Living in San Giorgio di Pesaro and Kingston

The petrol garage closed some months ago as the owners had been unable to cover their costs. It looks as if it is now ready to re-open. Rumour has it that the former wife and husband, who had the garage before, will be trying to make a go of it again. She and her new partner will be running the petrol side of things and her ex-husband will be running the car cleaning, valeting side. There is also a rumour that they may try to open a bar on the site. Certainly there is plenty of space for it. As there is no public bar in San Giorgio it may, finally, be a place to go for  a coffee and brioche for breakfast.

Sam the cat was on a course of saline drips to try and rehydrate her and berberis tablets to help her kidney function. She wasn’t improving and so we decided to take her to another vet in Orciano (the next village). We had heard that two newly qualified vets had set up in practice. We had discovered that they had been open for the past year but the news had just got through to San Giorgio. Not being great believers in omeopatic medicine they opted for a blood test and a course of anti-biotics as her teeth looked in poor condition. Sam started to get better the day after as the anti-biotics kicked in which meant trying to give her the tablets became harder every day as she spat and scratched to avoid having them put down her throat. A few days later the blood test revealed that her kidneys are in good condition. The only reading that was high was calcium which could indicate a tumour in the intestine, apparently common in old cats and dogs. But it is difficult to diagnose and treatment is radical surgery. The vet suggested, instead, that we have her teeth cleaned which will stop any further mouth infections. So this morning Sam is off for a “clean and polish”. Hopefully, with an improved set of  “gnashers” she will want to eat more and put back some of the weight she has lost recently.

On Friday 13th we decided to go in search of a decent “garden centre”. Assured that there was one in Martinsicuro, a small town in the far south of the Marche, we set off. We have never been delayed by an accident on the Autostrada but this time a petrol lorry had crashed into the central barrier and had fallen on its side.  This caused some delay but we finally reached the garden centre about 10.30 and had finished the visit by 10.45. It was not very extensive although we did buy a couple of plants. We drove along the coast looking for somewhere to have lunch. However, seaside resorts in early spring are not the most lively of places and so we limited ourselves to a coffee and drove inland to Fermo. Some years ago we had spent a week in Fermo and was still as lovely as we remembered. An added bonus was that a bar owner recommended a small restaurant and we had a super lunch – starting at 12.30, finished at 2.30.

On the way home we were coming out of Mondavio, 2nd village from San Giorgio, and had to slow down as there was a motorbike in the middle of the road and the driver was being treated at the side of the rode. On entering San Giorgio we had to slow down as there were a couple of  police cars blocking the road. We learned later that a woman had been knocked down crossing the road and had been taken to hospital. Later that evening Don Giorgio, the town’s priest, was leaving a parishioner’s house, had slipped, banged his head on the step and was taken to hospital. Friday 13th was living up to its  name.

Seems that Friday 13th was living up to its reputation.

The under-16s football team has improved 100% since their last game. A couple of weeks rest has obviously paid off as last week against Fano the team only lost 5-0. A great improvement on the 10-0 score only  a few weeks ago. This coming Sunday they are at home against Pergola. Some of the players believing they can maintain this improved form and are predicting a 3-0 or perhaps even a 3-1 result – for Pergola.

The church of the Holy Spirit has been closed for some months following the discovery that the church needed major repairs, including the roof. The cost of the restoration is 450,000 euros. Last week it was announced that the church would give 150,000 euros towards the cost. This money comes from the tax payer. When completing one’s tax return you can nominate some charities to receive some of your tax. One of the charities you can nominte is the Catholic Church. The money received goes into the Vatican’s coffers where it is distributed to the various dioceses who then allocate the money according to need. So the Fano diocese has decided to contribute part of it’s money to the restoration of the church. It is hoped that central government may provide the rest of the money but no one knows when. The 150,000 will be received in September and work on the roof can then be started.  Once the roof is done the scaffolding can be removed and the remaining work put on hold until the remaining money is received.

Today is International Women’s Day and it is a big festival in Italy. Mimosa, the symbol of the day, appears everywhere and on TV there are many programmes discussing the role of women, women as entrepreneurs, violence against women. Unfortunately, there are also lots of TV programmes with “show girls” ready to push the message that young girls can aspire to be a scantily clad dancer with the possibility of marrying an old but rich man, or if they really succeed can publish an “artistic calendar”. As it was a lovely day we decided to leave the TV behind and went out for a drive.

	We went to Torette beach where we had a brisk walk. No one swimming yet. We then went to the Furlo Gorge where some people were having picnics and one guy had gone swimming. His dog was very wet and we assume he had gone in to try and get the dog out. He was passing the time wringing out his jeans and hanging them out to dry.

Sam, the cat, has been off-colour recently. We took her to the vet and they said that her kidneys were not functioning effectively and her gums were inflammed. So for the last week we have been going to the Vet where she receives a drip to help rehydrate her and also an anti-inflammatory injections to help her gums. She is now eating more and is more lively. Also, she is taking homeopathic medicine based on berberis. One web site listed the benefits of berberis as: A remedy for the skins, chronic catarrhal affections, secondary syphilis, hepatic torpor, lassitude and other evidences of incomplete metamorphosis. Other sites, fortunately, mention that it is also good for kidneys, liver and urinary issues. She goes back to the vet in 3 weeks to see how things are progressing.

Here in Italy they have started to publicise a new skin care product for men called Nivea DNage. According to the advert it is aimed a those men who are 35 and over and who want a toned and wrinkle free skin. As we tick all the boxes we decided to buy some when we went shopping yesterday. We are also hoping that  a full head of grey  hair may be a side-effect.

The Institute of Statistics estimates that in 2008 the population of Italy will have passed the 60 million mark. With low birth rates among Italians migration has played a major part in Italy reaching this total. Obiously, Bill and I are happy to have helped the country reach this milestone.

It also has helped that the fertility rate among immigrants is higher than that of the local population. Going against the tide once we have maintained our fertility levels well below that of the local population.