I wouldn’t call this post ‘news’, since that implies something amazing. A round-up of events is probably a better description. And it’s long because it includes a rant, so, sorry about that in advance.
It didn’t quite go as planned on Sunday after all. We DID go for a walk up Corso Buenos Aires on Sunday afternoon as many of the shops were open. We DID take Rufus, who got lots of admiring looks and lots of ‘che bello’s’ and who was perfectly behaved, as usual. V got some presents for the birthday of a girl at work because he always seems to be the one responsible for taking the collection money and finding the presents.
We’ve had a lovely couple of days away. Enjoying the atmosphere, the climate, the country and, most importantly, friends’ company, good food and wine.
I really shouldn’t have had that fifth whiskey last night (I don’t even really like whiskey), nor for that matter the other four or the large mirto that V poured me. I feel that, although my body is obeying the commands I give it, it is doing so very reluctantly and with a time lag as though my body were in Australia and I am phoning with the instructions. Also, at any moment now the line will break and my body will stop accepting any instructions at all. Still, a nice evening. H had arrived back from the UK and we had much to talk about.
And the title, you ask. What’s that all about? Well, the site is registered on Google Analytics, which means I can see certain information about visitors to the site. In this case the title was what was typed into search.com and the person (in Derby, I think) got to the Vanda site. Tried it myself this morning and I have no idea why it came up as I can’t find it at all. Sorry to the person in Derby for not giving you the answer, but you did have a look around before you left, so I guess there might have been something of interest.
Via The Magistrate’s Blog comes a link to a Guardian article and this quote from one of the contributors:
‘images of us being forced into a van and taken to airport come back. We were taken off the flight at the last minute, but I can hear the screams of the other Congolese being forced onto the plane. My son has had constipation ever since we came here’
No, not some kidnapping or hijack. An asylum seeker in the UK whose two children were born here and who was writing from an asylum centre, having been ‘snatched from our home in Glasgow’.
I can make no comment as I think it says all that is required.
Update p.m. I’ve just thought, perhaps the person wasn’t looking to be more liked by others but rather they were looking for a method of cloning themselves!
7.20 p.m.
Hi to all my readers. The list is growing and there’s now about 6 of you out there reading this! I can’t believe it and feel quite guilty that I don’t write something much better!
Continue reading
Well, many things are happening!
First, we have been offered (and accepted) a beautiful house in Val Curone – halfway between Milano and Genoa, about one hours travel from Milano) – which is almost like Tuscany but without the Brits or the tourists! Absolutely fantastic! We have got it for the whole month of August and, originally, when we accepted it, I was going to do my last lesson on 31st July and my next lesson on 31st August – so it would be a whole month in the country!
Italians have a passion for food. But the passion they have is incredible.
On the plus side, most of the food you get here is fresh – made with fresh ingredients (and you can taste it). In a restaurant, the menu will say if any of the dishes contain frozen food. Getting a take-away pizza (which we do from time to time, from the restaurant at the back of the flat) means that it is cooked that instant using dough made that day and with produce bought that day. Everyone here eats pizza from a restaurant. They have the best (wood or, sometimes, gas fired) pizza ovens and the cost of a pizza – about €6 – €8, sometimes less! Why cook it yourself?