Living in San Giorgio di Pesaro and Kingston

If you want to see sunflowers then this year the Marche is the place. I assume the European Union has increased its subsidies on sunflower oil as the place is full of them.  At the moment they are in full bloom and it is very spectacular. Unfortunately there are also lots of solar panels sprouting up. The government had given subsidies to encourage the development of solar energy but instead of being placed on the top of factories etc they are sprouting up on agricultural land. We were told that a farmer can get 150,000 euros if he leases his 2 hectares of land for 25 years. For many farmers it is not profitable to try and cultivate crops and so using the fields for soar panels seems easy money. There is growing concern about the spread of the panels both in terms of loss of agricultural land and their impact on the landscape.

The last few days have been very hot and so in the afternoon we have being going to the beach at Torrette. Currently the book being read by the English speaking commnity is “The Godless Boys” by Naomi Wood. Naomi is the daughter of Pam and Michael who live in Tavernelle and so she is “almost” a local girl.

The book is set in an imaginary present where a religious revival in England has led to non-believers being placed on an island off England. The islanders are suspicious of all outsiders who may be attempting to introduce religion to the island. A young stowaway arrives on the island in search of her mother who she believes was sent to the island. The girl, Sarah, meets the leader of a gang of young tearaways, Nathaniel, and the major part of the book is about the developing relationship between these two. Other realtionships on the island are inter-weaved with this main narrative and the overall effect is that the story is always interesting and keeps one’s interest until the end.

This is Mattia who started learning English with me 4 or 5 years ago. We would met at Katia’s (his grandmother) house where she would make me a cup of coffee and then we would start revising what he had done in school. At the beginning this was English grammar but then we moved on to studying his english course books which were on electricity, electronics and also literature such as Orwell’s Animal Farm.

Last Wednesday was the end of an era as Mattia and I had our last lesson prior to him starting the Matturita – the equivalent of A levels. Yesterday, 22nd June, was the first exam – Italian. Today, 23rd he will have the second exam. As he goes to a scientific institute the exam will be in mathematics. After this there is a short break and then another written exam which will have questions on 5 other subjects they have studied, including English. The whole process will finish with an oral exam where in front of a board of teachers and outside assessors students must answer questions on various subjects including English.

So during our last few English lessons Mattia has been explaining to me, in English, “the difference between AC and DC power”, the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power in relation to Italy”, “what is the Cold War”, “in Animal Farm how did Napoleon obtain and maintain power” etc. He explained them all with no problems and so, at least, in the English part of the Maturita he should do well.

On Friday went to the giometti multiplex at Fano to see the new X-Men film. Having read that the film was 130 minutes long decided to visit the gents. Approaching the urinals I noticed that the floor was wet. Italian men, I thought. However, when I stood in front of the urinal the infrared light noticed I was there and the automatic flush system came into action. In this case not an automatic flush but an automated spray which was not regulated properly. The result was a fine spray of cold water onto the genitals, onto the trousers and onto the floor.

Finished with the urinals I went to the washhand basins and pressed the tap. Yet even here the water came out at a  great rate of knots, splashing into the sink and onto my shirt. To avoid further drenching I made a perfunctory hand wash and retreated, dampily, out of the gents. Dread to think what happens if you have to use the cubicle.

When you come to live in Italy it doesn’t take long to arrive at the conclusion from Italians talking about Italy that the north of Italy is hard working and more law abiding; the centre of Italy is less hard working and less law abiding but still has acceptable standards; the south is not hard working and is not law abiding. Reports of government money spent on new hospitals etc which are never finished or where finished are not needed are commonplace. A higher percentage of people in the south do not pay TV licence fees and the highes levels of disability benefit are claimed in the south etc.

So it a came as a surprise that recent research showed the highest level of tax evasion by small business is in the centre  rather than the south. The level of tax evasion by falsifying income was 7.9% in the south, 14.8% in the north and 17.9% in the centre. According to the research an identikit of a typical tax avoider would  be male, 44 years old, resident in central Italy and self employed as an owner of a restorant, bar or hotel.

When buying a drink or a meal in Italy you must be given a receipt and on occasions the financial police will stop customers leaving bars etc to check if a receipt has been given. However, we have been in bars and shops where no receipt is given and so the money goes straight into the pocket of the owner. We have also been in a restaurant where customers have been warned that the financial police are in the vicinity and so receipts are rigorously given. Finally, we have heard of cafes where a receipt is given but the wrong one. So if the bill is 9 euros you get a receipt for 90 cents. If it gets queried then its “an honest mistake, gov”.

At the moment San Giorgio is full of perfume. The jasmine on the garden fence is out and particularly in the evening its scent fills the air. Leaving the house and walking onto the main street you can’t avoid the heady, intoxicating scent of the lime trees which are now in full bloom.

If you ever wanted to hear renditions of “Happy Birthday to You” in English, Italian, Cantonese and Dutch then the place to be was at Tavernelle on Sunday where Pam and Michael were hosting their daughter Katherine’s 30th birthday.  Katherine and boyfriend David had flown from Hong Kong to be at the event. To this was added sister Naomi, friends and family from London, Scotland, Hong Kong, South Africa, Holland.

If you ever wanted to experience what you imagine expat life in Italy to be -long tressled tables weighed down with food and wine in the shadow of the trees but looking onto the sun drenched hills beyond – then once again the place to be was Tavernelle on Sunday.

Pam had worked her fingers to the bone preparing a great range of salads for our delight. Michael acted as chief sommelier and just kept opening the bottles. All this meant that  a great time was  had by all.  

Michael and I continue to play a game of tennis once a week. We had thought about having some lessons for some time and eventually decided to give it a try. The Herculean task has fallen on the shoulders of Massimiliano (Massi to his friends) – in the photo Massi is on the right. We have one lesson a week and he has us practicing our forehands, backhands and serves. Michael and I are like two schoolboys eager to please and being really pleased when Massimiliano says “bene, bene” to one of our shots.

Massi speaks some English and so between Italian and English we each get our message across. We are learning some new Italian e.g. palleggiare and he is learning the corresponding English verb “to knock up”. Another useful phrase for Massi when teaching us to serve is “to throw up”. Michael is taking Massi’s English one step further and letting Massi know that “to throw up” can also mean to vomit”. He hasn’t gone a step further as regards the various shades of  “to knock up”.

We both really enjoy the hour’s training and Massi is a great coach to have.

Some time ago San Giorgio got its first roundabout. It is small and very non-descript. Unfortunately, some other places have gone for roundabouts which are more “noticeable”. From driving around the area  we are listing those roundabouts in the running for the prize of “Worst Roundabout in the Marche”.

Corinaldo is famous for having the best preserved medieval walls in the Marche and it  is also famous  as the birth place of the saint Maria Goretti and its newest roundabout is now in the running for the “worst roundabout”. Not content with flags of the nations on the roundabout they have added a series of rusted brown lamps and finishing the whole with a rusted brown screen with letters cut into it announcing to the passing cars that it is the birth place of Maria Goretti. Not a good look.