Living in San Giorgio di Pesaro and Kingston

During our wide ranging conversations Pam and Michael told us that it was possible to get the BBC through the internet. When we try to access the BBC programmes the servers in England recognise our IP address as being from Italy and refuse us access. However, Pam and Michael told us about a site called “My Private Network”. Registering on this site and paying £5 per month will allow us to access the BBC programmes as we be recognised as having a UK IP address.

The only problem is we have to register with Pay Pal to allow the monthly charge to be paid. We are currently experiencing problems getting onto Pay Pal but once done we will be able to  look forward to seeing Gardener’s World etc.

For the last few years we have insured the car with Toro Assicurazione. We had used them for insuring the house and so continued with them for the car. Every year we have thought about checking the prices of other companies. One reason was to find something cheaper and the second reason because we felt we had been badly treated by Toro when we took out the initial car insurance. At the time Bill had about 11 years no-claims on his insurance in England. We cancelled the English insurance a week before we took out insurance in Italy. Toro Insurance said that if the English insurance had been in place then the no-claims would have been transferred to the Italian policy. Their decision has always rankled.

So this year instead of mumbling we actually did something about it. We checked on the internet and found a site www.assicurazione.it which compared the prices of 16 companies. We found a cheaper supplier and so gave Toro Assicurazione the required 15 days notice that we would not be continuing with them.

A few days before the expiry of our old insurance we were surprised to receive a bill from Toro for 70 euros.  We spoke to them today and were informed that the 70 euros was for a separate policy. It is personal insurance for the driver of the car. With our new company you can select insurance of the driver as an add-on to the main policy but obviously not with Toro. It was separate from the car insurance. When we asked to cancel it we were told that it wasn’t possible as with the driver’s insurance we had to give 60 days notice. According to the person from Toro Assicurazione 60 days or occasionally 30 days is the normal period of notice required whether it’s driver’s insurance, house insurance etc. The 15 days notice for the car is an exception. We are now checking when the house insurance is due.

For some time the clock on the local church has not been striking the hours. Now that repairs to the church are under way the bells have also been fixed. So the church bells strike between 7.00 in the morning and 10 at night. They also strike the quarter, half and three-quarters and so for example at 11.30 there are 11 strikes plus 2. Its nice to have them back.

On Easter Day we had Anne from Mondavio and Elizabeth from Carbarnardi to lunch. We ate and drank well. Despite wet and windy weather it had been a lovely day. At 11.00 we went to bed. Sleep came quickly but at about 1.00 am we were woken up by a car alarm going off. It continued to ring until 4.00 in the morning. Couldn’t understand why the owner of the car didn’t go out and turn off the alarm. It was only today that we discovered it had been the alarm in the church. Water had got into the electrics and started the alarm ringing. It was 4.00 before they were able to get a technician out to turn the thing off. 

Ammaniti	Camilleri	Carofiglio

When I read Italian books they tend to be thrillers. They are easier to understand as there is usually lots of conversation. Some italian authors that I have enjoyed reading  are available in English translation.

Niccolo Ammaniti: His book “I’m Not Scared” (Non ho paura) was very successful in the UK both as a book and a film. His latest book in English “The Crossroads” (Come dio comanda) is again in the bestseller list. Both books deal with the relationship between a son and his criminal father. The Crossroads is particularly strong in describing the povery and bleakness of life on the edge.

Andrea Camilleri: “The Voice of the Violin” (La voce del violino). This is one of Inspector Montalbano series. They are very popular in Italy both as books and as a television series. The books are set in Sicily and are very atmospheric. It is not just the cases that are interesting but also the inspector himself.

Gianrico Carofiglio: I had not heard of this author until John Roscoe (buying a house in San Giorgio) recommended him. Then I discovered that his latest book was topping the bestsellers list in Italy. He has written a series of novels about a lawyer in Bari, Southern Italy. The first book in the series “Involuntary Witness” (Testimone inconsapevole) is about a black pedlar accused of murdering a young child. The book is an interesting blend of the criminal case, the lawyer’s emotional life and his attitude to his clients, his colleagues and the legal system.

A lovely dinner (again) with Elizabeth from Cabarnardi. She had also invited Mike and Carla who moved to the Marche 15 years ago and their son Martin who has recently come to live in Italy. During the conversation he mentioned going dancing the last couple of weekends. He went to Fabriano but here in San Giorgio there are a number of local discos/dance venues. A famous one in this area is Tris. Tris means three and the name reflects that there are three dance floors in the club – a floor for ballroom, a floor for latin and a floor for modern music.

Tris also has a tea dance on a Sunday afternoon and according to local sources i.e. people in my English class the tea dance is frequented by large numbers of “badantes” from Albania, Romania etc. A badante is a hired carer much used by families who have an old and infirm person at home. The badante lives in and the salary is made up from a contribution from the state and the remainder from the family. They normally get one day off a week. So if the day off happens to be a Sunday then it is off to Tris for a bit of relaxation and the chance to meet the Italian man of their dreams.

Rumours about Cafe Centrale being changed into a book shop have turned out to be true. A new bookshop has opened and a cafe is being added. So in Senigallia there are two bookshops almost opposite each other and a third bookshop on the street running parallel. . The new bookshop is part of the “Mondadori”change and so competition with the independent bookshop may be fierce. Not sure there is enough space for all three bookshops. The limited size of the Italian market means that books are very expensive. An average paperback can be 15 to 18 euros. The supermarkets also sell the bestsellers at a discount and so bookshops have an even more uphill task. Certainly if my young students are example of the future of reading then the bookshops are in problems. Of the 5 teenagers I currently teach not one of them reads beyond their school books. They find say they find reading boring.

Recently in Italy there has been a lot of anger over a site on Facebook which called for children with Downs Syndrome to be used for target practice. The site was removed and when the author of the site who is being treated for severe psychiatric problems was identified.

On a less serious note I was searching on facebook for “San Giorgio di Pesaro” and was surprised to discover only a couple of  items relating to San Giorgio including a group called “Io odio San Giorgio” – “I hate San Giorgio”. The group says that it is the duty of everyone living in the surrounding villages and who hate San Giorgio to join the group. It’s a comfort to see that only 23 people have opted to join the group and there are no recent posts. So perhaps San Giorgio isn’t so “hatable” after all.

Abbandoned dogs are a problem in Italy. According to an Animal Defence Organisation 500 dogs were abandoned over a long weekend in June last year. The abandoned dogs are not puppies bought as presents at Christmas but dogs between 5 and 7 years old who have become too costly due to the current economic crisis.

The abbandoned dogs are taken to the local “dog rescue centre”. They are not put down but kept until, hopefully, they find a new home. The comune in San Giorgio is now offering 250 euros if you take a dog from a Centre afiliated to the comune. For the first two years you will also get 200 euros towards their expenses.