Guest Idea 5: A stick and some lines

This one comes from Gavin Fernback, and is really good. And could actually sell and make money which, let's be honest, can't be said for most of the ideas on this site.

There was a photo to accompany this of Gavin's idea (which you might not think you'd need when your idea is called 'A stick and some lines', but there you go). Unfortunately there were technical issues, but Gavin if you're reading feel free to send through again and I'll stick it up.

Anyway, over to Gavin:

"I've always had a strange affinity to sundials. Sad to admit, but I'm fascinated by how lazy we have all become relying on watches to tell the time, satnav to direct us and Michael Fish to tell us the week's weather. A few hundred years ago people did this just by looking at the stars, the sun and the formation of clouds. What is intiguing about sun dials is that all you need is essentially a stick, and strategically placed lines on a flat surface.

My application of this 'stick and lines' approach is to be used on a table cloth for garden tables. The umbrella would be the stick, and lines drawn on the cloth. All you need to do it check the time when you put on the cloth, adjust it accordingly and you have your very own sundial beneath your crudités, cocktail sausages and burnt chicken pieces."

Feasibility Rating: 8