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Week Two doing Absolutely Nothing in Beautiful Tuscany

Posted in Life, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 31, 2013| 1 Comment »

“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

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

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!

Peperoni Cornetti Photo J Finnigan

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

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,.

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Yet another Beautiful, if Hectic week, in Tuscany

Posted in Life, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 17, 2013| 5 Comments »

Book Signing

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. Phot P Finnigan

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!’

2013-01-26 12.26.41Well 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.

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Busy Planning to do Nothing, in Beautiful Tuscany

Posted in Life, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 10, 2013| 2 Comments »

Well, my man and I have agreed that its time to take a break and to organise a lot of nothings and nowheres to go.  Come Friday 16th August we will be closing the offices in the UK and Italy for a two-week summer break and will be doing absolutely nothing.  Of course we may be inspired to write (me) or do one of those big boxes of jigsaw that have been gathering dust (my man).  We might even cook a bit, perhaps not.  Busy is a word that everyone uses when you ask them how they are doing.  Busy, busy they say, you know how it is!  So for all those modern-day people of all ages, who have forgotten how not to be busy,  I am dedicating to you the following song courtesy of Winnie the Pooh.Image

I’m busy doing nothing, nothing the whole day through

Trying to find lot’s of things not to do,

I’m busy going nowhere, isn’t it just a crime,

I’d like to be unhappy but, I never do have the time!

Now, if that doesn’t make you smile and to think about slowing down, there must be something really wrong with you.  When we were children, we spent a lot of time having adventures and most of these were had without leaving one’s bedroom or garden.   Read, read, read.  Yes, you must read a good book.  When is the last time you picked up a real one?  Not the downloaded variety, the paper and cardboard sort which you carry around like a good friend.  If you do not have a library at home, go to your local one or even lazier, visit http://www.firstchapters.net and read the first few chapters of any book and, if you like it, buy it on-line.  In fact order a box full that will take you at least two weeks to read and put all your electronic equipment in a dark drawer somewhere.   Yes, I’m serious.  When not reading, relax with an early evening aperitivo with your loved one or close friends.  Wander around your garden or a nearby bit of countryside or park, and slowly absorb the plants and the insects that are visiting the flowers.  Breath in the fresh air.  You are feeling better already aren’t you? I certainly am and in the run up to the start of our doing nothing break, I’m going to clear my desk of debris, polish it and only put back the essentials.   The rest can go in the bin or a box!

Ripening grapes on our lower terrace. Photo P Finnigan

Ripening grapes on our lower terrace.
Photo P Finnigan

OK, enough of that, I think you may have got the message!  Here in our beautiful Tuscan garden there is always something to marvel about.  We have a small corner that is shaded by a roughly shaped pergola which is currently supporting a couple of large vines and wisteria, all tangled up together!

The grass, or should I say ground cover weeds, are now burnt to a crisp brown, so the vine leaves are a nice green contrast.  These hills, whilst brown from the sun, retain their colour with the vines and the silver green of the olive trees.

We were told to expect heavy rain this last week but nothing happened.  We always know when water is low in the streams and lakes, because the bees are swarming over Farty Barty’s water bowl for a drink.  We have to carefully scoop out the ones that have got too wet, so they can dry out and fly away again!

A shady path under the fruit trees, leading to the Olive Grove.

A shady path under the fruit trees, leading to the Olive Grove.
Photo P Finnigan

We are very fortunate to have many fir and cypress trees in our garden, that provide plenty of shade for both the villa and garden.  Temperatures are around thirty-five degrees at present and tree shade is very important; a brolly alone is insufficient.

August is proving to be busier than expected in our Local village of Fiano.  Saturdays are the changeover days for most of the Agriturismi (Farms with accommodation) and the hotels.  I went for my usual espresso coffee fix and there were quite a few strangers wandering through the village.  Over coffee, at Laura’s cafe/Alimentari, a lovely Italian lady spent five minutes trying to get me to say her name correctly which is Grazianna.  the trouble is, we northern Europeans simply cannot roll our rrrrr’s sufficiently to get the correct sound.  I got my own back by asking her to pronounce June.  Not pronouncing the vowel at the end of a word is the most difficult thing for an Italian.  consequently, I am usually called Juni!

The charismatic Silvio Berlusconi

The charismatic Silvio Berlusconi

And so to the gorgeous Silvio.  Wikipedia has updated its profile for Silvio Berlusconi to ‘Is an Italian Politician, entrepreneur, media tycoon and convicted fraudster, who served three times as Prime Minister of Italy’  It is interesting to note, where they have inserted ‘convicted fraudster’, tucked in above having served three times as Prime Minister.  Talk to any Italian in your local bar and they will always shrug their shoulders and say, that at least Italian politics is openly corrupt, unlike some governments in northern Europe!  I think it’s also time for Silvio to get busy planning to do nothing for a while, the only decision he needs to make is in which swimming pool should he float his time away, whilst under house arrest.   He can happily doze away, counting all the 5.7 billion euros he has admitted to owning, to help him go to sleep!  Poor man.

Well time to get ready to collect my man from the station after a hard week in London.  He’ll be delighted to know about all the nothing things I’ve listed for him to do during our holiday.

Salute & Amore June x

PS Don’t forget to check out http://www.firstpages.net for your holiday reading!  I recommend My Father, The Assassin’ by J W Finnigan.

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Another Sweltering Week, in Beautiful Tuscany

Posted in Life, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I am full of enthusiasm this morning, as I have so much to tell you about the last seven days in our lovely spot on the edge of Chianti.

Farty Barty stays out of reach on Vets day. Photo P Finnigan

Farty Barty stays out of reach on Vets day.
Photo P Finnigan

Yes, it’s true, my man and I, not forgetting Farty Barty the cat, are very lucky to be here and we celebrate this fact every evening with a nice chilled aperitivo on our upper terrace.  Yes, there is a lower terrace, otherwise we would not have an upper one would we?  On the subject of the garden and my man, you may recall that the latter has had an ongoing battle with the pretty dark red furry ones, that love to throw the sharp remains of pine nuts on his head.  Now the little devils  are eating the ripe figs!  We have yet to see the Pine Martens, but we know they get together with the squirrels at night, have midnight fig feasts, and leave us with nothing but small hard green ones.

Remaining hard green figs. Photo June Finnigan

Remaining hard green figs.
Photo June Finnigan

I don’t mind this at all, I like to think that the garden attracts all and sundry from the countryside.  My man thinks the squirrels may be eating the young courgettes too, however, I say that if you can’t see any tooth marks then it’s not them, but a sneaky wild pig (cinghiale) with a straight blade knife.   I have already talked a lot about the very noisy cicada, but with hand over my mouth and trying not to snigger, I must tell you that my man is also being dive bombed by these flying insects every time he walks under a tree!

Well enough of that.  Back in Fiano, our local village, the pensioners were queueing up for their pensions outside La Posta.  This is a first of the month event, and takes all morning to pay everyone out.  There is only room for four people inside, so the poor things have to queue outside in the hot sun.  I know most of these lovely people by sight and we always exchange ‘Buon Giorno’s’.  For some reason I stopped and asked (in Italian of course) a few familiar faces why they don’t have their pensions paid into the bank.  This was a silly thing to do and no sooner had I opened my mouth, I knew the answer.  Cash is king here in Italy.  The minute you bank anything it is taxed and it is up to you to claim it back if you think you are entitled to do so.  A few years ago I made the mistake of opening an account with one hundred euros.  I never got to use the account, then a several months later I received a statement  and  the whole balance  had been swallowed up by tax and bank charges!  Ouch….

It is the start of August, and here in Tuscany everything is winding down.  This is traditional, as all Italians, if they can afford it and many can’t this year, are packing up and leaving for the coast or the mountains where the air is cooler.  If you are reading this and intend coming to Tuscany this month, think again!  Eighty percent of shops, restaurants and bars close for at least two weeks in August and sometimes for the whole month.   We are already seeing  tourists wandering around what to them, must seem to be ghost towns and villages.    Poor Laura and her daughter in the Bar/Alimentare in Fiano, have been working in inside temperatures of forty-two degrees and are quite rightly closing in the afternoons.  We go there every morning for our Espresso coffee fix and yesterday my man had to bury his red face in the newspaper, because he had eaten the last Pasta di Marmellata and a disgruntled local wanted to know why it had not been kept back for him!

Bougainvillea with butterfly top right. photo June Finnigan

Bougainvillea with butterfly top right.
photo June Finnigan

And now to the subject of butterflies.  Yes, I am talking about those beautiful fluttering things that visit the flowers for their nectar.  I have been frantically trying to photograph a really big one, so that I can find out what it is and send you a picture.  But would you believe it, just when I think I have captured the perfect shot it waves good-bye and is off.  However, this has resulted in some lovely pictures of the Bougainvillea, which is winding its way up the bottom of a fir-tree from the lower terrace, so you can at least enjoy one of those.  If you strain your eyes, you might just see a bit of butterfly top right!  If you can identify it, please let me know.

Poor old Silvio Berlusconi has had a hard time this week.  In the empty court a carabiniere (policeman) got so bored after seven hours of waiting for the judges to return with their verdict, that he broke into a spontaneous dance and white-gloved moves apparently inspired by the Village People’s hit song YMCA.  It’s now hugely popular on YouTube!  You can smile at this, however, the final verdict was not even a tiny bit funny from Silvio’s point of view.  This is a very rich man, with many questionable connections and he likes pretty girls.  He has been Prime Minister of Italy three times and has a massive right-wing following.  According to some of the people in our local bar, he is the perfect target for jealous left-wing politicians and judges.  When seeking election some years ago Silvio quoted ”Out of love for Italy, I felt I had to save it from the left.”  So, whatever your point of view, as Silvio declared in May 2010 ‘As prime Minister, I never had the feeling that I was in power…..’  No picture today as he is currently looking too sad.  But watch this space, he’ll be back!

Well it’s time for a relaxing aperitivo and then lunch at ‘C’era Una Volta’ in Lucardo.

Have a good week and do get in touch.

Salute June x

PS To read the first four chapters of my novel ‘My Father, The Assassin’ go to http://www.firstchapters.net

 

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Home Alone and Sunshine in Beautiful Tuscany

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 16, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Benvenuti to all my lovely followers, new and old,

Today I am talking about being Home Alone, Concentration or the lack of it, Eyes,  Election Boards, Secrets from a Tuscan Kitchen, a Beautiful Friend and scuttlebutt, Singing practice, Silvio Berlusconi (yes him) and The Rock Concert.

For a brief moment, we thought that summer had come and gone because last week we only had one day of sunshine.  But now, thank god, it is 29 degrees and the sky is the brightest of blues!

My Man and the Summer Sky

2013-05-11 pau lin gardenMy man went to London last Monday.  Sometimes we have to make an appearance for the sake of our business and the need to eat and drink.  This then left me home alone.  Well, you might say, make the most of the quiet and no cooking agenda.  Unfortunately, I am the dizzy one and he stops me from spinning all over the place.  Tuesday morning was the first crisis.  I knew my concentration had gone out the window when I started to mascara my glasses.  Then I drove to Fiano for my espresso fix and got asked, in Italian of course, how many eyes I had!  Now this chap is a regular joker, so I thought he was probably up to something.  I had put on my reading glasses to read La Republica, so not to be caught out I said ‘four’.  No,  he said and so I put my thinking cap on, which has never been a very good fit.  Eyes in the back of my head, I thought, so I said six, triumphantly!  No, came the reply from our friend, then he returned to his sporting pages and gently chuckled to himself.  Ready to leave, I put my sunglasses back on, my reading glasses in my bag and walked back to the Piazza.  I got in the car and adjusted the rear view mirror and would you believe it, my spare pair of sunglasses were on my head along with my glasses with the mascara smudge!  So the answer was eight, and nobody had pointed out my absent-mindedness, they just had a good laugh!  Numerous other things got confused and forgotten during the week, but this story could go on and on….  My man is back now, so things are a little calmer!

                                                              Very informative election boards in Fiano

Election boards fiano may 2013The election boards finally came down in Fiano,  so the non-government has obviously decided to muddle along with what they’ve got.  So nothing changes on that front.  It’s pretty pointless putting up these boards in the first place because, as you can see opposite, the Italian government  has nothing useful to say!

Secrets from my Tuscan kitchen by Judy Witts Francini – visit http://www.divinacucina.com

judys cookbookAlso on Tuesday I met a lovely lady called Judy Witts Francini who has a fabulous Tuscan cookbook, which you must buy.  Its called ‘Secrets from my Tuscan Kitchen’ and it is not just a gorgeous book to look at, it also contains the most wonderful Tuscan recipes.  We have lived in our current home for eighteen months and have never managed to chat with Judy, an American married to a Tuscan, and she lives next door!  It’s amazing how busy and very interesting people can pass in the night….

On Wednesday morning I met my tall, blond and beautiful friend from Bavaria for coffee.  She filled me in on all the ‘scuttlebutt’ from where I used to live.  It’s amazing how easy it would be to write a soap about a tiny hamlet (borgo) containing just four houses!  she also reminded me of a limerick, which I wrote a few years ago, called ‘The Racket that Turned’.  As Wimbledon is just around the corner, I’ll post it in my next blog – watch this space!

I was very good all week, stopping for singing practice every day, doing my brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs,  oooooooooooooooohs and eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees with great gusto!   When I collected a prescription from my doctor’s surgery, the envelope contained a little note in English,  ‘I am longing to listen to your songs’ it said.  Yes I know, I’ve even invited our local medic!  But really, he is seriously into rock music and a very nice man.    And by the way, the person who said that I was overheard in the cafe bar shouting ‘ I need groupies, please come to my rock concert, I’ll pay you’,  is a rotten liar!  The garden is looking fabulous now and our concert guests on  Saturday will really enjoy it.  I certainly will!   If you are in Tuscany and would like to come email me at june.finnigan@virgin.net.

Silvio 020613I would love Silvio Berlusconi to come to our Rock Concert Party.  Can’t you just imagine it;  little Silvio bouncing up and down to ‘Your so Vain’ and ‘Forever Young’.  All the girlies would go wild and argue over who should be his dancing partner!   So what’s the latest from the courts?    Very little is being said at the moment other than Silvio quoting  ‘If you think you can scare me, you are very mistaken’, in Italian of course.   I suppose his confidence comes from being vertically challenged;  it’s difficult to spot him in a crowd.  I think he should be more afraid of all those girlies that offer him a wardrobe to hide in.

Well, enough of that.  We have guests arriving on Tuesday and I must get the house sorted.  My lovely English sister-in-law is our VIP guest as she is like a real sister to me.  She loves to rummage in cupboards and last year managed to find some Scholl shoe deodorant and spray it under her arms!  It did say deodorant on the container, but the rest was in Italian, of course.  Then she trimmed the bottom of our fly curtain and left it four inches short!  But we love her anyway.

Very, very excited now with only six days to go!

Salute June x

P.S. If you would like to view or buy my book,  ‘My Father, The Assassin’ click the top right of this page under blogroll.

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Back Home in Beautiful Tuscany

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 2, 2013| 6 Comments »

Ciao Ragazzi and a big welcome to all my new followers,

Today I am talking about my visit to England, Marketing ‘My Father, The Assassin’, Signing Autographs, Cuckoos, Giant Moths, Fungi, My Man Home Alone, Silvio Berlusconi (who?) and The Rock Concert.

Yesterday I returned from six days in England having left my man in charge of the villa and cat.  I am always homesick when away from Tuscany and the homecoming is always very emotional.  My man organized some lovely fizzy prosecco on the upper terrace and I started to unwind in no time.  It was a good week, meeting with new potential clients, promoting the book and seeing family & friends.  I particularly enjoyed handing my writer’s card to people on trains & planes and watching them immediatley download onto Kindles or order on-line direct from their phones – incredible!  This morning we went for our coffee fix at Fiano and was greeted by the lovely Laura & beautiful daughter Benedetta like a long lost friend.  Benedetta even asked me to sign her autograph book – wow!

Laura & Benedetta at the Alimentare/Bar in Fiano (not to be confused with the other bar in the piazza)

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My Man had quite an eventful time when I was away and talked a lot to Farty Barty the cat.  He also had a lengthy conversation with a giant moth that landed on his lap and stayed for ages. 

Giant Moth on the man’s trouser leg.

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Then he was visited by three cuckoos, which is extremely rare as they are very shy and usually alone, so he chatted with them.  Then he discovered the most amazing fungi in the garden and chatted with that.

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Finally, he resorted to taking a picture of his own reflection, but he’s OK now……

My man in reflective mood.

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Anyway, what is the latest from the hunky Silvio Berlusconi?  You may be aware that he is being prosecuted for under age sex (he’s 76) and fraud, amongst other things.  He claims that he is being persecuted by by Italy’s magistrates.  On Saturday he turned a ‘political’ rally in Brescia into a protest against the Italian judiciary.  Karima el-Mahrong now claims that she never slept with Silvio when she was seventeen and that he gave her money purely out of the desire to help her build a life for herself….. Well, just look at that face below, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a used car from him or accept a donation to further my career.  What do you think?

Silvio in Brescia

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And finally, I really must get on with some singing practice as Stefano, my lead guitarist and mentor, wants to do a rehearsel on Thursday!   The Rock Chick Band’s concert will be on the 22nd June, which is only three weeks away – fantastico.

Have a great week and ci vediamo la prossima weekend.

June xx

PS if you are in Fiano, you can buy my book from Milko’s Cartoleria or on-line by clicking the top right hand side of this page.  Enjoy! xx

 

 

 

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How to be Very Famous in Beautiful Tuscany

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 25, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Ciao Ragazzi and all my New Followers – welcome,

Well, I am very excited and can’t wait to tell you about my amazing book sales here in Tuscany.  I am also going to be talking about Milko, Silvio Berlusconi (remember him?), The Rock Chick Band, Cold Winds, Zucchini Plants and Snails and going to England.

Firstly, I am delighted that Milko the owner of our local Cartoleria (stationers) has already sold two of my novels ‘My Father, The Assassin’.  One to a lady from Finland and the other to our local doctor, who speaks a little English.  As the book is only currently in English, this is quite an achievement!  So well done Milko!  We saw a couple of German tourists today, so hopefully more English speaking people will be passing through soon!

The very handsome Milko and his book display in Fiano!

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Things are hotting up with our plans for the next Rock Chick Band concert in our lovely garden.  My lead guitarist and mentor, Stefano Bartalesi, is checking that I am practicing and we will be having a rehearsal with the two backing singers and rhythm guitarist in two weeks time.  My alarm goes at noon everyday to remind me to do a half hour singing practice before pranzo (lunch), however,  I am so side tracked by work and book marketing that I don’t always achieve this.  But don’t tell Stefano.  My plan is to practice like crazy during the two weeks run up and to soothe my throat with some lovely Chianti from Claudio Corbinelli’s vineyard!  If you are in Tuscany on the 22nd June and would like an invite to this private concert party, email me at june.finnigan@virgin.net.

So what is the latest from the gorgeous Silvio Berlusconi?  Mama Mia, Ilda Boccassini, prosecutor, has been sent threats including a letter with two bullets, her office said.  Well, what can we say, Silvio has such a huge fan club that they could have come from a little granny or a seventeen year old dancer, who knows?  Silvio claims he is the victim of a campaign by left-wing magistrates.  Look him in the eye and tell me what you think!

We have been coming up with all sorts of ways, short of stepping on them which sometimes cannot be avoided, to keep the snails off our zucchini (courgette) plants.  We collect bucket fulls and throw them, one at a time, in a gentle arc into the olive grove which gives them a second chance.  However, if you come out at dusk you will find them trooping back up to the garden in convoy.  Whilst the plants are small enough, we have them inside plastic bottles overnight and coffee dregs around the bases.  Please don’t suggest any chemical deterrents; our local plant shop gave me some crystals to sprinkle around and I was heartbroken to find the tiny plants eaten and the snails belly up!  Never again….

The weather has been wet, cold and windy, so my going to England tomorrow will not make any difference to my wardrobe.   Arrgh, you might say and I agree with you.  However, I must make an appearance from time to time and will be networking and promoting my company, http://www.hoareworth.com, whilst handing out lots of cards for ‘My Father, The Assassin’.  I read recently, that an American writer hit record novel sales because her husband was handing out cards on all his business trips!  My man (bless him) also does that, and I shall do the same this next week.  I will be back next Saturday so will send you my next post on Sunday 2nd June.

Have a great weekend.  June xx

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Yet another Beautiful Sunday in Tuscany

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on April 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Ciao Ragazzi

 My man and I have just returned from our coffee fix in Fiano and I am getting on with this blog, which I had intended doing yesterday!  A glorious day and expected to be 24 degrees by lunchtime.  Today I am talking about the lovely Silvio B, the Cuckoo and My Father, The Assassin.

 “La casa brucia, altro che pettinarele bombole. Governo forte o elezione!”  The house is on fire, another that combs the cylinders!  Strong government or election!  Well that’s the translation as quoted on his personal Facebook page ten hours ago.  Silvio Berlusconi will be back.  Vertically challenged, rotund and wearing makeup, at 76 a very high percentage of the female voters love him.  506,000 ‘like’ him on Facebook and you can be sure they are not all women.  Crowds have been thronging to the piazzas to hear him blow his own trumpet.

 So, on to the subject of the cuckoo.  No the bird variety silly!  Our feathered friend arrived last Tuesday and locals are talking excitedly about the formal arrival of spring.  All outside areas from balconi to giardini are being made ready for living and eating outside. And the weekenders, who own the property behind us, are outside playing ping-pong.  I cannot describe how good it is to be breathing in the warm scented air.

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 My man thought you might like to read an extract of my novel, ‘My Father, The Assassin’.  Now remember this is his idea, however, if you have not already read the book I will be interested to know if it encourages you to do so.  So here is a bit of chapter 6 where Joanna is preparing to leave for Singapore on her quest to follow the ghost of her father; she rings her daughter Emma…..

 After putting the phone down on the enthusiastic Jimmy, I realised that I was probably rushing into this adventure of mine without any proper planning.  I rang Emma.  “Mum, how are you?  Harry‘s just landed himself a superb job running the John Nichols Golf and Country Club.  That means we have free access to all the facilities and it‘s the best club in the country now.  Did you know that annual membership is £15,000 a year and you need to be sponsored by an existing member?  Harry won‘t have to pay his fee anymore, instead they’re going to be paying him – isn‘t that just amazing?  Oh god!  Finny has just come in with the dead rabbit the cat was playing with, hold on a minute!”  The receiver clattered onto the table, and I listened to Emma shouting at Finny the lurcher and trying to retrieve the poor dead rabbit. “Blast” Emma gasped, “he‘s gone under the bed with it, can you believe it?  Harry will have to sort it out; Finny doesn‘t take a blind bit of notice of me!  where were we – oh yes, and my friends are so jealous.  We thought we might have our wedding reception there, what do you think?”

“I didn‘t know you were getting married!” I gasped.  “Of course you know, Mum, It’s living in the depth of beyond that makes you to lose your memory all the time,” Emma quipped.  “Emma, I need your help.  I want to fly out to Singapore to do some research, and need to be away for two to three weeks.  I wondered if yourself, Harry and Finny would like to come down and house sit for me.  It would be ideal for you all and you badly need to take a rest.  Dippy would love to see Finny again and….”  I was suddenly interrupted.  “Actually mum, that’s a brilliant idea, we have just been talking about taking one of those Landmark Trust properties for a couple of weeks; coming down to Devon would be an even better idea.  Harry doesn‘t start his job until the middle of next month, leave it with me!”  And she was gone.

 Here is the direct link to the novel;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Father-The-Assassin-Finnigan/dp/1481904396/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358800225&sr=8-1

 Drop me a line and don’t forget to share with all your social networks!

 Have a great week, June x

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