Cut to the chase

10th March 2024

It was again left to the weather to give the first part of the week some interest, and it more than did its best to oblige. As well as veering between sunshine and rain, usually on the same day with total disregard for what the forecast said, it also treated us to a brief but pretty intense hailstorm on Wednesday lunchtime. The conundrum is: can the start of March be classed as coming in like a lion so we can look forward to a lamb-like exit? I fear not.

As for the working week itself, Stephen took time off on Monday afternoon for a dental appointment but had to be back at the office for 5 for a Skype meeting. Most things were fine, thank you for asking, but he has to go back in a couple of weeks for an X-ray on the post for his false tooth, which after thirty odd years of reliable service is causing Claudia a little concern. My week became unexpectedly quieter when Sami’s two lessons were cancelled due to him contracting chicken pox (fortunately after his lessons last week). Thursday our new screen arrived, a hasty replacement when the previous one, a temporary measure eight years ago till we found one we liked better, had decided to start coming apart and shedding slats across the floor. Friday was the Festa delle Donne, a day when the sun shone for the most part and Stephen bought some mimosa to take to the ladies at the factory, because that’s the sort of guy he is.

Yesterday was all about Macerata. In the afternoon I booked tickets for this year’s Macerata Opera Festival at the Arena Sferisterio, only not to go to the opera. Not really wanting, like last year, to spend a few hours watching the tragic fate of yet another opera heroine, we opted instead for the Notte Morricone, a concert of the work of Ennio Morricone, a hero of Italian music who lived a happy, one presumes, and successful life till the age of 91.

In the evening we followed up on our observations when we were last in the town for the Christmas market that Macerata looked like the place to be and to be seen, having a selection of metropolitan chic shops, bars and restaurants not so readily found in Fermo. We were not disappointed and spent a very pleasant hour window shopping before (at the embarrassingly early time of 7.30 – but at least we weren’t the first) in Sugo, a smallish bar/restaurant as mentioned to me by my erstwhile student, Rudy. Though Stephen had his unspoken reservations beforehand, having carried out a recce on Instagram and thought it looked a bit cold, we were not disappointed. It wasn’t in the least cold, just sparingly decorated with Edgar Allen Poe inspired walls, and the food was excellent. We can highly recommend it if you are ever in the vicinity, and we will certainly be back.

As for the grass and the cutting thereof, it was again put on hold yesterday for while the weather started out dry, Stephen had forgotten to get any fuel. Instead, in the afternoon he started doing some general work and tidying, but called it a day when it started to rain and he started to get wet. The good news, though, is that he actually managed to get a first trim in this afternoon, ahead of this evening’s rain, and all without having to go in search of petrol. How? I hear you cry. Simple. He did have a container of fuel after all, as he realised when he discovered it lurking at the back of the lumber room. So much for safety first, but now that he has shaved off the split ends, he can use the rest of the petrol to go for the full buzz cut next time.