LRB Umbrella - Navy

‘My last encounter with the librarian occurred outside the university at the bus stop waiting for the 24. It began to rain stair-rods. Larkin put up his umbrella. Seeking shelter, and being much smaller, I edged towards him. There were only the two of us there. He looked at me. I smiled and said: “I did enjoy The North Ship.” He stared down at me and said: “If you think you’re sharing my umbrella you’ve got another think coming.” And with that he pressed the catch on his umbrella so that it folded down closer around his head.’
– Neville Smith, in a letter to the LRB responding to Alan Bennett’s review of Andrew Motion’s biography of Philip Larkin (1993)

Wind tunnel tested at 120 km/h
Length closed: 29cm
Weight: 358g