Welcome and Benvenuti to all my Lovely Followers around the World,
Well, here we are, Sunday morning and we have not gone out for our usual coffee. By some stroke of luck I bought a proper Italian Espresso machine a few months ago! At 8.30, after home made espresso, my man and I strolled around our country garden and felt invigorated.
The sun is shining and spring is leaping forth as if nothing is happening in the country or indeed the world around us. I weeded a couple of pots and my man put yesterday’s washing outside in the sunshine. If one has to be in Lock-down, I can’t think of a better place to be.
I have taken to tucking in for three to four days, then popping up to our local village of Fiano, when our water bottles need refilling and picking up any foodstuffs from La Dispensa at the same time. It’s currently one out, one in as we wait our turn, at least one metre apart, outside the shop. The Cirri family who run the place are absolute stars and deliveries are still coming in. So plenty of fresh fruit, veg and bread.
Fabio, Sandra and Rosella Cirri at ‘La Dispensa’ foto J Finnigan
The Italians are a wonderful mix of people, but whatever their background they are naturally sociable. So this is proving really hard for the elderly who normally sit snuggled up around coffee bar tables or on benches watching the world go by. I heard said that one person’s nonna, aged ninety-two, believes she is destined to die alone! So, there is a lot of sadness around.
On the other hand, the Italians love to sing and make music. Organised mini-concerts with instruments or pots and pans, are happening on people’s balconies. Yesterday, at around 6pm, music and song filled the air. And, of course, they love to eat, so the families will continue to enjoy their pranzo and cena. For many, eating large meals at home has always been the norm.
- Breaking News – a 76 year old man from our local village of Fiano has been tested positive for the virus and is in hospital. We may have to rethink things; a kind friend has offered to deliver groceries to us!
I sincerely hope that you are all coping with this virus, wherever you are in the world. I cannot say strongly enough that you all should take it very seriously indeed. It doesn’t matter what your government is saying, your family must come first. Protect yourselves!
Anyway, we are still making plans for our 10th annual Rock Concert on 19th June in our lovely Tuscan garden. It’s important to have things to look forward to and I have a gut feeling that June will be a good month. After all I was named after the month having been born on 23rd! So far, June has never let me down!
May you all enjoy this time together with your families; drink good wine, play music and eat well. And, stay safe.
Salute June xx
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Meanwhile, the Italian Government are up to their usual wittering about leadership, the original coalition fell apart and the current arrangement is not working either. Reading the newspaper, I came across this brilliant photo taken in 1953. It is the mayor of Florence giving a speech and just look at the faces on the guys surrounding him! You could say ‘nothing has changed’, everyone is seriously bored listening to all the moaning and groaning.
But enough of that. It’s the 1st March, hurrah, and the month for celebrating Tartufu (truffles). There will be Festas all over the place including our local town of Certaldo, Volterra and Florence. If you have not been to Volterra, you really should. It’s about an hour from us and is a beautiful ancient city with a great history. You could combine the visit with the Tartufo celebrations. Yesterday, we went to our local restaurant C’era una Volta where my man enjoyed a delicious pasta dish with Tartufo Marzolo (March Truffles) grated over the top. Yummy. Sometime this week we will probably head over to Tavernelle and Osteria La Gramola, where they do wonderful creative dishes with seasonal produce, like the Tartufo. I’ll let you know.
Back in our lovely winter garden the daffodils are coming out. I took this foto this morning as it looked a little lonely on it’s own. We will not be uncovering the rest of the plants until 1st April; we look forward to that. The other day, we were visited by a big male fox and he may have gone off with one of our resident wild pheasant hens, as Phil the Cock Pheasant has been making a lot of noise of late. I saw the naughty fox with a large bird in his mouth being chased by Phil, it may have been a pigeon but probably not. Whats happening in your garden?
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