Shaken and stirred

Just when we thought it was safe to go back in the water, along come another three earthquakes. These again hit central Italy, leaving more destruction in their wake but thankfully no fatalities. The reassuring news is that all is well at LCDDB, and if there is any damage it is just a bit more cracking and a couple of toppled vases, which survived intact.

The first and, as it turned out, the shortest and least severe occurred during my lesson on Wednesday evening with my student, Massimo. As we were in the workroom downstairs, the effects of the shaking were somewhat lessened and over by the time we got to the door. Stephen, however, who was upstairs with Bella and Harry, said that it was a bit stronger than it seemed to us. Still, we thought, it was probably a delayed aftershock from the August tremors and just got on with the rest of our evening. That is, until after dinner.

We had all settled down snugly on the settee and were watching an old episode of ‘Friends’ on Netflix when Harry suddenly started to bark. Then it happened. With lights swaying, cabinets rattling and the house shaking we made a sharp exit stage left onto the terrazzo where, I think, Harry was having second thoughts about having warned us. He seemed less than impressed at standing in the drizzling rain while standing on an undulating surface. Fortunately, after a short time, the earth soon stopped rolling - which was more than could be said for my inner ear as my sense of balance took a while longer to return to normal.

There were a few aftershocks during the following days, mainly at night when I, much to Stephen’s disgust, managed to stay soundly asleep. It all seemed to calming down again, until this morning. We had hoped to get some benefit from the clocks going back with an extra hour in bed, but Harry had other plans. Shortly before 6 a.m., which was, by his body clock, half an hour past his usual getting up time, he started whining and whinging. We tried to ignore him but, with terriers not being a breed to let go once they have got an idea in their heads, we capitulated and got up. We set about our usual Sunday morning routine, which is why I was just starting to wash the breakfast pots when everything starting clattering and the house began shuddering once again, this time with more force than on Wednesday. Once more we went out onto the terrazzo, but as this time it was a beautifully clear autumn morning, not only could you feel the effects of the quake, you could also see them in the swaying of the trees and the oscillation of Mario and Luigi’s barn.

This latest was the longest and most powerful so far, and the most scary. Thankfully, we are all safe and LCDDB is still standing, which is more than can be said for so many other homes and buildings across central Italy. It does seem, though, that while nothing has collapsed in MSP, some of the buildings are starting to suffer from repeated battering. Existing cracks from the August shocks have worsened as well as some new ones appearing in a few of the old buildings in the centre of town and this morning’s service was moved from the church to the sports field. We will have to wait and see if any other damage emerges over the next few days.

Up until the earth moving the week had been going along fairly predictable lines. Monday night I went with Stephen to a sort of business meeting, but a very informal one. Our host, in whose basement domain we met, had insisted I join Stephen and him while they chewed the fat along with the third member of their triumvirate. Whilst I was unable to make very much of a contribution to the conversation, which was not only in Italian but also full of technical details to do with shoes, the evening turned out to be well worthwhile when they agreed there had been enough talk and it was time to eat. This was a very good move, as amongst the spread was a platter of prosciutto, salami and lonza, all of which was fatto in casa. This is still quite a tradition in the area and many people have a country house where they keep their hunting dogs and raise a pig or two specifically for turning into the most fabulous cured and preserved salumi. Being of a sentimental, not to mention squeamish, nature, I couldn’t bring myself to carry out the necessary process myself, but that doesn’t stop me enjoying the results of other people’s efforts, especially when they taste so good.

Not that Stephen, as we have been discovering lately, is at the back of the queue for turning home grown produce into fine food, though as his source is his lotto, no animals are harmed in its manufacture. Not that he can’t be tough when he needs to be, as the tomato vines know to there cost. These he consigned to the scrap heap at the end of the week when he decided they’d run their course – but not before he’d garnered enough to finish the season on a high not with a very fine green tomato cobbler for Saturday tea.

This week also saw an augmentation of my student body when Lorenzo joined my small but happy throng. He has a decent level of English but has not used it very much and wants to improve his fluency and his listening skills. One of the reasons is so he can communicate more effectively when he’s on holiday, but he also wants to use it to develop the family business. He works with his parents and his brother in the artisan pasta shop in the town, and appeared on Wednesday morning for our initial chat with five packets of their pasta. Unsurprisingly, we wasted no time in putting one of them to use, and that day’s sauce was definitely improved by adding it to their fettucine. An apple for the teacher is all very well and good, but it seems there are much more interesting comestibles to be considered. Now I wonder if there are any salumi makers out there in need of English lessons…?