Hark, hark, what news

26th December 2021

With Le Marche going yellow on Monday morning it gave us a convenient excuse to be anti-social (with one exception) and stick to the more routine side of life, even if Advent had entered the home stretch.

Stephen did venture out on Monday morning. With nothing much doing at the factory he took the opportunity to hit Acqua e Sapone, ostensibly as he needed some more delicate washing liquid – as in for delicate skins (as in mine). He did manage to come back with lots of other things, working on the basis that it was best to stock up with other items that feature regularly on our cleaning materials list. He also popped into Petmarket, which is next door, again ostensibly to stock up on Harry and Bella’s biscuits but taking the opportunity to buy some doggie Christmas presents for Mia and Bingo (the owners of Marco and Maddalena and the Carellis respectively). Panettone for canines anyone?

Tuesday morning we were both out as per for our Conad trip, where Gabriella was happy to confirm our booking for our Christmas dinner before we took advantage of the seasonal offers to stock up (just as well we have all that space downstairs) on bargains in the digestivo line, as well as start off a homemade effort courtesy of Graham Norton’s radio show and Waitrose. Orange and bay liqueur could have been just the thing to wrap up as presents. It’s a shame then that we didn’t hear about it until it was too late to whip up a batch for Christmas, so we’ll just have to road test it ourselves. And in case you are worrying that 2022 is destined to be a particularly intoxicated one in the Webster-Firth HQ, let me reassure you with the knowledge that we only have one small glass with ice after dinner during the week. We leave it till the weekend to get out of our heads.

In the afternoon I had my first lesson with Diego and Andrea, which seemed to go well – although Andrea showed distinct lack of staying power as he was conspicuous by his absence on Thursday. He was out visiting, apparently, or at least that is what his mum told Diego’s mum when she called. Really, anyone would think it was a holiday or something.

Wednesday saw our one and only social engagement of the week. Even this, in that Italian way, was last minute when Stephen came home at lunchtime to say that we had been invited to the Carellis that evening for pizza as it was Meri’s birthday. Because I had a lesson until 8.00, it was some thirty minutes later before we arrived at the house, and almost another thirty till we ate, but it was all very pleasant, Meri seemed very happy, and the birthday cake was the usual whipped cream fantasia.

What with a late start and waiting for the opening of presents after the meal, it was getting on for 11.00 when we made our leaving overtures, which is when it suddenly struck me that if we were yellow, then if I understood correctly the curfew had started almost an hour previously. This idea was pooh-poohed by the others present, who said that there was no such thing, but it was strange how, on our way home, we caught site of no other cars moving around, not even the usual headlights on the bottom road across the river. We also caught no sight of any passing Carabinieri who might have hit the siren and flashing lights to chase us home and manhandle us out of the car – but there is always next time.

Thursday was my last day of lessons before the Christmas break, and it was a busy but very pleasant afternoon, first up the road with Diego (but not Andrea) before a drive over to Montegranaro for a lesson with Marzia and the other Diego. Stephen, being free all day, made use of the morning to take gifts to the factory then, in the afternoon, went to collect his new glasses from Corridonia. He was resplendent in them when I got home, and very becoming they indeed are – with the added bonus that he can see better, too.

That meant it was more or less all over bar the shouting – or maybe, in our case, whispering. Christmas Eve saw us having breakfast at Pina - because why wouldn’t you, though this year there were no men making an early start on the white wine – before shopping at Coal for the few things we needed. In the afternoon we took an hour out to take our gifts to Marco and Maddalena, where Stephen was most envious of the cockles waiting in their salt water bath to become part of Christmas Eve dinner, and we managed to get away with just one glass of something to toast the season.

It was then back to LCDDB where we holed up for the rest of the weekend, apart, of course, from joining the surprising number of people, like us, collecting their orders from Conad at midday yesterday, as well as the odd one – bff Manuel included, moda in white jeans – taking advantage of the opening hours to get the odd forgotten essential. We thought we might be some time, especially as the queue seemed to be growing, there were people ahead of us waiting and no one had checked with us what we had ordered. We needn’t have feared, for Davide, middle son of the family, burst through the doors from the kitchen with a cardboard box held aloft proclaiming ‘Gli Inglesi!’ It pays to have friends in high places, especially when one of them is our angel, Gabriella.