Welcome to Hoare Worth’s M&A E-news – Tuesday, 08 October 2013
Seeking IFA/Wealth Management (599) – UK based – Min £50m FUM
A long established and highly regarded Private Client Fund Manager is seeking Advisors who are either nearing retirement or would like to be part of a larger firm. Ideally, the Advisor will have Funds Under Management or direction of a min of £50m.
Write in confidence to june.finnigan@hoareworth.com
Posted in Business | Tagged funds under Management, IFA, UK | Leave a Comment »
Very good advice for all my writing friends! Heard it all before? Not the way Kristen tells it…… June x
If you’re a writer, then you have a dream. You also have a lot of work ahead. I heard an interesting quote this morning from Joyce Meyers. There are dreamers who don’t work and workers who don’t dream. That hit home for me.
After having been around the block a few times, I can say I’ve met both types of writers. Some writers have all these ideas and generally a stack of unfinished work to show for it. They aren’t willing to dig in when it gets hard, when the “fair-weather friends” fall away. On the other side, we have those who write, but are afraid to dream. They’re terrified to dare ask if they could be great.
To be successful we must learn to dream and to be finishers.Starting is easy. There are a lot of people to cheer us on, but watch what happens when the…
View original post 1,408 more words
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Welcome Ragazzi
Long September shadows Upper Terrace
Photo J Finnigan
So the weekend has arrived and my man is back from three working days in London. Generally, it takes him twenty-four hours to properly wind down again, and that I understand as I am just the same. Have I mentioned that he is a real gentleman? He is a natural for helping the girlies, of all ages, to rack their suitcases and make more room on the trains for passengers. Yesterday, on leaving Pisa on the Florence train, he noticed two such victims close by in his carriage and immediately offered his services to put their rather heavy cases up on the rack. Both were very grateful, particularly as the train was full. Now it hadn’t occurred to him that he would be changing trains at Empoli, which is half way to Florence, and that the girlies, one very short and the other slightly built, would have to get the big cases down again at Florence! When this dawned on him, he had already changed trains and was on his way to Certaldo, so he closed his eyes and chuckled to himself for the rest of the journey! You’ve heard the one about the old lady who was idly passing the time of day watching the traffic go by, and then got walked across the road by a good Samaritan who thought she wanted to cross it? Exactly…….
The first winter crocuses
Photo P Finnigan
Now the man was very happy to get home and unwind with an aperitivo. However, before sitting down, he took some Photos of the lovely yellow crocuses that had popped up whilst he was away and the Blue Plumbago which is looking brighter than ever. The Bougainvillea is now going over, but it is producing some fascinating seed pods and we think it a good idea to pot some of these and see what happens.
Blue Plumbago
September is proving to be a good month for renewed growth in our garden, including more peppers! The air is wonderful and the cooler days, around twenty-four degrees at midday, are right up my street. However, there are those that hate the loss of hot summer nights and warm mornings. For me every season is fabulous here and as for winter, I look forward to the crackling log fire and to wearing my favourite waxed jacket & Italian boots!
Bougainvillea Seeds
photo P Finnigan
Back at the Alimentari/bar I met a very nice Scots couple who were here on holiday and they promised to buy my book! Thank you Marie and Larry, I hope you are enjoying it! This morning friends from Florence arrived in the bar and their little boy aged about five , had a broken foot in plaster. O no, we say, how did it happen! Apparently his Nonna (grandmother) fell from a great height and unfortunately the little lad broke her fall with his foot! They were spoiling him with a massive piece of pizza for breakfast to compensate and he was stuffing it in like it was his last supper! A that age, having a Nonna fall on you does not bode well for the future and I would imagine he will be constantly checking the sky for other falling relatives! Previously, we were chatting with Benedetta who was talking about female twins in her family. Sometimes my brain does not work too well in Italian and I thought she was talking about the star sign Gemini! Twins in Italian is Gemelli, and it is the same translation for the star sign Gemini. O dio, so I thought she was saying ‘My cousin is a Gemini, do you have any in your family?’ I was just about to say yes, when my man noticed my mistake and put me right, bless him….. Mind you, that was just a small misunderstanding on my part, I’ll tell you about some of the real biggies another time!
Silvio ‘feel my muscle!’
Photo unknown
So what about our idol Silvio, how is he doing? Well he and his over aged fiance, twenty-seven year old Francesca Pascale, have appeared together in an air-brushed photo shoot for ‘Vanity Fair’. (Not this photo) She has claimed to have chased SB and that she fell in love with him when she was an under age shop girl. SB said ‘She has brought me joy without asking for anything in return!’ What, you have to be in dreamland Silvio! Well, we wait with bated breath to hear whether he remains in the senate (members of his party have renewed threats to resign from the government if he is stripped of his senate seat) and if he actually marries his lovely girlie. In the meantime we wish SB buon compleanno (happy birthday) for tomorrow.
Time to go and cook a yummy lunch.
Have a great week and see you next weekend.
Salute June
PS don’t forget to check out http://www.first chapters.net for your Autumn reading. In particular, ‘My Father, The Assassin, by J W Finnigan!
Posted in Life | Tagged Berlusconi, book, Chianti, coffee, Famous, Fiano, it, Italy, J W Finnigan, June Finnigan, My Father The Assassin, Romantic thriller, Silvio Berlusconi, Tuscany, writer | 2 Comments »
Ripening grapes on our lower terrace.
Photo P Finnigan
Welcome to all my Loyal and New Followers.
Well, this last week we have been surrounded by grape harvesters, driving their squeaky tractors and clattering trailers loaded with huge juicy purple grapes past our villa, and taking them for crushing just down the road at the Villa Bacio. The Villa is also an agriturismo, so paying guests are darting around with their cameras trying to get the best shots of the picking and crushing. Yesterday, Sunday, we bumped into our very good friend Claudio who produces one of the best Chianti wines in the region. We can see his property across the valley and he used to be our next door neighbour. Claudio was just starting his harvest and, like many other farmers, always imports workers during the season. Last year he had Orientals and Africans, this year he has Pakistanis! Why, we asked, have you chosen Pakistanis. They are reliable and legal he laughed, the price is agreed at outset and the boss speaks Italian which helps! My man commented on how good the weather was now and that he hated cold weather. Claudio said it was perfect for the harvest (vendemia), not too hot and not too cold. He then laughed and called my man a ToscanoDoc. This was quite a compliment as he was saying that the man was one of ‘them’, that is a true Tuscan! As all you wine connoisseurs will know, a DOCG Chianti wine has been formally approved as a true Chianti and Claudio’s wine is in this exclusive club. My man was beaming all the way home, bless him.
Yummy birthday cake
photo J Finnigan
Last Wednesday, was our grandson’s thirteenth birthday (compleanno) so we drove over to his house near Siena for the festa. He is now the proud owner of a Yamaha acoustic guitar which fills my heart with joy and excitement. Hopefully, he will be able to play with my band in the future! Our teenager is also a brilliant rugby player and today he is being assessed for moving on to greater opportunities. Over the weekend, whilst we dog sat, the family went off to watch Rovigo play their opening match of the season. They were guests of Rovigo’s New Zealander player Billy Ngawini, who was busy signing autographs, and as a birthday surprise they all had dinner with top rugby star Mirco Bergamasco who is the gorgeous blond guy all we girlies adore!
This morning at the alimentari/bar, it was busy with locals collecting their bread, groceries, drinking coffee and generally catching up, because Laura (the owner) and family had closed over the weekend, to go to Milan. The break seems to have given Laura a lift and with Benedetta back behind the counter and the newspapers being delivered every day, all is very relaxed again.
Seasonal figs and local Tuscan Cheeses
Photo J Finnigan
The evenings are closing in fast and last night, as we were enjoying our aperitivo after handing back the dogs, my man let out a groan, ‘Oh no, the automatic garden light has just come on and it’s only seven twenty-five! Yesterday it was seven thirty…’ His face grew long and his shoulders slumped. I have a cunning plan to keep a small torch in my pocket and to shine it in his face every time he complains about the sun going down too early! Also, I remind him how beautiful autumn is with all the fruit and veg and particularly figs still in season.
Farty Barty in indecisive mood.
Photo J Finnigan
Farty Barty the cat, also seems to be effected by the changing season and has been sitting on my lap a lot. He is acting in a very indecisive manner which is probably due to the girlie cats being off-season!
So what is happening in the Italian news, and is Silvio still getting the coverage he deserves? Well, yes and no. Vladimir Putin my not have helped Silvio’s case by quoting ‘SB’s personal life would never have become a scandal and ended up in the courts if he had been gay!’ However, back in November 2010 Silvio actually said in public ‘it’s better to like beautiful girls than to be gay!’. Mmmm, there could be a considerable loss of vote in a certain section of the population if this carrys on. However, in a sixteen minute recorded speech last week Silvio insisted he will remain in Italian politics even if his fellow senators strip him of his senate seat. Phew, that’s a relief for all the make up artists, hairdressers and plastic surgeons that see him as a walking advertisement…..What do you think?
Well, it’s Monday morning again and I am a little late posting this blog, I hope you don’t mind too much and that you have enjoyed reading it.
Have a great week and see you at the weekend.
salute June x
PS Don’t forget to start building your Christmas book list and visit http://www.firstchapters.net where you can read the first three chapters of any books listed free of charge! First check out the romantic thriller ‘My Father, the Assassin’ by J W Finnigan.
Posted in Life | Tagged Berlusconi, book, Chianti, coffee, Farty Barty, Fiano, Italian hairstylists, Italian Rugby, Italy, J W Finnigan, June Finnigan, My Father The Assassin, Romantic thriller, rugby, Silvio Berlusconi, Tuscany, writer | 2 Comments »
I know I have talked about our family walks a few times, however, one of our favourite places to wonder around would have to be Settignano. I could go on and talk about the winding roads and picturesque views of rolling hills and breath taking views of Florence, OR, I could just show you! For anyone visiting Florence for a few days and eager to head out of town and away from the million other tourists for a couple of hours, then I suggest you go on down to Piazza San Marco, jump on the number ten bus and enjoy the ride up to Settignano (which will take about 25minutes). The bus drops you right in the heart of Settignano and from there you can stroll around the town and up into the hills for breath taking views of the Italy I am sure you really want to see. Don’t…
View original post 219 more words
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Well, September is here and it is a little cooler. However the light is really fantastic and I recommend all you artists to grab your easels and head for these hills. The sun is now lower in the sky revealing valleys and cliffs that you don’t see at the height of summer. We were reminded just how beautiful this area is when we had two English friends to a five-hour lunch on Saturday. This was their first visit to the Chianti countryside and they were awe-struck. What with the view, the light, the Chianti, the Vin Santo, my cooking (it was OK for once) the background rock music and the laughter, it was a perfect day!
Our first Pomegranate or Melagrana
Photo P Finnigan
The garden remains a huge source of pleasure and I’m delighted to tell you that we have pomegranates! I know, I hear you say, what’s so exciting about that? Well, my man rescued this little tree that was stuck inside a big laurel bush last year and we had no idea what it was. Then a week ago, the first fruits started to appear! Well, we think it’s exciting. We also have other flowering plants to brighten the late summer garden,
Flowering Hibiscus
photo P Finnigan
including Hibiscus and Plumbago. The darker mornings mean that my man is not up so early to water the garden, now in some ways he’s disappointed, however, we must move with the seasons, don’t you think. ” There’s no point in getting up at seven-thirty (first light) because there’s no time to garden before we go out for coffee, ” he moaned. So he’s been forced to stay in bed and play with his smartphone instead. He’s really looking forward to pruning the fruit trees which will happen after the olive harvest in October. In the meantime, every other conversation includes “can you think of anything that needs doing in the garden?” The fact is he’s done such a good job of readying things for Autumn, that it’s hard to find things to do!
Cascading Blue Plumbago
Photo J Finnigan
Meanwhile, back in Fiano our local village, everything is hunky dory again. Smiling readers hog the newspapers and chat about the start of the shooting season. I won’t deny that I am very anti-hunting, especially when the shooters park on the edge of our olive grove and set off a volley of shots at seven-thirty on Sunday morning! The hunters still have the right to roam here and fencing one’s property is very restricted. So fencing is done surreptitiously and not concreted in (temporary so to speak), in case the vigilante police tell you to take them down. But I have a secret cunning plan…..!
In the coffee bar/alimentari Signore Rotund is blissfully happy, he has his sporting pages and the local ladies are queuing up to give his broad back a scratch and massage. This morning at coffee, he is sitting in his regular chair getting his shoulders massaged by one lady whilst chatting up another one, eating his pastry and drinking coffee at the same time! It’s a funny thing, it all seems quite normal in Fiano.
The man shivering in hat and fleece
photo J Finnigan
I am loving the slightly cooler evenings, however, my man has donned his Australian bush hat and fleece jacket and sits holding his aperitivo, like it’s a block of ice! ‘It’s cold, it’s winter!” he moans. “But look at the beautiful sky” I say “and the lights are starting to twinkle across the valley!”
Sunday was our traditional visit to Montespertoli and I may not have told you that Mr Bean’s twin sister, Miss Bean, is alive and well and runs a certain shop in the main piazza. The man calls her Miss Hasbean, but then it’s more likely to be Miss Neverhasbean. This may sound a little mean (ha, rhymes with bean), however, it cannot be denied that she must be related to Rowan Atkinson. Despite this, she is a very nice lady and so is her mother Mrs Bean. The father has a close resemblance to Wilfred Bramble! I’ll stop there….
Silvio gets emotional in Rome.
Photo Reuters, Alessandro Bianchi.
So what has the gorgeous Silvio Berlusconi been up to? Well, it’s a relief to know that a certain amount of verbal blackmail has come back into the proceedings. Senior aides to Silvio say he may pull his ministers out of government if he is ousted. Now, in case you are not aware, SB’s supporters prop up Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s Democratic party in a coalition. On the 9th September, the Italian Senate Committee began discussions on whether SB should go or be allowed to stay. Silvio’s aides say that the law to suspend anyone from parliament when convicted for tax fraud, came in last January, which was after SB ‘committed’ the crime! Don’t you just love it? An Australian friend, he knows who he is, says they would love to have a character like Silvio in Australian Government as it would make things much less boring.
Well, enough of that and as it is now Monday morning I must get this blog off to you and do some work! On the other hand, the sun is now shining……..
Amore June x
PS Don’t forget to share this with your friends and visit http://www.firstchapters.net for your Autumn reading. I am still recommending ‘My Father, The Assassin’ by J W Finnigan.
Posted in Life | Tagged Berlusconi, book, Chianti, coffee, Enrico Letta, Fiano, Italy, J W Finnigan, June Finnigan, My Father The Assassin, Silvio Berlusconi, Tuscany, valley | 4 Comments »
The Tuscan Office
Photo P Finnigan
As I write this blog, I am listening to a CD by a local Italian band called ‘Neuro’. I bought it because I know two of the band members who live in Montespertoli and it is heavy metal/punk. Now punk was not my thing in the past and still gives me the eebie jeebies, however, I will persevere through to the end! I’ll let you know my verdict next week.
Well it was back to work last Monday and four days in the UK for me, whilst my man and Farty Barty the cat manned the Tuscan office. I can honestly say that I find it quite impossible to come up with fun things to say about England, anyway you have logged in to read about life in Tuscany! Traveling back on an early flight I was delighted to be sitting with two lovely ladies, Sarah from Exmoor and Shirley from Cardiff, both off to meet their men who are currently working in Tuscany. We got on so well that we shared two small bottles of prosecco between us. A sort of champagne breakfast! Girls, I hope you are reading this, keep in touch….
Me and the Rock Chick Band
It was a great weekend back with my man and we enjoyed our traditional visit to Montespertoli on Sunday. Glorious weather, icecream and prosecco in the Piazza; nothing like it. We are both heavy metal fans and listened to some great rock music in the car and later at home. I have since decided to add Gary Moore & Phil Lynott’s ‘Parisienne Walkways’ to my repertoire for next year’s garden rock concert party here in Tuscany. The date for your diary is June 28th 2014, send me your email if you would like an invite. june.finnigan@virgin.net
Meanwhile, back in our local village of Fiano, the newspapers were still not being delivered and we have discovered that the delivery agent has gone out of business. Whilst the tourist industry is still surviving quite well, others are struggling and many businesses could not afford to take the traditional Ferragosto holiday this year. However, our locals remain cheerful and greet us with the usual smile and ‘Buon Giorno’ or ‘Bondi’ each morning at coffee.
Eeyore, ‘In his gloomy place’
Now my man had been home alone for four days and he was very much ‘in his gloomy place’ without a paper to read. I did pick up a free Telegraph in Waitrose and a Times on the plane, so all was not completely lost! He has now gone to London and we must hope that the local papers have arrived by the time he returns on Friday!
Laura and Benedetta at the Bar/Alimentari in Fiano
Photo J Finnigan
Laura at the Alimentari/Bar continues her struggle as, after a fleeting return by her daughter Benedetta who is recovering from a broken foot, she is manning the shop alone again. However, her coffee is second to none and she is a lovely lady, so we will keep supporting her.
Things are returning to normal here in Tuscany as the shops, bars and restaurants re-open after the traditional holidays. September is a really nice month, whilst still warm, it is the time of harvests and the vendemmia (grape harvest) will begin shortly. The vineyards will be full of imported grape pickers and it’s not unusual to see coolie hats amongst the vines! The countryside then becomes quite noisy with tractors & trailers lumbering past our villa, loaded high with luscious purple and green grapes.
I have just checked the news for Silvio, then came across another amazing story from the North of Italy. As you are no doubt aware, the economy here is in a poor state and taxes on businesses pretty horrendous. Fabrizio Pedroni, a factory owner near Modena, moved his factory and contents to Poland whilst the workers were away on holiday! Why? High Italian salaries, crippling taxes and dismal productivity rates. He has not made a profit since 2008 and it was either get out quick, without the still strong unions getting wind, or ‘shoot himself in the head.’ What a to do! I caught the end of a BBC interview ‘Hard Talk’ last night when the prime minister Enrico Letta promised to make things easier for Italian employees & employers. Speriamo di si! Meanwhile, the lovely Silvio Berlusconi has appealed to the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg over his ban from politics. The thirty-three page appeal includes ‘It would deny the legitimate expectation of voters that he remain in office for the remainder of the legislative.’ I say, what about all his illegitimate ones?
Tuesday morning – I am finishing with a glassful of very good news. I have just come back from my morning coffee and Milko has only two of my books left to sell at the cartolibreria in Fiano, the newspaper delivery is back, so is Benedetta and the sun is shining after heavy rain! Hurrah!
Sorry for the later than usual blog, however, I hope you enjoyed it and do get in touch!
Amore June x
ps Check out http://www.firstchapters.com for your Autumn reading. I have heard lots of people raving about ‘My Father, The Assassin’ by J W Finnigan!
Posted in Life | Tagged Berlusconi, Bolivia, book, Chianti, coffee, Enrico Letta, Farty Barty, Fiano, Italy, J W Finnigan, June Finnigan, My Father The Assassin, Rock Concert, Romantic thriller, Silvio Berlusconi, The Rock Chick Band, Tuscany | 3 Comments »
“It’s a laugh a minute here!” said my man, trying hard not to smile as our grandson age nearly thirteen and I rolled around in hysterics over the game of ‘Sorry’. The reason for the hysterical laughter was that we kept saying to grandad, ‘have you been?’ and he was responding ‘yes I’ve been, it’s your turn to go.’ Well, our grandson had joined us for three days and the board game theme continued, as with our granddaughter the previous week. We did think about playing Mah Jong , however, the man complained that reading the instructions was ‘Like losing the will to live’!
Siena under 14’s rugby.
Photo P Finnigan
The conversation with the grandson was very sports orientated, because our boy is a very good rugby player and plays fly half for Siena under fourteens. The garden was rapidly turned into a cricket net area and a obstacle course that went all the way around the house so that he (the boy not the man) could keep his fitness up and be timed by the man to ever-increasing speeds.
Back at the bar/alimentari in Fiano, there has been no delivery of newspapers since last Tuesday and poor Laura is still running it on her own! We are trying to determine whether the delivery driver is ill, still on holiday (Ferragosto) or on strike. Ferragosto should, in theory end today 31st August, however, the Italians will always find reasons for extending it well into the first week of September. We always look forward to the second week as all the shop blinds are finally rolled up and we have a much greater choice of cafe bar and ristorante. The ‘grey heads’ (elderly tourists) tend to arrive in September knowing the children will back at school and that it will be a little cooler. We really like July when everywhere is still open, the children are running around in the piazza making a lot of noise until gone midnight and the Gelaterie (ice-cream parlours) remain open till late! Meanwhile, everyone is looking very glum in Fiano, particularly Signor Rotund, as there are no sporting pages to read and the football season has already started!
Big Jigsaw in progress
Photo J Finnigan
Earlier in the week, I opened my dressing room window to see the man watering the garden just below me, so I called down “Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou?” I curled up with laughter again when he replied, “Down here, you silly …, can’t you see me?” He is in a much more loving mood now having successfully finished a large jigsaw-puzzle. I must admit it looked very difficult indeed and he is now inspired to start another one. We have successfully completed two weeks without turning on the television once, thanks to the board games and the jigsaw. So doing absolutely nothing has proved to be most relaxing and entertaining! Back to the office on Monday. But we don’t care about that, we still have the weekend!
Pepperoni Cornetti
Photo J Finnigan
Great things are happening in the garden. We thought the zucchini (courgette) plants were failing, however there has been a late show of flowers. The pepperoni cornetti (small red peppers) have done really well and we still have some pomodori (tomatoes) left to pick. The figs are not very sweet so we have left them to the wildlife and there are now cinghiale (wild boar) hoof prints under the tree.
The Fig Tree
Photo J Finnigan
Well, I will be off to England on Tuesday for a few days, so the man will be home alone. He does not cook as such, however, he is OK with pasta, salads and finding his way to the local ristorante. He has always claims that he has no idea where the kitchen is in our house, and only stumbles upon it by accident!
I have just checked the news and there is little mention about the gorgeous Silvio Berlusconi. It looks like the international papers are losing interest, which is bad news for our idol. Italian judges have defended their conviction rulings and in October a court will decide whether he should serve his one-year sentence as community service or under house arrest. In my view he should hope for community service, so he can be out there waving his sweeping brush and drawing the press interest back into his court! He’ll certainly be a tourist attraction and any publicity is good publicity!
Well, time to think about lunch. A nice capresse (buffalo mozzarella & and tomato salad) with fresh basil (basilica) from the garden sounds good to me.
Have a great week and I’ll see you next weekend.
Amore June x
PS Don’t forget to go to http://www.firstchapters.net to read the first 3-4 chapters of any good book of your choice. Start building your Christmas list! I recommend a romantic thriller ‘My Father, The Assassin’ By J W Finnigan,.
Posted in Life | Tagged Chianti, coffee, Fiano, Italy, J W Finnigan, June Finnigan, My Father The Assassin, rugby, Silvio Berlusconi, Tuscany | 1 Comment »
The Game of ‘Sorry’
Well, our first week of doing nothing has been very busy indeed, but packed with proper holiday things just as it should be. The TV has not been on once and although our granddaughter, who has stayed with us for three days, selected a DVD, it never got played! So what has been the magic ingredient to seven days without anything electronic? Well it’s been the dusty board games that have remained unplayed for years! Wow, we had forgotten how entertaining, challenging and aggressive board games can be, particularly with an eight year old. My man actually took the time to read the rules properly on the game of ‘Sorry’ and now it is very much the favourite. We also played ‘The Game of Life’ which has everyone in hysterics when the little plastic cars are filled with blue and pink pegs representing husbands, wives and children. The man’s long face as he lands on a square that says he’s just got married and has had twins, is beyond description. We spent one morning cutting off the damp bits of the boxes that held the games, and replacing them with new bits of card and masses of sellotape. We subsequently discovered that we had a damp wall that needed attention.
Farty Barty on Holiday
But we don’t care about that, we are still on holiday and so is Farty Barty the cat!
We took our granddaughter to an equestrian center on Wednesday, to see the horses and to see if she fancied a lesson. She loved the horses, but was critical about the standard of the stables and things in general, so she declined the offer of a ride that evening. Our girl is already an experienced cleaner of stables and also does circus acrobatics on horseback! So she knows what she is talking about. So it was off to Certaldo for a gelato (icecream), which went down really well.
Carlo in his hugely popular Geletaria Fiorentino in Montespertoli
In the meantime, my man had developed a rather bloodshot eye after I had poked it with my finger nail. I was just trying to take off the bit of sun block he had left on the side of his nose, then he moved his head! Yes, really, this was not intentional, but it did not help him to rise above the grumpy level. The doctor advised Pronto Soccorso (the emergency department at the hospital) and the man’s spirits lifted when he was told that a few drops would sort him out and his eye should clear in about ten days. The other small miracle, was that we got through the emergency system in just thirty-five minutes! If you ever go to Pronto Soccorso in Italy, you should expect to be there for two to five hours, so we put this speedy visit down to Ferragosto (August holiday when eighty percent of Italians go to the beach or the mountains.) Anyway, afterwards we went for a gelato in Montespertoli and then lunch at C’era una Volta’ in Lucardo. So it was a good day.
Earlier in the week we came across a four-foot long snake which was either a Western Whip snake or an Adder, however, the light was not good and we had just driven a few yards down the lane and caught it in our headlights. Have you ever seen a big snake rise up against a three-foot high wall and then jump? Well, this one did and after a few failed attempts finally made it and disappeared!
Silvio gets emotional with his girlie in Rome.
Photo Reuters, Alessandro Bianchi.
And so to our poor (if very rich) friend Silvio Berlusconi. As we all know, president Giorgio Napolitano declined to give Silvio a pardon. So he is now holed up in his luxury villa with his overage girlfriend, contemplating his navel whilst floating in his huge swimming pool and hoping his support team can still can come up with some way to keep him in politics. On the subject of Silvio’s judicial problems and being allowed to continue to hold office, Enrico Letta (oh, he’s the current Prime Minister) quoted on Wednesday night ‘I will not accept blackmail and neither are ultimatums acceptable.’ Well, I thought this was Italy, was he quoted correctly? Meanwhile, Silvio will not give up and for now will be getting lots of loving hugs from short, fat, aging girlfriend Francesca Pascale (see picture).
OK, enough of that. My man is now complaining because I have asked him to download some photos from his smart phone. He is singing at the top of his voice ‘I’m on Holiday, I’m on Holiday’, which is his way of saying ‘you are making me do things when I am supposed to be doing nothing!
I shall go and cook him a nice lunch, as we girlies know it is the best way to a man’s heart. He’ll be all smiles again in no time!
Have a great week.
Salute June x
PS Still not got your holiday reading? Go to http://www.firstchapters.net. I recommend ‘My Father, The Assassin by J W Finnigan.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged book, Certaldo, Chianti, Famous, Farty Barty, Fiano, Italy, J W Finnigan, June Finnigan, My Father The Assassin, Romantic thriller, Silvio Berlusconi, snake, Sorry, Tuscany, writer | 4 Comments »
Impromptu book signing in Lucca!
Photo P Finnigan
Finally we begin our two-week break from the office! Effectively, it began yesterday as we drove over to the lovely city of Lucca to meet special friends for lunch. We met for coffee in the Piazza San Michele and I was delighted to be handed a belated, and unexpected, birthday present all wrapped up in the traditional Italian way. Whilst in the cafe I found myself doing an impromptu book signing, which was very nice indeed! For lunch we went to Il Mecenatee at Via Del Fosso 94, very traditional and very nice. The conversation with our friends, he is Australian and she is Italian, ranged from baking English scones (she is a fantastic cake maker), writing books (he has recently written a science fiction novel), the next three most likely things to invest in, what is there today that we would love to see developed and produced over the next thirty years (we’ll probably be pushing up the daisies by then), my man and our Australian got into a very in-depth discussion about how many things today were influenced by the sixties science fiction films and books, and Australia.
So, what about the next two weeks then? I could never have guessed how difficult it would be to plan nothing. Nothing seems to come in many different shapes and sizes. Well, we have two grandchildren and we don’t get to see them often enough. Our granddaughter age eight, will be with us for three days next week and she loves horses. So we’ll be off to visit an equestrian centre. Our grandson, age twelve, nearly thirteen, will join us for three days the following week and he loves sport, particularly rugby. So we will have to find something sporty to grab his attention.
I must also crack on with additional research for ‘The Bolivian Connection’ which is my current novel. If you know of anyone who lived or worked in Bolivia any time between 1970 and 1995, I would love to interview them. What are you currently reading? I have just finished ‘Maggie, Her Fatal Legacy’ by the journalist John Sergeant. As a result, I have now just started reading Michael Heseltine’s autobiography ‘Life in the Jungle’ as he played such an important part in getting Maggie’s back up. It’s not that I am political, however, I do enjoy reading about strong personalities and what made them tick!
Back at Laura’s bar/alimentari in Fiano, her daughter Bernadette has broken her foot! This means that poor Laura is working her own feet off without any help, so we have all been most understanding about her closing every afternoon and all day Sunday. Thursday was Ferragosta, the traditional August ‘bank’ holiday and the start of a two-week break for most Tuscans and whilst one newspaper reported that six out of ten shops are remaining open (due to the failing economy) we do not expect to find that many doing so in our area.
Terracotta dogs guarding the steps to the orchard.
Photo P Finnigan
My man continues his early morning watering of the garden and, ignoring the dusty brown ‘lawn’, it is looking very beautiful. Farty Barty the cat is putting on weight, which is a sure sign that the summer, like the days, is starting to get shorter. Our peppers are just starting to turn red on the plants and we have had a reasonable crop of tomatoes. My man came in with some big fat oranges from the orchard this morning and we have noticed some new baby lemons on our potted lemon trees.
And so to our favourite Italian personality. ‘Down but not out’, that has to be the best way to describe our friend Silvio. Or ‘Here’s a big fat cheque, give me a pardon!’ But really, Silvio is now taking his fight to the beaches because that is where a high percentage of Italians will currently be found. This week his allies have hired at least nine aircraft to fly over Italian beaches in northern and central Italy, trailing 85 foot long signs with messages like ‘Go Silvio’ and ‘Forza Italia’. The opposition say it is illegal to campaign outside the ‘campaign season’, however, supporters have retaliated by saying that the banners are in support of Silvio Berlusconi the ‘Private Citizen’! What can one say except ‘Only in Italy!’
Well enough of that, time to think about our first aperitivo of the holiday. However, the grumpy man has given up drinking again, except when we go out to a ristorante. However, he is to be congratulated and I must stop being a bad influence. But then again, we have a cantina full of Chianti…….!
Have a great week, Salute June x
PS Don’t forget to check out http://www.firstchapters.net for your holiday reading. I have heard very good reviews about ‘My Father, The Assassin’ by J W Finnigan.
Posted in Life | Tagged Bolivia, book, Chianti, coffee, Famous, Farty Barty, Fiano, Italy, J W Finnigan, June Finnigan, My Father The Assassin, Romantic thriller, Silvio Berlusconi, Tuscany, writer | 5 Comments »
Junefinnigan's Weblog 