Junefinnigan's Weblog

Benvenuti and Welcome to all my Lovely Followers

I’m back.  And, more importantly, I’m back in our lovely bit of Tuscany after a week in the UK.  I cannot find the words to explain how happy this makes me; as soon as the plane takes off from Pisa for England, I am homesick.  That probably says it all.  And, once again I have bought back a cold bug, which only today has released my addled mind sufficiently to write this blog!  Oh, and in just eight days, autumn has painted our hillside and valley in its gorgeous cloak of russet and yellow.  Yes, I know, autumn colours in the rest of Europe are also lovely, but here the vines changing colour have to be seen first hand to be really appreciated.  Foto P Finnigan

The other thing that Autumn brings is the start of the Rugby Season.  Many of you will already know that we are a great Rugby family.  And the star of our family is currently our seventeen year old grandson Archie.  Archie plays for Siena Rugby, known as ‘I Ghibellini’ here in Tuscany.  Last weekend was the opening game of the season when, playing at number ten, he scored the first try and three conversions!  The team went on to win 40 nil.  I have just had a message from Archie as they have just played their second game;  he was playing on the wing and again scored a try, helping the team through to win 53-10.  We are so proud. Visit Siena Rugby club

Meanwhile, we are now celebrating the Festa delle Castagne, that is Chestnut to you and me.  The woodland roads are full of parked cars on the weekend, as the enthusiasts converge to find all those wonderful glossy nuts.  Now, I am not the greatest of cooks, I like to go to restaurants, however, I have just bought the ingredients for ‘Castagnaccio’ which is a very popular dessert/cake here in Tuscany and probably the whole of Italy.  Now, my good friend and neighbour Judy Witts Francini, the celebrity cook, will probably hold her hands up in horror as she reads this, because she can probably make it with her eyes closed.  Visit Judy at judy’s website  I hope she will appreciate that I am making an effort here.  Mind you, there is a use by date of September 2018 on the packet, so it gives me time to get round to it…..

Now things are heating up here in Italy.  No, not the weather silly, I’m talking about the General Election, which will apparently happen in November.  The pretty boy and former Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi has been seen out and about on his motor scooter (he lives in Florence and is also the former mayor) and a few days ago posing inside an APE, pronounced appay, which has been converted to a Bibliomotocarro or mobile library to you and me.  I love this little library, anything that promotes real books is right up my street.  And yes, it’s all about being seen in Italian Politics.

What next, oh yes, in the world of music, I noticed in the paper, whilst enjoying my morning coffee, that the very strange but clever electronic band Kraftwerk is on tour here.  They are looking even more robotic than they did back in the 70’s.  I do remember that the band was from Germany, and despite my preference for Rock, I did enjoy some of their music.  I have just checked them out on Wikipedia, and it’s interesting to read that they started in 1969 and up until 2008, the founder members were unchanged, when Florian Schneider stepped down.  They have produced three successful albums and continue to tour with the remaining members.  Foto La Republica

Well, I hope you will forgive me for the quick exit as I also need to write my column for Expat Focus and, due to the English virus, I am behind schedule!  However, do get in touch, I love to hear from you.  And, don’t forget to visit my new website for book updates, events and special promotions.  June’s Official Author Site

Have a great week and see you soon.

Salute June x