Junefinnigan's Weblog

Bentornati and Benvenuti to all my Lovely Followers,

It’s a wonderful thing to be able to write to you all every week, and to tell you about the fun and interesting goings on in my little bit of Tuscany.  I would, however, like to first mention my Man.  He has just returned from five working days in London and he had some very interesting ‘journey’ stories to tell.   Before I go into these, I must say that I am forever grateful for him handing out my author cards and promoting me , his girlie, wherever he goes.  He is currently reading an ancient leather-bound book written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and called The Scarlet Letter.  This book is an heirloom and has been in our family since 1850 and always comes up fresh.  It is also small and easy to travel with.  He was on the train reading it and an Italian lady opposite asked if he was reading the Bible!  She turned out to be incredibly interesting, a teacher in New York, with a house on the very ‘tip’ of Italy, had flown into Pisa from London, was staying a few days in Florence and was then going to a Persian Wedding in Rome.  Phew!  Earlier my man was on a flight from Luton to Pisa and before take off, he was settling in to the pleasing fact that he was going to have three seats all to himself.  Then two very large (but lovely) ladies rushed in through the door at the last-minute.  His heart sank, as they headed straight for him.  They were friends but their seats were one each side of him and he is not a small man.   Thankfully, the blonde one offered him her window seat, however, as they strapped themselves in it was obvious he was going to be well and truly wedged up against the window for two hours!  If he had wanted anything out of his pocket, there was no way of getting his hand in and for the whole flight he had nothing to eat or drink.   But bless them, these ladies from the Midlands were so funny and entertaining that the time flew by and he came away armed with some hilarious ‘blond’ jokes!

Meanwhile, back at the Bar/Alimentari in Fiano, Sig Rotund is unhappy with the inconsistent arrival of the newspapers and in particular, the sporting pages.  Today he sent an Algerian runner for one, but he came back empty-handed.  Now Sig Rotund is a very popular customer and poor Laura the owner did not want to disappoint him yet again.  So she walked down to the other bar to get him one.  Two or three of the local ladies give Sig Rotund’s wide back a massage whilst he is reading the ‘giornale’, including Laura, and he takes this all for granted.   He is, by the way, a very likeable man too.

Milko showing my books for sale!

Then some good news.  Milko, at the ‘Cartolibreria’ in the Piazza, was delighted to have sold three of my novels yesterday, to a German lady and her two American friends.  Monica, if you are reading this, I hope you are all thoroughly enjoying the book!  Drop me a line.

Earlier in the week and back in our lovely garden, I saw a flash of yellow in the orchard, dashed for the binoculars and saw my first ever Golden Oriole fly across my view.   Of course it’s a time when you really want to share this experience, however, here is a picture for you all to enjoy anyway.

Eurasian Golden Oriole

I may have already told you that I always have a book on the go.   I am talking about reading, not writing, although I always have one of those in preparation too, as I find it very relaxing to go and read when a little bit of stress creeps in.   I am currently reading ‘Joyce Grenfell Requests the Pleasure‘ which is an autobiography  by this lovely funny lady who I have been fortunate enough to hear on radio years ago and see on TV.  I can only say that not only was she a great entertainer but a pretty good writer too.   Writers should always read as it can provide unexpected inspiration and education.

Silvio – Still Sexy even when firing on all cylinders!
Photo stefanogalla.blogs.com

And so to the man himself.  May he always keep the journalists, hairdressers, make-up artists, dancers, politicians and judges in work.  Without Silvio there would be a massive increase in unemployment.   Talk in the local bar is very much against his opposition as these people have no idea what a great loss he would be to tourism and students studying economics & politics.  Whilst Italy does have a king tucked away somewhere, possibly in jail – I’ll check this out for next time, Silvio has for several decades now been a form of ‘royalty’.  He’s certainly rich enough.  As is often said in the bar, better the ‘Devil you Know’!

Well, must get organised and go out to lunch (pranzo) at ‘C’era una Volta’ in Luccardo near Fiano.    It’s far too hot to cook or to eat outside at present, however, we will look forward to a nice aperitivo in the early evening when it is a little cooler.

Have a great week and see you next weekend.

Amore June x

PS If you would like to read or leave a review for my novel, click the top right of this page ‘My Father, The Assassin’ under blogroll.