Fiesta, forever

21st August 2022

With both of us on holiday, we have made the most of our staycation (such a lovely word) with the odd trip out, a bit of catching up with the odd chore and, when the moment has allowed, some relaxation.

Monday was, of course, Ferragosto, and as is our tradition, we kept to LCDDB to leave the way clear for the Italians to celebrate their key summer festa with five-hour lunches. Don’t think we were missing out totally, though, as we were saving ourselves for the following day and a return to Pina. This time instead of the rooftop terrace we dined in the closed-off street under the stars for, appropriately enough, Cena Sotto le Stelle.

Last year was the first time we had signed up for this, but so much did we enjoy it that it was a no-brainer, as they say, to repeat the experience – on this occasion with Computer Luca who was a little miffed that he had decided to miss out last time. It was not a disappointment, especially for Stephen as the second course was tripe, a perennial favourite with him but which, for some reason that slips my mind, he never gets at home. Despite the forecast threatening rain, the evening was dry and an ideal temperature to enjoy the seven courses at a typically relaxed pace. Roll on next year – but maybe rethink the tripe.

Wednesday was another quiet day at home, as was Thursday for the main part, though Stephen was interrupted in his making and storing of kindling for the winter when, as he was wheeling a wheelbarrow full of sticks round the house, a man on a scooter thought he had better say something to avoid looking suspicious. He told Stephen he was checking out the area with regard to its hunting potential (I’m not an expert, but to me open fields in the winter would suggest zero) and asked where the lane led to. “The river,” replied Stephen, which seemed to be about all there was to say on the subject as the man went down for a look then returned up the hill. We have, though, grave doubts about his bona fides, as what self-respecting local hunter would be seen riding a scooter wearing a crash helmet?

Not that he was our only visitor, though the other one lingered a little longer – and was a bit sneakier. I only discovered him when I turned from the kitchen sink to see something small and green poking out from under the shelf in the little island. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a praying mantis. How it got there and how long it had been making itself at home, who knows, but working on the basis that it would be happier outside I persuaded it onto a board and placed it on the succulent in the tub outside the front door.

I was, at first, a little concerned about it as every time I checked, it didn’t appear to have moved at all. Stephen told me not to worry as it is in their nature to move slowly, and indeed, by mid-afternoon it had turned round completely and was sitting up on its haunches, looking like it was waiting to be fed. Not having anything handy I had to leave him to his own devices. Whether he got fed up waiting, or decided that the pot didn’t offer enough excitement, there was no sign of him the next morning, so he could obviously get up a fair lick of speed if the mood took him.

Thursday evening, we made our one visit of the summer to the market in Fermo. Usually, we try to squeeze in at least two but with my regular Thursday night lesson this was our first opportunity. It did, though, follow the usual pattern: apericena at Art Asylum (a plate of vegetarian finger food with some salami and prosciutto, making the most of both worlds) before a wander round the stalls. And what did we buy? Just the essentials: a second-hand embroidered tablecloth; new friendship bracelets from our usual woman (one for Stephen; two for me as one that we tied ourselves fell off two weeks ago); a wooden shoe last to go with Stephen’s selections that make a decorative statement in the log basket over the summer; a pair of second-hand glass frames complete with clip on/flip up sunshades, and a bottle of vino cotto.

We finished our evening with caffè from Foschi, the best (in our limited experience) espresso in Fermo, where we also bought a bottle of their coffee liqueur. In case you’re thinking that we’re going a bit overboard on the digestivo front, it’s ok. We aren’t intending to knock them back over the weekend, rather we’re laying up a store, like the kindling, for the winter, for given the way things are heading it very much looks like we’ll have to make our own fun, just as in the olden days.

Not having had the time or the opportunity for any beach days this summer (apart from his weekend away, that is), Stephen had made arrangements with Luca for them to go to their usual place just past Pedaso on Friday. It all looked fine, as despite an ever-changing forecast which included storms, as it had all week, but which had come to nothing, it was a morning of glorious sunshine. That, however, changed after lunch – at least in MSP it did.

I was sitting minding my own business, doing some bits and pieces on the internet when the wind started to whip up and the sky to darken. Knowing from past experience that this was not a good sign, I closed all the shutters – which was just as well as when the heavens opened it was unlike anything we had known before. It wasn’t so much the wind, though that was fierce, it was more the fifteen minutes of hailstones the size of gobstoppers (and the odd clump of ice when they came down melded together) that battered on the tiles and resounded against the shutters (and the roof of the car with the evidence to prove it) that was just a trifle off-putting.

Fortunately, if not surprisingly, elsewhere there was almost no damage, just a few broken plastic covers on the tacks holding the wire from the satellite dish to the router, and the road took a bit of a pounding, but that is nothing new. I did think that the electricity supply had been hit, as not long after the hail started the power went off. I checked the outside box (only getting slightly soaked in the process) and that showed “on” so I figured it must be the supply for the whole area. I told Stephen this when he phoned to check that all was ok, and to say that he was leaving a bit early as it was windy and dark (but no rain or hail) by the coast.

However, when he arrived home around 4.30, the electricity having been off for almost two hours, he said that everywhere else had power, and that we were the only ones without. He checked the box again, and yes it was “on”. He checked the fuse box inside, and all the trip switches were “on”. He then looked at the master trip in the fuse box, something that we have never had to bother with before, and that was “off”. A quick flick and power was restored, but it did suggest that whatever surge shut off the power, was a big one.

That storm did seem to herald a change in the weather, as the weekend has been much more settled and sunny, if a little cooler with temperatures in the high 20s. The afternoons and evenings we’ve spent at home, but this morning was our beach walk and yesterday morning we went to Corridomnia for a spot of shopping and lunch, the all-you-can-eat deal, at Diverxo. It’s a while since we’ve been there, and in the meantime, they have installed a new system, all operated through a tablet attached to the table. This displays the menu items, which you press to order. They go first to a trolley on the pad and this you press to send your order to the kitchen. It took Stephen a little time to work out how to operate it, which would have been ok except that so speedy did this system make the service that the first things he had ordered arrived at the table while he was still pondering on what else to have.

It is all very much a learning curve, and next time we will have learned from our mistakes and remember to order our drinks first and not last. It’s one thing, after a heavy morning shopping, to have your tongue hanging out for a glass of water and quite another to have to wait for your chilled glass of dry Pecorino.