So, part of my madness this weekend is this. I could have spent the time cleaning up and rehearsing for the barbecue tomorrow. To be fair to myself (and I try to be most of the time) I did go to the local farmers market, bought a mess of fresh veges and cooked up a great dhall curry for Mum and me for lunch. After which I watched the first bonus disk of the "Gladiator" extended edition (great stuff btw) and napped.

When I got up I began surfing the net for pith helmets! WTF? Some of you know that I already own one... exactly like the top one here to the right... infact I'm wearing it in my avatar.


I was looking for something like this (similar to the ones used during the Boer Wars) because frankly, I always kinda liked the shape of it. Found several sites with some wildly differing prices. But being the frugal shopper that I am... I kept looking. My heart pounding faster and my breath quickening as I surfed from site to site. With each site my obsession grew. The challenge was to see how many models were really available on the market. I noticed that mostly army surplus and the higher priced hat stores were carrying these.



Then I found this, a Wolseley Pith - it was instant love! I had to have it! I kept surfing and even found the site to the company that makes them in Vietnam. (They have a new line that made my head spin... can't wait for those to hit the market!) I already knew a little history about the pith helmets and that these were all the real deal made out of cork. Remember, I own the top one... and I had been burned in the past by replicas made out of pressed paper. Great to look at but useless from a practical standpoint. Yeah, like pressed paper was going to stand up to a tropical downpour... Jeez!


Anyway, when I came across this... I was having a serious case of the vapors! (Truman owned one of these - in white!!) Now if I could only find a site that sold them at a reasonable price. Would I? Could I? I DID! Yes, I bought all three of them... and it only set me back about $60 with shipping! I wanted to light a cigarette from the afterglow. Perhaps I should have... but I continued to surf.

Then I came across this (on the bottom) ... the Indian Pith, sometimes known as the "bombay bowler"... but the 3 sites that carried it... had priced it way beyond my present budget. This was the pith of all piths! This was what I was really looking for in the first place (O.K.... next to the one that was used in the Boer War)! I mean, look at the elegance of that beauty!!! (Anyone want to buy this for me... yeah, I didn't think so.) Now, I can only pine until I get it. ::sob:: ... I should have cleaned up and rehearsed instead.


Don't look at me like that! You have your... shoes... or baseball cards... I've got my piths!

EDIT: noon: There seems to be some interest in the piths. I may be starting a bit of a fashion trend here... LOL... go figure! So, here are a couple of links to some sites where you can get them. This one has a great selection but the prices are almost double from this one that has less of a selection... and they come from the SAME manufacturer! Perhaps I should go into business myself. Am I a frugal shopper or what?? If you do buy one... send me a pic of you wearing it