Welcome and Benvenuti to All my Lovely Followers around the World,
It’s been a very busy week here on the edge of Chianti in our little bit of beautiful Tuscany. We are surrounded by vineyards and it is the middle of La Vendemmia (Grape Harvest) when all the existing squeaky tractors and clanging trailers are hurtling along the track like there’s no tomorrow. To add to the traffic chaos, the main road is closed for repair between Certaldo and Fiano, so most vehicles are following our track and taking the country route. This then also creates a hell of a lot of dust! But things will quieten down later today as rain and wind is forecast; mind you, although not good for the harvest, the land and gardens could certainly do with some heavy showers. But we don’t care about all that, life eeez good, life eeez now!
Meanwhile, we can enjoy the fruits of the woods and trees in the shape of Figs and Porcini Mushrooms. Both are two of my favourite locally grown indulgences. Autumn is definitely peeking through and hopefully Tartufo Bianco (white truffles) will be on the menu soon. The local truffle hunters and their clever dogs know the exact weather conditions and the secret locations for successful hunts.
Now, you may remember that the Commune di Certaldo holds an event called the Calambur every September and our local village of Fiano is represented by Rione Le Fonte, a bunch of very enthusiastic athletic and bright people dressed in red and white. So last Sunday was a day of races and intelligence tests and all four teams tried their very best to win. Then when the winners were announced as our team, for the second year running, everyone jumped around whooping and cheering waving the coveted banner in the air. So well done again to the guys and gals of Rione Le Fonte!
Now it’s rare for me to promote the work of another writer. However, this one is a lovely friend, is Italian and is called Rita (Carla) Francesca Monticelli. She has just published a hard back English version of her thriller Kindred Intentions and it would make a great Christmas present for your thriller loving friends and family. I love her books. Go to her Amazon link https://mybook.to/intentionsHB/opt/1
Well, time to think about lunch. I’ll go check the fridge out!
Have a great week, do drop me a line at june.finnigan0@gmail.com or visit my website at http://www.junefinnigan.website
Salute June x
Sometimes a little sadness cannot be avoided, but at the same time a smile can come out of such occasions. On October 12 we said addio to that very funny Italian actor from Naples, Carlo Croccolo, a face never to be forgotten. He was 92. Carlo worked alongside the likes of Toto and many other famous Italian actors. What most of us did not realise was that he was a prolific Interpreter and dubber. He actually interpreted 118 films and was the dubbed voice behind some very famous people including Laurel and Hardy! He also wrote and directed three films of his own! He also worked in the theatre and on TV most recently playing the fisherman Totonno in the series ‘Capri’ as recent as 2010. I loved his character and it’s worth revisiting some of his old comedy films from the 50’s like ’47 dead talking’ with Toto.
Meanwhile, if you are walking through Piazza Santa Croce in Florence, staring down at your phone, you might bump into a Very Big Book. Yes, that’s what I said, a very big book! It is actually an instillation celebrating Zanichelli’s new amazing updated ‘Vocabularly of the Italian Language.’ A must for every Italian speaker or student of the language. Well that’s started my Christmas present list off then! 
Then, if you keep walking, and it also happens to be the evening, you can follow the smell of roasting Italian chestnuts. By this time I hope your phone will be put back in your pocket! There are lots of opportunities to join organised trips to find your own chestnuts in the Tuscan countryside. And, organised is better as there are a lot of hunters about carrying guns; at least one local hunter gets killed or badly injured every season! Foto BeautifulItaly.
But enough of that, back to my adored world of Italian fashion! Hand made Italian shoes and boots. Just that sentence alone makes one drool. My man has hand made shoes with his name inscribed inside. He once had to take a shoe off in a UK bank to prove who he was, as he had left his identification behind! It worked! Anyway, his first shoes he bought in Arezzo, but they were made in Florence. However, there is a factory near Arezzo called Soldini Scarpe, which you may like to visit if you are in the area. This advert reminded me. Don’t you just love the woman’s hair colour in the picture? 
What else did I want to tell you? Oh yes, how could I forget, Italian made Pasta of course! In the paper the other day, was a very revealing article on the making and exporting of Italian pasta. I knew that a lot of the stuff was made, but was amazed to find that 58% of production of spaghetti and macaroni is exported and worth 2.4 billion euros a year! Mind you, I know from experience that the quality here is the highest in the world. Even we gluten free diners can enjoy delicous Italian made pastas at home and in the ristorante. My last pasta dish was tagliatelle with fresh porcini; just wonderful. Porcini is being collected locally in the woods, I just adore this time of year. Not long before White Truffles (tartufo bianco) will be served at ‘C’era una Volta’, our favourite ristorante in Lucardo.
Earlier in the week two copies of that gorgeous magazine Envy Italy arrived. I do like the hard copies, but you can also read it free on-line, so no need to miss out! My beautiful daughter Sharon is joint Editor of this lovely publication, which is full of everything you need to know about the best things that Italy has to offer. The theme is ‘Eat, Stay, Love’ and this Autumn Winter edition has a focus on ‘gourmet’ featuring the finest foods and wines in the Country. Wonderful features too, so go on spoil yourselves! 
Meanwhile, Fiano is preparing for the formal celebration of the winning the much coveted banner at the Calambur event a couple of weeks ago! If you woud like to meet the locals and join in the celebrations get your tickets ASAP!
They are often assisted by the big gorgeous white Maremmena sheepdogs, easily mistaken for sheep, which certainly fools any predators! The resulting cheese is called Pecorino (Italian for sheep) and is truly delicous ranging form a very soft young version to a very mature hard one. Other cheeses to love include Buffala Mozzarella and the creamy soft Burrata, which I adore, the latter being made from both cow and sheep’s milk, so you woud need to check if avoiding Lactose. Foto petGuide.com
Meanwhile, yesterday Sunday, the weather was lovely and Roberto Manetti, our local sculptor, finally unvieled his lovely sculpture, ‘Le Speranza che Le Mani’, which does not easily translate into English. So perhaps one of my local Italian readers might send me the English version. The sculpture shows three of Roberto’s charming little characters holding hands across a globe, which signifies to me the reaching out in friendship across the world. I love it. Foto J Finnigan
And, the final celebration of the week was Silvio Berlusconi’s 83rd birthday. Well, love him or hate him, he keeps forging on, at the edge of the political scene with his long suffering and much younger fiancé, Francesca Pascale, who was absent from the birthday party in Arcora. How long are you normally a fiancé? It’s been a few years now. I wonder who is postponing the wedding; Silvio, Francesca or Dudu the dog. There are rumours……watch this space!
As I begin writing this blog, which I hope you will enjoy, I have started to sneeze and I feel a little fluish. Well, not surprising, as we have just returned from ten days in the UK where we were surrounded by people with colds and viruses! You may not be surprised to know that living in Tuscany, I rarely catch a cold. We were in England for a mix of family gatherings and work, and by the time we got back to our lovely bit of Chianti, we were both exhausted. On a lighter note we did have some nice moments, like the strawberry cocktail served up with a rosemary twig at the Italian restaurant Ask in Wells, Somerset. We also had a good lunch at the Fountain Inn there.
We then travelled to Exmouth in Devon and cannot recomend any of the eateries or hotels there. So other than downing a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio with my lovely school chum Jane from Spain, whilst watching some rugby on the TV in the pub, nothing nice to say!
But what a relief to get home to Beautiful Tuscany and to find that yesterday our local village of Fiano has won back the coveted banner having been victorious at the annual Calambur event! Bravi to all our lovely italian friends who participated! This event is a bit like the UK’s It’s a Knockout which was televised and hugely popular in the 60’s and 70’s.
And, I read in the paper that Fiano had also won the title Contessa della Cipolla, which is awarded for the most magnificent dishes based on the delicious Certaldo Red Onion. Wow, the talent is unlimited in Fiano. Yes it’s that time of year again, the markets are brimming over with the locally grown beauties. No silly, I’m still talking about the onions!
Well, would you believe it, Silvio Berlusconi’s ex-wife Veronica Lario has has been told by an Italian court that she will no longer receive her monthly alimony payments of 1.4 million euros, yes, read this again 1.4 million euros, from billionaire Silvia Berlusconi, as it has ruled that Silvio had been unfairly treated! Who the hell really needs that much a month anyway? Well, Veronica does have cash deposits of some 16 million, jewels and a real estate business, so methinks she won’t go hungry. There will, however, be another small dent to her wealth as she will have to pay back around 60 million of alimony, which the courts said she had no right to! Well, that’s the Berlusconi planet for you. Meanwhile, it looks like his political career is on the rise again too! Watch this space. foto La Nazione.
Meanwhile, back in the real world and in my case, our little bit of Chianti, it’s fig or Ficchi time! I love Italian figs and Paolo has just started serving them up at Ristorante C’era Una Volta in Lucardo. When the olive wood platter arrived with a wonderful display of figs and Pecorino cheeses, I couldn’t wait to dig in, then remembered you guys! I should have taken a foto before I started eating! Anyway, here is the last one for you to drool over. it is also Zucchini (courgette) Flower time; Paolo’s Zucchini Flower fritters are to die for! Foto J Finnigan
Now another important indulgence for me is my four weekly visit to Sandra at La Parrucchiera in Certaldo for ‘colore.’ Sandra is my hairdresser and has been for the last fifteen years! Fortunately, she is a lot younger than me, so should be around even when I am in my nineties. My man understands that, no matter what my state of physical or mental health, he must get me to Sandra’s. It is also the only time that I have the chance to read some glossy magazines and last week I spotted these gorgeous Hand Made Italian Moccasins. As you know, I am dead against trianers as a fashion item, other than for sport. All I can say ladies, if you want to look good in flats here’s the answer; beautiful and comfortable at the same time! 
Where were we? Did you know it is the 50 year anniversary of Woodstock. Woodstock? Now come on, even my grandchildren have heard of Woodstock and by the way, love my music from the 60’s an 70’s. Our local village of Fiano is celebrating this momentous event in the Piazza with great food and two bands thumping out the original music! I absolutely adore the Italians for their love of great music and bands. Where else in the world can one be an aging rocker and be considered normal? I sometimes include the song ‘Woodstock.’ by Mathew’s Southern Comfort in my concert repertoire. Pop on to You tube and have a listen.
Of course the next thing we have to enjoy is Il Calambur. This is the annual battle of Certaldo Commune’s factions (Quarteriere), ours is Fiano, which won the year before last. The big event is held in central Certaldo and we hope the this year our village will come out on top again! There will be sporting and intelligent tests and a lot of fun. Put 15th September in your diary! The flags will be flying soon!
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. 
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!
This is a very difficult time of the year for me, but a truly exciting one too. Difficult, because my head is full of song lyrics as I am practising daily for my up a coming concert and this has the effect of drowning out all the other things in my brain that I need to focus on too! Exciting because it’s the time of year to get back together with The Rock Chick Band and to make fabulous music! My man has to keep my feet on the ground and to remind me not to forget simple things. I keep a hard copy diary. It’s big and red and sits on my desk and cannot get lost like a cell phone or accidentally deleted like an electronic one, things I am prone to do! The repertoire is now finalised and our first rehearsal is on Sunday. Email me at june.finnigan.virgin.net for an invite to the concert on 21 June here in Tuscany.
Meanwhile, a visiting fox has discovered the fruits of our mulberry tree, but Phil the pheasant isn’t happy with that. He has been noisily complaining and shooing the poor thing away. I am also worried about the fox turning on Phil in a stand off.
Phil is quite formidable and frightening when he’s angry, but he would also make a good dinner for a hungry fox and it’s family and, he has a family of his own to protect in our garden!
On the subject of wildlife we had the rare sight of the shy porcupine run across the track in front of us the other day. Unlike the UK, we do not get a lot of road kill, but nevertheless it can happen. So we were glad to see it in time. It’s surprising really, what with the fast and crazy driving in Tuscany, that we don’t see more poor dead creatures. We often see deer and cinghale (wild boar) cross the road, sometimes whole herds, which is fabulous to see.
Anyway, what next? Ah, yes. We have just celebrated something very special in our local village of Fiano. The local school children worked with potter Terry Davies and The Caba Association Culturale, to create ceramic
Now back to the subject of Made in Italy and the first things to spring to mind, well mine anyway, is fashion and handbags. In the local papers I spotted two beautiful images that I loved. The colour red always gives me a lift and it goes with anything, so here is a beautiful shoulder bag from Felisi to drool over. 
And what do you think of this frock? I think the simple cut and the gorgeous harbour scene print is so eye-catching and irresistible. Pop it on I say, head for the coast, then simply take a stroll. You’ll be turning heads for sure! You’ll need to click ‘find a store near you’ if you want to buy from this collection. 
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