The White Umbrella
Description:... For Mr B it was love at first sight: when he saw the tiny donkey being abused by its owner, he knew he had to come to her rescue. He called her Pavlova (on account of her long legs) and knew that their destinies were now entwined. There was no way his film crew was going to fly them both back to London, so Mr B quite sensibly decides that they will travel overland"€"and what a trip it runs out to be He leaves his film crew in Pakistan and embarks on a journey, donkey in tow, across Iran, through Turkey, into Germany and France to bring her home to suburban London. Enroute, they encounter drug smugglers, carpet salesmen and hosts of every variety, until they finally hitch a lift from Hector, an aristocratic Brit who drives a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, in which the two eccentric Englishmen successfully smuggle Pavlova across The Channel. This is one of those small and apparently "lightweight" books you begin with modest expectations and finish with genuine delight. It has all the characteristics of the best British prose: the wry understatement, the love of travel and adventure, the unremitting affection for animals of all kinds. We loved it.
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