My Russian umbrella

I bought this umbrella many years ago in Moscow one rainy morning.

I needed a brolly.
With a certain amount of miming I explained my dilemma to an elderly Russian woman.

Could she direct me to a shop?
Well, she did more than that, she insisted on taking me some five minutes walk away to a store and to the counter selling them.

Every time I open the umbrella, which I did today on another dreich, rainy day in Scotland, I recall with affection , and gratitude that morning meeting with a poor elderly Russian woman who went out of her way to help a foreigner.