Diamond geezer

Despite Nuvola and Orzo making themselves at home last week they have not made a return visit – presumably because secure fencing improvements have been made at their true home. That doesn’t mean, however, that we have been without any other animal visitors, for as the weather continues to warm up there is a proportional increase in the activity of geckos around the homestead. From the odd sighting a couple of weeks ago it is now common to see a frantic scurrying anytime we head downstairs, not to mention the rustling in the undergrowth when out on our walks – though this is sometimes too substantial to be just a gecko…

In the absence of any unexpected visitors the week panned out pretty much as we expected, with a couple of minor developments. Monday saw me making the journey over to Ripe San Ginesio for a very quick trip to Claudia, the dentist, for her to take the stiches out of my gum where the tooth had been extracted and the work done the other week, and to check that all was ok; which it was. I now have to wait until May when the gum is completely healed so the dental surgeon can cut it open again and fit the post for the implant. At least that gives me some time to save up.

Tuesday was time to catch up with Massimo, who had returned from his successful trip to Japan as full of enthusiasm as ever, despite his continued nagging doubts about the lack of proper rain. I thought that the pattern that seemed to have become established, i.e. a damp Monday followed by six days of sun was quite reasonable for the time of year but apparently we are not having enough of a deluge to keep the farmers happy.

From there I went to Sigma to do the top-up shop on my own as Stephen had commitments elsewhere, which seemed to be the theme of the week. I did my best to chat pleasantly as I filled my basket with a few things then took my turn at the check out, where I was a little surprised at the size of the bill. Some of you may remember that a few months ago Stephen had to go back to Sigma after we found that we’d been charged not only for our shopping but also for that of the previous customer. When I checked the till receipt at the car I found that it had happened again, and as Anna, the lady in front of me, had been stocking up on salumi and meat it was not an inconsiderable amount. I went back and explained the situation to Silvia, the ‘efficient’ lady on the checkout, who reimbursed me half of what I had paid some minutes before. As Oscar Wilde might have said had the same happened to him: “To overcharge one customer, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to overcharge the some customer twicelooks like carelessness.”

Stephen was also reported missing in action on Friday when I did the weekend shop, and this time I really could have done with his input when I had a somewhat fractured conversation in Bar del Borgo over my cappuccino and conchiglia (a puff pastry shell-shaped breakfast pastry with, in this case, an apricot jam filling). With much smiling and quizzical looks I think that I eventually agreed with Romina, the wife of Massimo the owner, that I would take a lesson with her daughter next Tuesday at 2pm as she is coming up to her end of middle school exams and needs practice in one or two areas. Whether I’m right or not we will discover in a couple of days’ time.

Meanwhile Stephen returned home on Friday evening with a box full of low blush pink ladies’ heels as well as copious Swarovski crystals and tubes of glue. This was because his new mate Cristian (see three weeks ago and the trip to Treviso) had given him some piecework so we could turn LCDDB into a location for a cottage industry. What Stephen was supposed to do was to place a crystal in each of the five designated holes in each heel, using the glue. As he had fifty pairs of heels to complete over the weekend, a quick mathematical calculation will tell you that meant adhering 500 stones over two days. Easy, you might think, except it wasn’t.

Stephen soon found that there was a bit of a design fault as, with the heels being curved the crystals didn’t fit snugly into the holes and were finding themselves being rejected by their hosts before the slow-acting glue had time to fix. After trying various strategies, including a shopping trip to Sigma, yesterday afternoon, for elastic bands, he has eventually managed to complete twenty pairs, though he is somewhat dubious about the standard. He will have to wait and see what quality control say when he takes them back to the factory tomorrow morning, but there is some consolation that, going by messages sent between him and the boss, everyone else seems to be having the same problem. I will leave it for you to draw your own conclusions as to why the work was given to Cristian because the very well known Italian designer label’s usual factory were unable to accommodate the work.

We did find time for a spot of light relief, however, as we went this morning to Fermo – the first time this year – for a wander round Piazza del Popolo and a look at the stalls gathered for Fermo Flora 2019. It was very pleasant indeed to stroll in the morning sunshine but while there were lots of enticing plants and flowers, Stephen, as head gardener, was proving difficult to please and, despite my encouraging noises, refused to be drawn into purchasing. There is, however, plenty of time for him to map out his master plan for this year’s planting, that is if he can drag himself away from the glittering world of the designer heel for the more fulfilling world of nature.