Junefinnigan's Weblog

Welcome and Benvenuti to all my Lovely Followers around the World, I was of two minds, to start with Rugby or Super Mario! After the awful rugby yesterday, I have decided to get that off my mind and move on to brighter things afterwards!

As many of you know, my man and I have lived in Tuscany since 2004, so have become Italianised in our lifestyle and some allegiances. But when it comes to Six Nations Rugby we feel compelled to support both Italy and England; when they are playing each other it’s a little difficult. So, yesterday we thought the only thing missing was the popcorn as we settled in to watch Italy play France then England play Scotland. O Dio, Italy has always been the underdog and we expected France to win, but not to be so easily thrashed! After this we expected a lift watching England beat Scotland, but NO! We have never seen England play so badly, but perhaps I’m being too kind. They were actually rubbish! No game plan, no running the ball, just rubbish! But well done to Scotland, you deserved the win! Foto PinInterest.

Meanwhile, more zones have been downgraded to yellow from a Covid point of view. Unfortunately, the announcement had city centres flooding with groups of people not necessarily keeping the required distance or wearing masks, both are still required by law! Italy has been doing well with infections and deaths decreasing, we can only hope that the stupidity of some will not be the death of others.

But, lets move on to brighter things. This last week we have seen the arrival of Super Mario! Mario Draghi, economist and former President of the European Bank, has been asked to form a government! Hurrah! If anyone can sort out the dire economical situation here in Italy, Super Mario is a good choice. He spent three days meeting with the current political groups, quote Il Tempo: ‘Mario Draghi didn’t talk much. In the first two days dedicated to consultations, the prime minister in charge preferred to “listen”. The delegations of the political forces he met told this to tune. He took notes, several. He assured the commitment to confront and build a political government. The first round of consultations will end today with the League and the M5S. Then Draghi will reflect, on Monday the social partners and on Tuesday he will start a short second round of discussions in which he will begin to put the agenda in black and white. For now he has limited himself to reiterating the country’s emergencies and has assured that he aims to work hard even if, he would have specified, “the recovery will be slow”. Foto Wikipedia.

Meanwhile, down in Florence, just thirty-five minutes from us, the filming of ‘My Brilliant Friend’ is in progress and will be until 20 February. Apparently this is a hugely popular film or series, I’m not sure which. So if you want to pop over to Piazza della Signorina, you might find things looking very vintage. Foto The Florentine.

And, back here in our little bit of Chianti, we have tucked in on a rainy overcast Sunday. But things are looking brighter as we have spotted daffodils coming up in unexpected places and have heard the sound of the Golden Oriel, that fabulous elusive bird, whose call we first heard in 2004 and it will forever feel like the original welcome to the country we have grown to love.

OK, time to think about lunch. We avoid going out to lunch on Sundays as the restaurants are getting busier. So I think I’ll stir fry some zucchini with rice then bake it with cheese. But first, a nice drop of chianti wine to warm the cockles of our hearts.

Do drop me a line, I love to hear from my readers, oh and visit my website at http://www.junefinnigan.website

Stay warm, stay safe.

Salute June x