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Can you spot the difference? (no marks for white sky verses blue sky).
Yesterday the large “Tree of Paradise” (Alianthus altissima) was chopped down. The tree was slowly dying and when there was a strong wind branches would come down. So decided it was time to get rid of it and try to plant something in its place.
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Lovely weather over the last few days made us decide to to to Rome for a day before the autumn set in. We had, as normal, a great day out with our friend Elizabeth. We followed the well worn routine: coffee and brioche at Fabriano station; train to Rome; coffee and brioche in Rome; visit to a gallery or museum (this time the Capitoline Museums); drink before lunch in front of the Pantheon; lunch; stroll through Rome; train back to Fabriano; dinner at Elizabeths; home. As always a lovely day.
We did not come back from the Fano Festival of Flowers empty handed. After spending the summer watering the pots on the terrace Bill has decided to take global warming seriously and is seeking out plants with minimum water requirements. The result is our first bowl of cacti with an assurance that more will follow.
Saturday was the “Festa dei Fiori” at Fano. Decided to go as we have to plant a new shrub border. We were not expecting too much and we were not disappointed. If you wanted to buy some herbs, cyclamens and cacti then this is the place to go. For shrubs and perenniels it was useless. There were only about 40 stalls and about 30 of them were selling herbs, cyclamens or cacti. The others were selling candles, spices etc.
Next week there is another Festival of Flowers at Pesaro which, we are assured, is bigger and better than Fano’s. However, it probably means there are even more stalls selling herbs, cyclamens and cacti.
I have been digging over our garden for the past 3 years. Have found old broken bricks and tiles buried by the builder instead of taking it to a dump; have found old broken bottles; have found old hinges and parts of doors. Nothing of interest. But then last week I found a 50 centesimi coin from the Fascist era.
50 centesimi coins were produced from 1936 al 1943 (series: Empire) and are very common. However, the coins minted in 1939 are interesting because it was the first year steps were taken to reduce the cost of the coinage by replacing nickel by stainless steel.
As a discovery it cannot quite compete with the anglo-saxon treasure found recently in England but much better than another rusted hinge.
Miss Over was from Genoa was crowned in Pesaro. Meanwhile, Maurizio Pizzagalli, a student from Pesaro was crowned Mister Piu’ Bello d’Italia in the only national male beauty contest. His ambition is not to bring peace to the world but to become an actor. Being unlikely to win the Mister piu’ bello d’Italia competition Bill and I are waiting for the “Mister Over” competition to be announced.
Beauty contests are still big business in Italy. In fact on the 15th September the new Miss Italy was crowned. The selection process had been on television and was stretched over 3 evenings from 9.00p.m. to midnight. It started with 90 contestents which were whittled down each evening.
Two days ago in Pesaro there was another national beauty contest. This was for ladies over 39 years old and was won by Lucia Aliverti, 42, married, mother of 2 from Genoa.
To give the competition some class the title of the competition is in English. So Mrs Aliverti was crowned “Miss Over 2009”.
Saturday morning had a phone call from a woman friend in Mondavio to ask if we had felt the earthquake. Her doors and windows had rattled. The answer was no. An hour later another woman friend from Cabarnardi asked if we had felt the earthquake. Her floor had moved. Again the answer was no.
Then on the TV we heard that the Marche had been hit by an earthquake at 6.30 in the morning. It was 4.6 on the Richter scale. No damage was done but in some towns near to the epicentre there had been, naturally enough, some panic. However, for us insensitive males in San Giorgio the whole thing was a none event.
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Finally, after three years we have put up the house name. Its named after our friend Margaret. When Margaret died, she left us her house in England. Selling the house in England enabled us to buy the house in Italy. So it only seems right to name the house after her. |
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Non-biodegradable plastic bags will be banned in Italy from 2011. Originally it was 2010 but the government postponed its introduction. In the meantime the Coop has taken the lead and no longer supplies free plastic bags for your shopping. You bring your own bag or you buy some biodegradable bags – 15 cents for basic plastic and 85 cents for a longer lasting bag. Its introduction has been painless and some people even bring straw baskets as in olden times. We now keep a stock of bags in the car. Some bags, given as gifts, we have decided to keep in the hope they become collectors’ items – in the picture we are keeping the Obama bag as new.