Junefinnigan's Weblog

Benvenuti to all my lovely Loyal and New Followers

The Madonna Lily and Poppies below our Terrace. Photo J Finnigan

“What do you think it is?”  My man is pointing to a lovely white lily type flower that has appeared out of nowhere in the bank below the upper terrace.  “Mmm,” I scratch my chin.  “It must have seeded itself, it looks like  some kind of lily…”  I am hopeless at plant names, but our daughter would come to the rescue the next day when she arrived for lunch with the family.  “It has more than one name” she says,

The ‘Bottle Brush’ shrub.
Photo P Finnigan

“But the most popular one is Madonna Lily.  It’s normally planted on the grave of someone who got murdered by mistake; as a sort of apology!”   Our knowledgable girl has a first in horticulture, so she should know.  Popular plant in Mafiosi gardens then, I muse.  But the other plant we were curious about was a gorgeous red bloom on a shrub that had not flowered before.  “Well, I call it the Bottle Brush,” she said.  “but that’s not its real name.  I’ll send you an email when I remember it.”

The countryside is currently a sea of red poppies and the fireflies are flitting around in the evenings; I love this time of year.  The next three days will be all celebrations and our italian friends will be taking time out for eating al fresco in their allotments, on balconies, in fields and gardens.  Festa della Republica is on Tuesday, so is a public holiday.  However, the Italians always start preparations two or three days earlier and then extend it for a couple of days after that.  We have had to book our usual table for sunday pranzo (lunch) at C’era Una Volta well in advance, as the ristorante will most likely be heaving.

The lovely Martina.
Photo J Finnigan

My man returned from a dash to London last Friday, and we popped up the C’era Una Volta for Cena (dinner).  We were delighted to have Martina join us.  She is Gianluca’s longterm girlfriend, hugely intelligent and a linguist, so her English is really good.  To remind you, Gianluca is our favourite waiter and eternal student of history.  He has just been offered a PhD in Istanbul, but he has decided not to follow it through as it would mean leaving certain commitments behind, like the restaurant and, although he would not admit to it, the lovely Martina.  I gave her two copies of my books, signed of course, to share with Gianluca.

Sivio at the wrong rally!
La Nazione newspaper.

This morning we are scouring the papers in Caffe Bar Solferino in Certaldo, and are highly amused to read that the gorgeous Silvio Berlusconi turned up at the wrong rally on his hustings tour yesterday!  He was supposed to be joining the representative of his own party, Forza Italia, to give him support.  But whoops, he found himself appearing to support the opposition instead!  Still, he kept a brave smile on his face…

Well, time to go and make myself beautiful as we must get to the ristorante early before the crowds arrive.  We are used to the ‘slow food’ service in Italy, and actually quite like it, it allows time for conversation in between courses.  However, on Festa weekends when big extended families turn up, as well as the tourists, it pays to get one’s order in early.

Have a great week and don’t forget to visit my author page on Amazon.  http:/www.amazon.com/author/junefinnigan

Salute June x

‘The Bolivian Connection’ Book two in the series.

My Father, The Assassin. Book one in the series.