By a head

With the weather continuing to be warm and, on occasions approaching subtropical, we had no cause to regret our move into shorts and t-shirts/polo shirts/lightweight short-sleeved shirts (as directed by availability/fashion dictates/whim). That is not to say that it was wall-to-wall sunshine, it is only May after all, but what rain there has been, has been fleeting and, a couple of times, conveniently overnight. This is fine, as the burgeoning lotto does need the water, but we could do without it leaving a patina of sand on everything, especially after Stephen has washed the car and I have wiped down the railings. Still, what else is there to do?

The answer is, for the moment, not a lot but that seems to be about to change. While I have still to venture past the top of the lane on my short excursions to take the rubbish bins and check the post, there have been positive signs that our world is, once again, due to expand. The first was an APB that I received on Tuesday, via WhatsApp, from Rocco the barber to say that he would be opening as from the coming Monday, giving his extended times for haircuts by appointment only. Of course I wasted no time and within ten minutes I had booked myself in for next Tuesday at 9.30, tying it in with a shopping expedition as it also seems time to move back to two shops a week.

The second sign was when Maddalena called Stephen yesterday evening for a bit of a chat but also to say that the pub was also reopening next week and, while they were still trying to work out the logistics of how to rearrange the tables to accommodate customers while conforming to the social distancing regulations, something to which I believe Marco was also setting his mind, with a bit of luck and crossed fingers it was arranged that we would meet there for dinner next Wednesday. Won’t that be exciting, if it comes off and we can book a table ahead of all the other locals desperate for a taste of the much missed MSP high life, and, as Bertie Wooster would say, put on the nosebag together.

Until all this comes to pass, the only contact I had with the outside world was, again, my lesson with Marzia and Diego via Skype. Stephen, on the other hand, was a veritable masked and gloved butterfly and has had a very productive week indeed.

He came home from his visit to the factory on Monday morning with some giant tomato plants, an overspill from the ones Mr C had cultivated from seed which, to his surprise, had all sprouted and grown. Don’t get the idea, however, that we will be scaling all the way to the ogre’s castle as the giant refers to the size of the fruit, not of the plant itself, which are of standard dimensions. Nor are they by way of being something in the beef tomato line, being the rotund shape of your common, everyday variety only a lot bigger.

These he planted out on Tuesday, which was also the day he did some unplanned pruning and clearing in and around the copse at the back corner by the lane. This was prompted by Harry getting very excited at 6.30 in the morning when let out into the garden prior to their morning comfort walk. He was particularly exercised by that area of the fencing, in much the same way as last year when we had the hedgehogs if you recall. He also showed great interest passing by on his walks, but Stephen was unable to find any sign of any wildlife and, to our relief, by the end of the day Harry had lost interest, sparing us a repeat of a week of his agitation like last time.

While there was not sign of animal life in the copse, the same couldn’t be said on Wednesday when I returned from the morning walk to find Stephen waiting on the terrazzo as he needed my assistance with our first gecko visitor of the season. We closed the door on Bella and Harry, the terrazzo being a better place for them as their help might have been more of a hindrance, then Stephen poised ready with a tea towel, to drop on our uninvited guest when I pulled back the dog’s day bed where it had taken refuge.

If you have ever had any encounters with geckos, you will know that they can move at a fair lick, as ours did on this occasion. It was too quick for Stephen and had made it to the opposite side of the kitchen before he had managed to drop the cloth, and made no attempt to oblige us by standing still as we harried it round room. It was then that Stephen came up with an elegant variation, one that we will default straight to the next time the need arises, which was to get a plastic bowl and encourage the gecko to run in its direction then cover it with the tea towel. This was instantly successful, with the visitor being safely caught and released into the garden, so please feel free to use our new method if you are ever in a similar situation.

Having sorted that out, Stephen got on with some much needed maintenance inside LCDDB, for with the coming of summer comes the annual de-moulding of the bedroom and bathroom. The first stage of this was wiping down the ceilings and the walls with bleach, which gave the house a definite ambience of a swimming pool changing room. He then, over the next three days, used our anti-muffa paint to bring the two rooms up to a pristine sparkle – and not totally on his own, either, as I acted as muscle in helping him shift furniture so he could manoeuvre the ladders around as we were reminded of one of the downsides of having a wrought iron bedframe.

In between his interior decorating, he had time on Thursday, for probably the last time under the current new normal before we revert next week to the old new normal, to do the weekly shop. Things were definitely more relaxed at Sigma, for while it was still only one shopper pre family, there was not controlled entrance by number and many people seemed to buying daily odds and ends rather than bulk buying. Not that the area in front of the shop was empty, as Bar del Borgo is now open for coffee and brioche, so several people were having breakfast al fresco.

Wonderful as Sigma is, it cannot cater for all our shopping needs, which is why Stephen also had to call by the factory to collect a bumper delivery of online purchases. These included, in no particular order, Click Café cialde for the coffee machine, ink cartridges for the printer, a new pair of Satorisan summer shoes for me, (yes, it’s spend, spend, spend) and the last of Stephen’s birthday presents, what every home needs, a traditional ceramic Sicilian head. This had been somewhat delayed due to, as Simon Mayo refers to the current situation, one thing and another but was worth the wait as he seemed truly delighted and it has taken up a prime position in the snug.

As if that was not enough excitement for our intrepid adventurer, he had yet another trip out on Friday whilst I did a bit of flicking around with a duster. He took the Panda to the garage near the pizzeria (still closed, sad face) to have the brakes seen to as they had been making some very uncomfortable groaning noises of late, especially when reversing, and we thought discretion was the better part of stupidity. We’d decided to use the local outfit rather than Pompei because (a) they were much closer, (b) they did such a good job on the Freelander, and (c) they wouldn’t need to keep the vehicle for two weeks and then tell us they couldn’t get the parts. They had it all sorted by early evening, meaning Stephen was able to get some exercise walking up the hill to collect it and to complain about exerting himself in the heat into the bargain, so he was doubly blessed.

The end of the week for me was, however, as predictable as the rest of it, though I did take time out to make a lemon cake yesterday afternoon and knock up another batch of rock buns this morning with the spare egg. Other than that, the most exciting thing was a change to my lesson next week with the Montegranaro Two, caused by – in another sign of changing times – Diego’s tennis lessons starting again tomorrow afternoon. The fulsome thanks I received by WhatsApp from his and Marzia’s mothers were gratefully received if a little unwarranted; it’s not like I had to do a lot of rearranging of my social and business diaries – though with any luck, that might be about to change.