We all look forward to days sitting in the warm summer sunshine, cool beer in hand, watching the world go by. We lay exciting plans to do this and that but all too often our dreams of elegant alfresco dining on some sun-kissed terrace overlooking the sparkling waters of Coniston Water, the Thames or perhaps Cardigan Bay become a kagoule clad reality of eating greasy chips in a bus shelter outside Redcar.

Summer shows in East Lancashire have long been blighted by inclement weather. The Royal Lancashire Show when it was held at the potentially wonderful site at Ribchester was dogged by terrible weather that turned the show into a mud bath. Just this week we have had news of Burnley Fair being cancelled due to the water-logged ground.

Classically, of course, around this time of year there is the hugely popular Glastonbury Festival where mud is long established as part of the experience. Think about it, a city larger than Exeter built on foundations of mud. Every year the tickets sell out and visitors don't even try to stay mud free. They just get on with it and enjoy the festival often ankle deep in goo!

In times past, I used to go walking for miles with a huge pack on my back containing flasks, waterproof clothes, emergency kit, warm clothes, waterproof matches compasses, maps ... you name it, I carried it. Strangely enough, when in that mode you find yourself becoming strangely covetous of stuff other people are carrying. Sunglasses, ice picks, satellite navigation equipment, the odd thermo-nuclear device! In short you become a gear junky.

As I have grown older I have tended to discard all this gear in favour of a more minimalistic approach. If I cannot wear it, I don't take it. Tee shirt, lightweight quick-drying combat trousers, boots, hat, optional fleece and/or kagoule and that is it. I don't take folding maps anymore. I scan the area on the map I will be walking or cycling in, onto my computer, print off the much smaller less cumbersome piece of paper and laminate it against the wet and shove it in my back pocket.

I carry a bottle of water on my belt if we are in a remote area and that is about it. Any butties are carried in a polythene bag, never a bulky tupperware and carried in my pocket. In reality they are usually scoffed before we set off anyway so why lug an empty bulky plastic box around all day. Even this luggage can be left behind if there is reliably open pub half way round (...there usually is...). In short, I like to travel light, travel fast, travel easy. Keys, cash, camera. What else do you need?

Well there is one piece of equipment I wouldn't have been seen dead with years ago but which now is carried in the back of my car where ever I go. As we park up, I make a quick decision on whether or not to bother with it. Recently, it has done legion service and been out on as many outings as we have. I've taken it to London, Manchester, the Dales, Northumberland, even up Pendle Hill.

The Swiss army knife was long ago consigned to the back of the drawer. The kit for making fires without matches is lost in the darkest recesses of the garden shed. The million candle power torch is lost and was never used to attract a lifeboat that happened to be passing by. It is probably in the loft gathering dust. I even have a foldaway shovel I was once in the habit of carrying in my rucsack just in case I needed to excavate a snow cave, divert a river or make pizza over an open fire. They have travelled miles with me and have rarely been used .... so why bother to lug them around.

This recent addition to my minmalist equipment portfolio has proved invaluable at an out-of-doors production of "The Taming of the Shrew" I went to at Whalley Abbey. It proved invaluable when fighting my way through the most aggressive cows in Britain when I was out walking near Hurst Green, but best of all when I was out gardening the other night.

I have started to harvest my new potatoes, garlic and broad beans. The gooseberry bushes are burdened with fruit, while the earliest blackcurrants are now ready for picking. Blackcurrants are a crucial ingredient in wifey's legendary summer puddings along with that other summer favourite, the strawberry. My strawberries are cropping wonderfully now and the idea of growing them off the ground in steel guttering has been a magnificent success.

Of course we all associate strawberries with summer and Wimbledon. Come to think of it, I used the same equipment last year when I took my eldest daughter to Wimbledon. It saw extensive service and continues to do so.

It is that invaluable piece of any outdoor enthusiasts equipment...the umbrella.