Welcome and Benvenuti to all my Lovely Followers around the World,
Now, you know me. I am the eternal fun loving optimist. But this morning was awful. The trains were all running seriously late from Certaldo, so I said to my man ‘Empoli?” He jumped back in the car and we headed off for Empoli, which is where my man changes trains on the way to Pisa airport. But we both agreed that it might be better to drive straight to Pisa rather than risk more delays, so my man got in the driver’s seat. I like to live a relaxed lifestyle, which includes avoiding driving long distance and on fast motorways. On the journey back I went the old route along the Strada Provinciale, it takes longer but it is far more relaxed. It was OK until I got to the turning to Siena. A new bypass road has finally opened, which should have been a huge relief to the villages on the ‘A’ road to Siena via Certaldo, my home town. But the thoughtless road builders have either deliberately avoided building bridges or tunnels or did not have the cash, and have split villages in half with Berlin type walls! I ignored the ‘dead end’ signs and went to take a look, there weren’t even any pedestrian underpaths or bridges! So, this fun loving optimist is now furious! To avoid the new fast bypasses, I had to drive into Empoli and add a further half an hour to my journey. OK, I feel better now having shared this; time for a nice glass of Pinot Grigio! Foto dw.com
Last week we were taken by surprise to find that the frost had arrived before we had covered the terracotta plant pots in the garden. So my man rushed out to do the important deed and well done to him. But we love December and can all genuinely go around looking cheesy and admitting to loving Christmas! What, who said that? Not everyone likes Christmas; I cannot believe that for one moment. Just look at the delight on childrens’ faces as they press their noses up against Christmassy shop windows. And, the sparkle in the eyes of people wandering around the Christmas markets! If you can’t be happy for yourself be jolly for those that are! Here is a picture of our log fire to cheer you up!
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n the foto of our fireplace you can see a framed ceramic tile bottom right, which is rather beautiful and was recently purchased from our firends at Ceramiche ‘Carbini Gabriella’ in our local village of Fiano. It covers a hole in the side of the iglenook, which was originally an opening for a fire to heat the metal cooking pot ring above it. I have mentioned Gabriella’s place before and will do so again, as it is full of ‘buy me’ ceramic things for presents.
Meanwhile, whilst browsing through the newspaper at La Dispensa at the weekend I found another beautiful outfit designed by one of my favourite Italian designers, Luisa Spagnoli. Have you ever seen such a beautiful cosy winter outfit made from tartan rugs? I think this deserves a top award of some kind!
And to keep the spirit of Christmas going, I thought you might like a picture of our Christmas Tree, which we put up in our large kitchen/family room. Having a big Tuscan kitchen is fantastic for everthing including my singing practice as the acoustics are so good. But more important than anything else is the pleasure of having friends and family to pranzo or cena in our kitchen, then toasting our tootsies in front of the fire in the sitting room, clutching a nice Italian digestivo.
Whilst writing, I would like to say a very big thank you for buying my books in 2019 and to show how much I appreciate it, I want to send you a free signed short story called ‘The Man in Black’, which is a thriller based in London’s theatre land. All you need to do is send me proof of purchase or a photograph of all three paperback versions by email, anytime up to the end of January 2020. Email june.finnigan@virgin.net (Oh, I’ll need your postal address too!)
Well, must get back to the day job! Do drop me a line and visit my website at My site
Salute June xxx
PS Next week I’ll be posting not one but four hunks of the month as a special treat for Christmas. Watch this space!
I just love Christmas and I feel sad for those that do not. For me it is much more than a religious festival, it is a time when families get together again and to take some quiet time chilling in front of a log fire, without feeling guilty for a few days. Our kitchen is now all festive, ready for gatherings of friends or family who happen to pass by.
Here in our little bit of Chianti, we will move the TV from my man’s study to the sitting room and watch really silly DVD’s of UK sitcoms and some good films, in front of the fire. Italian TV is terrible, just don’t go there! We will get the old board games out and thoroughly enjoy ourselves. What will you be up to?
As you know I am a keen follower of Italian fashion labels and it’s been great to see models walking down the catwalk in Christmas Sweaters! It seems lots celebrities have been spotted wearing them! This is very good news in my view, the brighter the better. Try not to smile when you are chatting to someone wearing one, you can’t do it can you? Chuckle. The more reasons we have to put smiles on our faces the better. If you girlies want something festive yet sophisticated, I spotted this lovely cashmere one from Somers, always one of my favourite Italian sweater designers. 
Now you know how much I love Italian food, I harp on enough about it, but at Christmas time there are somethings I really miss. These include mince pies, sage & onion stuffing mix, parsnips, Birds Custard and Branston Pickle. But all is not lost. My man will be popping over to London for a visit before Christmas and will bring some of these things home with him. Otherwise we have Richmond’s British Food Shop, which delivers to your home in Tuscany! 
Meanwhile, back at our regular local ristorante, C’era una Volta, Paolo has done it again. He has secured a good fresh supply of Tartufo Bianco, white truffles to you and me, and we had lots grated over our pasta yesterday for lunch. Heaven! Here in the picture is his hoard, which won’t last long even at the high price these dishes demand! So whilst I miss some of the English foods at Christmas, pasta and white truffles more than makes up for that! 
But we don’t care about that! Here’s a really funny foto my man saw in the paper. Silvio was obviously blowing out such a blast of hot air again that poor Dudù is having to hang on for dear life! Ha ha!
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