Get set for a long hot summer - with these stylish parasols
Daily Mail Finally, it's summer. And if it's anything like last year, it could be an absolute scorcher. Long days spent in the garden beckon, but blazing sun doesn't just warm you, it can burn before you know it.
We're all a lot more aware of the dangers of sun damage than we used to be: from painful burns to premature skin ageing, and the potential for cancers.
Overall, the best defence is shade. And for that, there's nothing like a good garden parasol. Don't worry: they don't have to be the tired and tatty items you find in pub beer gardens.
They can be beautiful, playful or antique so long as they throw some shadow over you, they're doing their job.
Opium on the King's Road in Chelsea is laden with treasures, both antique and new from Rajasthan. You find yourself stepping over worn marble statues of the elephant god, Ganesha, baskets of steel lassi cups, and newly woven fabrics.
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The shop's owner, Tracy Kitching, goes to India on regular buying trips to see what turns up. And while there, she oversees the production of the shop's line in hand-printed parasols.
