Why Was the Mother Standing in the Rain?

Why Didn't the Mother Just Stand Under the Shelter Instead of Waiting in the Rain in 'Farhampton'?

I was watching the episode 'Farhampton' (S8X01) on TV last night and I wondered about this question. I've also seen this question asked occasionally around the internet. Why would the Mother just wait in the rain when she could be under cover just a couple of metres away? For some of you this might be an unnecessary and probably silly question to ask, but there's no new episode today to talk about so I may as well discuss this.

Why is this a question? Well, for one she's carrying her guitar: wouldn't she want to put it down somewhere dry? Why bother carrying it in the rain if you're going to wait for the train? I would have said that the train might not be far away from arriving, but Ted and the old lady are reading as if they know they're going to wait for a while. Plus, the Mother would've recognised Ted (since she's in the wedding band [S8X13]) as the best man from the wedding when she arrived: wouldn't she consider going over and saying hi? Wouldn't Cindy have told her about Ted? Why stand that far away from him?

Here's some reasons I've been thinking about:

 

1. She's avoiding Ted: his hand is bandaged - maybe there was an incident at the wedding she witnessed. Maybe when she arrived she saw Ted and thought, "Oh, that guy from that incident" and decided not to talk to him or even go near him. I doubt this is the reason though considering they're destined lovers. 

2. She's playing with Ted: maybe it's a private game. Let me explain: we know Ted sees her at the wedding reception and smiles (S8X13). Maybe she notices Ted too and thinks, "He's kinda cute, so maybe I'll mess around a bit". And... wait for it... she plays hide and seek with Ted. I know, it sounds absolutely ridiculous, but I can picture it: Ted going around saying, "There's a cute girl in the band I saw, now I can't find her!" and people keep telling him they don't know either. It's also plausible audience-wise: when the time comes, even though the Mother is at the wedding we will see, it means we still won't actually see her until Ted meets her. And maybe when she arrived at the train station and saw Ted she stopped and thought, "Here he is. I wonder if he'll recognise me from here" and waits under the umbrella... to be found by Ted. And when he actually sees her he'll be like, "Where on earth have you been?" An absolutely ridiculous idea? Yes. Possible giving the circumstances we have seen so far and the fact the show wouldn't want to show us the Mother in full at the wedding? Yes.

3. She's just anti-social. I really doubt that one. 

4. She's showing off her umbrella to the world like she's done for the past few years. Maybe she really loves that damn umbrella too much. 

5. A couple of guys called Craig Thomas and Carter Bays came up to her earlier and said, "Hey, when you go home tonight could you please use your umbrella all the time, even if there's dry cover? We just don't want this guy to see you just yet." Like that's going to happen!

 

It's probably none of these reasons, but it's fun to speculate! Besides, the Mother can do whatever she wants, I suppose.