. Our counter staff grade every shower before recommending a remedy; touch a grade to see it fall.
- 01Umbrella: optional
Mizzle
Finer than drizzle, wetter than mist. You do not notice it until you are soaked.
- 02Umbrella: decorative
Smirr
Rain that hangs about rather than falls. It has nowhere else to be.
- 03Umbrella: carried, smugly
Spitting
Individual drops, sent ahead to see whether you will go back for a coat.
- 04Umbrella: advised
Drizzle
The civil service of rain: unhurried, thorough, and here until five.
- 05Umbrella: yes
A steady soak
The Garrow default. Gardeners call it useful. Nobody else calls it anything.
- 06Umbrella: yes, and hurry
Pelting
Audible on the hat. Conversations are resumed indoors.
- 07Umbrella: essential
Stair-rods
Straight down, in visible lines. Named by people who still had stair-rods.
- 08Umbrella: aimed
Sideways
Arrives from the harbour, horizontally. The umbrella is held like a shield.
- 09Umbrella: a gesture
The kind that gets in at the cuffs
No known defence. We sell a sleeve garter. It does not help.
- 10Umbrella: a No. 4
Cloudburst
Eleven minutes in which the far side of the street becomes a rumour.
- 11Umbrella: two
A Garrow Tuesday
All of the above, in order, before lunch.
The bench · upstairs
We mend what we make, and several things we did not.
Every Pluvia umbrella is re-covered free of charge, for its lifetime or yours, whichever proves the longer. Bring the frame; we keep the cloth.
| The trouble | The charge |
|---|---|
| New rib, fitted | £9.00 |
| Ferrule, replacedLost ones are usually in a drain on Finch Street. | £6.50 |
| Runner and spring | £14.00 |
| Handle, re-seated | £12.00 |
| Blown inside-out, restoredDignity not included. | £7.00 |
| Full re-covering, another maker’s frame | £48.00 |
| Another maker’s umbrella, assessedRefunded if we laugh. | £4.00 |
| Left on the tram and handed in to usWe know whose it is. | £0.00 |
| Full re-covering, any Pluvia umbrella, for life | £0.00 |
Ready by Thursday, or we lend you one of ours.
Find us · follow the dripping
The shop
14 Tolhouse ArcadeGarrow
| Monday to Friday | 8 – 6 |
| Saturday | 9 – 5 |
| SundayFor emergencies. Knock twice. | Knock |
| Closed on dry daysi.e. the 3rd of August. | Shut |
Trams 3, 9 and 11 to Tolhouse Cross, then follow the people who are not hurrying. They have already been to see us.
My great-great-grandfather opened this shop the week the Tolhouse roof first leaked. The roof still leaks; we regard it as advertising.
We make four umbrellas a day, slowly, and the fourth is always the best. Bring us anything with ribs. If it can be mended we will mend it, and if it cannot we will say so kindly and put the kettle on.
Odalys Pluvia
Fifth generation · first daughterThe sign still says Sons. We have had the paint ready since 1998. It keeps raining.