Welcome and Benvenuti to all my Lovely Followers around the World,
When we first moved to this little bit of Chianti in Tuscany, some fifteen years ago, we quickly established that our closest village and community was to be found in Fiano. We have been made very welcome despite living outside the village and being English. We have witnessed the arrival of new babies and watched them grow up, start nursery and then school, and we have shared the joy of birthdays and romances and the sadness of loss, almost entirely by visiting the coffee bar and spending a while chatting. We now have some lovely Italian friends. Thank you the people of Fiano. In the picture are three beautiful friends from Fiano, Rosella, Manuella and Silvia, enjoying my concert in June. Foto P Finnigan.
It is the time of year when lot’s of music and the sound of celebrations are filling the air, people are off enjoying holidays on the coast or up in the cool air of the mountains. Foto P Finnigan – Our favourite coastal town at Castiglione della Pescaia.
It is simply too hot to be doing anything active and I think it is time to read a few good books. I have dedicated August to finishing the first draft of my fourth novel, as I mentioned last week, and to at least have mastered the very basics of my birthday guitar. And, three new flowers have just opened on my white orchid, which was a gift for my birthday last year, so that’s good news. I also heard Phil the Pheasant call out this morning after a couple of weeks absence, whilst the foxes seem to have moved on now that they have had their fill of mulberries, but I did spot two cubs crossing the track to Certaldo a few days ago.
Meanwhile, the UK has a new government. Apparently the Queen said to Boris Johnson, when he asked her permission to form a government, “I can’t think why you would want the job!” She gave her permission anyway. Well, he has a job and a half negotiating a new Brexit deal, we wish him ‘in bocca al lupo’ which translates to ‘in the mouth of the wolf’ a phrase used in Italy to wish someone good luck. In Boris’s case it’s most appropriate! Let’s hope the new government are true to their word and make sure we expats are not penalised! Either way, we will adapt! I suppose our European/UK passports could become collector’s items!
Well, last Saturday we were drowned by a deluge of rain and hail storms! This went on for a day and a half and the temperature dropped from 39 to 15 degrees centigrade! I can honestly say it was a huge relief after the long heat wave, particularly afte
r hearing about a cornfield fire not far from us. Our area is also prone to landslides and we could see some of the banks looking precarious and ready to slide into the road! Certaldo had five inches of water in an hour! But we don’t worry about that. Life eeez good, life is now! The sun has got his hat on, hip hip hip hurrah! Foto ANSAit newspaper.
Anyway, how are things with you? Have any interesting weather or good news stories? I do love to hear from my readers, drop me a line at june.finnigan@virgin.net Oh, and do check out my website at My site
Salute June x
PS Am searching for an italian Hunk of the Month for August – any suggestions?
PPS No-one has claimed the reading glasses left behind at my concert. Do ask around if you know of anyone who came and have lost theirs!
Well, I always say that if you are feeling a little down, buy clothes or better still a new handbag! And, that’s exactly what I did on Thursday. My man felt sorry for me and offered to drive me across to Barberino val D’Elsa and my favourite atelier Colleregio Firenze. I have mentioned this place before; for me it is the ultimate shop for all types of bag, purses, belts and hats. However, I must fill you in with the run-up to buying this, my latest bag, and the importance of understanding how these specialist shops operate. Or don’t as the case may be. Two weeks ago I did the round trip to Barberino and arrived at the shop during opening hours, to find it closed! OK, well things happen, so I decided to ring and check that they were open before going for a second time, this time with my man, and yes the nice lady said she would be there. Guess what, they were closed! So late afternoon I ring again only to find that the nice lady had been waiting at their other shop in Castellina in Chianti; apparently the telephone number goes through to her wherever she is! But no worries, the shop in Barberino would open for us that evening. We arrived and yes the nice owner Francesco, had come up from Florence to open it for us! Thank heavens they had the bag I wanted, otherwise, I would have sunk into a bout of despair. The moral to this story is ‘be very precise.’ If you ring a shop, make sure they know which shop you want to go to, as they may have more than one, If you turn up on spec you may be disappointed. It was all worthwhile, I love my new bag!
Anyway, Last weekend was a pink one. Yes, pink or Rosa in Italiano. Montespertoli and Certaldo were bedecked in pink balloons and flags as it was the first time that the big cycle road race, Giro D’Italia, had passed through in sixteen years. Pink is the colour for this very popular event, the winning cyclist ended up being presented with, yes you guessed it, a pink shirt! There was a lot of excitement being generated in our local village of Fiano, which is half way between the two towns! The Tuscans love a festa and especially if it involves cyclists!
And, this weekend was another celebration, that of Street Food! Certaldo hosted a street food festa over a long weekend in Piazza Boccaccia, which is normally the central carpark. I walked through it on Friday evening and it was heaving with people and children enjoying the fairground type rides. I couldn’t help but notice two tourists who had obviously arrived by train, pulling their cases through the crowd heading for the funiculare, the little cable train which would take them up to the safety of Certaldo Alto, the historical centre. They both looked scared to death! There had also been a train strike that day, which only ended in the early evening! Poor things. But they will love Certaldo Alto!
But enough of that. Life eeez good, life eeez now! back in Fiano and reading the papers over coffee, I notice that a new film is about to be launched simply called Leonardo. You may think that there have been enough films and documentaries made about the great man, but apparently this is not the case. I really enjoyed the Medici films so I will look out for this one too.
OK, where are we? Oh yes, just a little cautionary story. Italy is a very welcoming country and particularly Tuscany. But down in Rome, some not very nice eatery charged two tourists 81 euros for two hamburgers and coffees, which is totally unacceptable. So just beware of the tourist traps!
My man and I live in the Chianti Hills above Certaldo and our beautiful daughter and grandchildren are only thirty-five minutes away. We always jump to attention when we are invited to lunch, what with my own and our daughter’s hectic lifestyles these are very important get togethers. We also get to see Monty our grand dog, a beautiful Maremma we think, but anyway he’s adorable.
Long family lunches are traditional here in italy and we are more than happy to embrace the idea. My man was presented with his all time favourite desert, strawberry Pavlova, a belated father’s day treat!
In Pistoia the three-day blues festival started 13th July and included Graham Nash, James Blunt, Steve Hackett, ZZ Top and Crosby Stills & Nash. Go to 
In Lucca the Summer Festival continues up to 26th July and includes Ringo Starr, Alice Cooper, Jonny Depp, Roger Waters, Lenny Kravitz (look him up he’s brilliant) James Taylor, King Crimson, Nick Cave and loads more. 
Ok, and continuing for the moment on the same subject, I am pleased to tell you that I am learning to play the acoustic guitar. About time, I hear you say, and yes I know but I have been so busy writing books and stuff over the last few years, but I am so in love with my new Fender I can’t keep away from it!
Well, that’s enough of my music indulgences, what is happening in our local town of Certaldo you ask? Oh, it’s the amazing Mercantia of course, which every year attracts musicians, dancers, acrobats, theatricals and produce from Tuscany, you have to see it to believe it. The Historical Centre, Certaldo Alto, is the place to be as it provides the most stunning backdrop for all these fabulous goings on. The festivities finish today, but there’s always next year! Diary date for 2019! Go to 
I would be impossible to start the day and feel balanced, if one had not gone for morning coffee here in our little bit of Chianti. Now I had reason to go to Certaldo yesterday (Saturday) so we made a beeline for Jam Caffe for our early morning fix. And, what a beautiful day it was, glorious sunshine and cheerful chatty Italians. Foto J Finnigan. The Chef at Jam Caffe is called Andrea, and is a brilliant cook and all round lovely guy. They bake all their own pastries, so you can be assured of really fresh and delicious pastini. I am so lucky to have persuaded Andrea to do a finger buffet for my Concert Party on the 22nd June. Rock on!
At the weekend, and assuming the weather is good, we do like to pop over to Montespertoli for aperitivi. Foto J Finnigan. The town will shortly be hosting the annual Wine festival, which is really worth going to, however, I should warn you that historically it tends to rain a lot during the two weeks of festivities! You can also book a Horse and Wagon excursion, which will take you on a wine tasting tour! The dates are 26th may to 3rd June; enjoy. For more info visit the town’s 
And on the subject of wine, did you know that one hundred and sixty-two thousand tourists visit Italy every year and consume seventy-three thousand bottles of Vino Rosso (red wine)? The bulk of these visitors are American, German and French. Well, I wonder how they come up with those figures, but anyway, that’s a lot! Then there’s also the Brits that are increasing in numbers each year, bless them! Foto La Repubblica
Now on a completely different subject, although you may want a glass of the red stuff after you read this, Silvio Burlesconi is back! I mean really back. I heard a whisper that the courts have allowed Silvio to run for local government again! Well, something dramatic needs to happen, we still have no government as such, as the two leaders of the largest majority holders cannot agree to work together! Luigi Di Maio, leader of the 5* Movement has confirmed that he has no desire to become Prime Minister and quoted “I’m very satisfied, we brought to our government the program that is.” He said on Facebook, underlining that the prime minister will be “a person who must be a friend of the people.” Stop Press – I’ve just been told that a new Prime Minister has been selected – watch this space! Could this be Silvio, I wonder? But I also heard that he, Silvio, has to appear in court on 1st June on more corruption charges. Hey ho, I doubt if that will deter him, such is the way of things in Italy! Foto La Repubblica.
Well, it’s April first, yes really and the sun is shining. This morning we drove down to Certaldo for coffee as, quite rightly, La Dispensa in Fiano is taking a couple of days off for an Easter break. Jam Caffe, our favourite bar in Certaldo, was heaving with big family groups, several of which had returned home for the Pasqua (Easter) celebrations. Few Italians can bear to be away from Mama’s or Nonna’s Easter lunch and the traditional gathering of clans. In this picture, the caffe looks quiet, but behind me the bar was chocker! My man waxed lyrical over his pastry, which was freshly baked on the premises, as we met and greeted old friends. What a pleasant start to the day! Foto J Finnigan.
Looking back to Good Friday, we were invited over to our daughter’s lovely home between San Gimignano and Volterra, for a delicious lunch. The desert was my man’s absolute favourite, Strawberry Pavlova and the remaining strawberries were dipped in chocolate! Fortunately our daughter and granddaughter like to cook, so we were extremely happy to be treated. They live in untamed woodland with a view to the distant sea, such a lovely spot to live in. Grazie la Famiglia xx Foto J Finnigan.
Meanwhile, earlier in the week, we were enjoying our morning coffee in Fiano and I found some really nice fashion in La Repubblica for you to enjoy. All made in Italy, of course, and with a wonderful air of Spring about them. For the clothes visit Oltre’s 
It has been a strange time here in Tuscany, the trees are only just in bud and a number of young trees have not survived the terrible unseasonal cold we have suffered over the last couple of months. But the forecast is looking good now, so time to think about the Spring wardrobe at last! I’m going to look through my things tomorrow! For the shoes go to 
Once you have sorted out your Spring wardrobe, you may wish to pop over to Florence for a great Artisan Exhibition. There is nothing like viewing or buying products with the ‘Made in Italy’ label or sticker, so this is something you should try not to miss. This annual, traditional exhibition has been running since 1978 and is to be found in the 16th Century fortress, Fortezza da Basso, in the heart of Florence close to the railway/bus station. There is lots of parking in the area too, but I would always recommend taking a train or bus in if you can. Why not stay in Certaldo and travel from here, we could go together! You have plenty of time to plan for this, as it starts on 21st April. For lots more information go to 
Back at our lovely home, a converted monastery farmhouse, my man has been stacking the latest wood delivery. He also brought in a pile for our inglenook. “Look at this!” He said indicating the most peculiar shaped log. I stared and gasped. “It’s a dinosaur’s foot fossil!” I squealed. “Don’t be daft,” he sighed. “It’s obviously the bottom of a tree, with some of its roots still attached.” “No, no, it’s a fossil with a tree wrapped around it!” I argue. My man goes off to do more useful things. To burn or not to burn? That is the question. What do you think? Foto J Finnigan.
Back again in the coffee bar in Fiano last weekend, I read about the sad loss of a hugely popular TV celebrity, Fabrizio Frizzi. At only sixty, he has left our screens forever, having hosted numerous TV quiz shows; he was always around doing something entertaining. His funeral attracted thousands of fans and many celebrities too. Addio Fabrizio. Article by Di Piero Degli Antoni.
When we first moved into our lovely new home in April 2015, one of the first things we did was to plant three young Mimosa trees. All are doing really well and already in full blossom. Once again this is a little too early in the year, as the blossoms are normally presented to the women in one’s life, on La Festa Delle Donne in March, that are deserving for reasons of kindness, love or simply being a nice person who might have made a difference over the previous year. So let’s hope that there will still be a few flowering trees around on the day. A couple of days ago, my man also spotted the first daffodils as we whizzed back from a trip to Certaldo; lovely.
Meanwhile it is the season for that delicious dark green cabbage, Cavolo Nero, full of iron and vitamins. Cooked in various ways, however, I just like to steam the leaves then toss in a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil and sea salt. For some really great recipes visit the website of my friend and neighbour, the Celebrity Cook Judy Witts Francini. 
Also in season are the lovely Italian New Potatoes. Now I’m a great fan of potatoes and we Brits cook them in so many different ways. Whilst I love them just boiled and tossed in butter (lessato), the Italians mainly cook them chopped into small pieces and roasted with oil, Rosemary and garlic (Potate Arrosto). You will also find a recipe for this in Judy’s book.
And how about our local town of Certaldo and other nearby towns? Well, I’m going to have to research this as, whilst all the locals seem to know whats going on, probably by word of mouth or they are actively involved anyway. So I’ll be back shortly! Ok, I’m back and the very best site to go to is Discover Tuscany, where you will find all the exciting events including wine tastings, galleries, exhibitions, dance festivals, food festas; the list is endless. So if you are going to be in Tuscany in February you will be kept very busy! You can start your tour at Certaldo Station, the rail and bus links are brilliant! Foto P Finnigan. Go to Discover Tuscany 
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