Wild at heart

The rude manager from TIM has obviously taken either umbrage or the hint as nothing more has been heard from him. However, we did receive the final bill, which unsurprisingly includes a severance charge despite being assured there would not be one. Well, who’d have thought you could be misinformed by a call centre operative? As far as we’re concerned, however, it’s worth the small premium we’ll have to pay, despite Sauro’s best efforts in scouring the Internet and phoning various people to try to find a way of avoiding it.

Stephen had an unfortunate phone-related incident himself when his iPhone fell out of his trouser pocket when he bent over, hitting the corner of a cupboard and causing multiple cracks across the screen. Those in the know will be aware that this is not a rare event, but this time rather than have the screen replace as in the past, he has opted instead for a bargain refurbished replacement from Amazon – and a special drop-proof case to go with it.

And that was about as exciting as it got until the weekend, which saw a buy one get one free offer on local feste. Dividing our time between the two 2-day events we went yesterday to Cerreto Medievale in the small valley just past Rapagnano. It was just as well organised and enjoyable as the last time we went, two years ago, but this time we did it the British way, arriving earlier rather than later. In a move to pre-empt a 45-minute queue for food we decided that we’d turf up for the get-go, which worked perfectly. Not only had we polished off our penne arrabiata and grigliata in good time but arriving while it was still light allowed us to appreciate the setting of the event, nestled in the green fields and copses of the surrounding hills, as well as experiencing the changing atmosphere as first twilight and then darkness fell.

On a more mundane level, having spent a couple of hours there meant that when it came time for us to leave, just before 10, we were able to use the shuttle bus to the top instead of making the 20 minute journey on foot, as most people were only just arriving on the downward leg.

I did learn one important life lesson, however, which is be careful when exactly you choose to wear your new cream summer trousers. This is because, while you are enjoying a small digestivo after your post-prandial caffè, sitting on a bench in the garden behind the church, you are more than likely to have an enthusiastic black Labrador pup, whose owner doesn’t seem to know how to work a lead, try to leap on your lap and knock the vino cotto all over your new trousers.

Our two visits today to the Festa delle Erbe Spontanee proved less hazardous to both natural and manmade fibres. Two visits because this morning we took a wander round the market, chatting and purchasing some lettuce plants (yes more) and a flowering succulent for one of our tubs. In the spirit of supporting local industry, we also bought two jars of honey produced in MSP, which should put us in good stead where air food miles are concerned. We returned this evening for dinner, but not quite as early as yesterday as we were not expecting such a crush. We were right in our assumption, but there were enough people to give a friendly atmosphere, as well as a steady run of those wanting take away. The mixed antipasti followed by involtini (all with an elegant variation of a mixture of herbs) were very satisfying.

You will think us a pair of lightweights, though, as we didn’t hang around for the entertainment – grabbing, instead, a caffè at Pina and then heading home for a spot of Netflix. It may seem strange that we should prefer that over a local drama troupe performing a domestic comedy, set in someone’s parlour circa 1974, delivered in incomprehensible dialect with in-jokes only understandable if you have lived within a three-mile radius of MSP for the past eighty years – but that’s just the sort of people we are.