In the round

19th May 2024

It’s been a fairly quiet week so I won’t keep you long, there are just a couple of updates, the return of an old favourite and a long overdue new entry.

Buoyed by the apparent success of the slug pellets in keeping the enemy at bay, Stephen bought some replacement courgette plants and some more tomato ones on his way home on Monday and got them in the orto in double quick time. And there by hangs a mystery, for when he came to water them on Thursday morning (no, nothing else of significance happened in the intervening period in any aspect of our daily lives), while the courgettes were all present and accounted for, a whole tomato plant had disappeared. He is puzzled. It’s not like the gastropods to go for the tomatoes, and if it had been them, they are usually considerate enough to leave us some straggly remains, but a whole, and not miniscule, tomato plant is a first. And it was a very localised attack; nothing else was touched - so if you have any theories as to who or what could have been the culprit, he’d appreciate your input.

As for Bella, she continued to take her tablets thanks to the hot dog sausages and various condiments, with mayonnaise, a recent addition to the carousel of flavours, proving a particular favourite. As expected, we ran out of her pain relief tablets by midweek, which, together with her antipathy to taking them, prompted a return visit to the vet on Friday lunchtime, with Stephen having to take her on his own as I had a lesson. The vet listened and said that rather than cause her any distress it would be better to stop the pain killers, but he did offer a slow-release injection instead, which she took with a lot less trouble than a tablet.

He also mentioned another medication, a relatively new one from America, that would help with her other conditions, and which would need to be administered by a course of injections. He said he would be in touch with Stephen when he had more information about it, including the price, the only indication of which was when he said, dismissively, that it was more than people around here would pay. The business side having been sorted, he and Stephen settled down for a cosy chat, which could have gone on long enough if his slightly harassed assistant hadn’t come into the room saying there were two members of the Guardia di Finanza in the waiting area who needed their dog looking at, and as we know, no one keeps the financial police waiting in Italy, not if they know what’s good for them.

We had been wondering what to do this weekend seeing as our plans of a quick return visit to CarloCarla were put on hold due to some inconsiderate people booking the restaurant for a confirmation dinner celebration. What about Fermo, we thought, and aperitivo at Artasylum (just as good as ever, and the nice lady was delighted to see us), where we haven’t been since it reopened at the end of last year. Good idea, we thought, but what else could we do to make it a full immersive experience? Visit the Fermo Museum at long last and its Sala del Mappamondo (or Globe Room if you prefer, though that sounds so prosaic).

We were well pleased with our decision – and not only because the bargain ticket price of €9 gave you access to all the seven sites the museum includes, but you have a year to complete your tour. This visit to the main museum took in two temporary exhibitions plus a room of Fermo artifacts and a display of very old and very fine icons before finishing with The Globe Room where, and I quote (or copy and paste if you insist) from the website: “…dominating the room is the wood and real Fabriano paper globe by geographer Silvestro Amanzio Maroncelli, placed in Palazzo dei Priori in 1713. The Sala del Mappamondo or Globe Room is a place with an ancient charm, in which the silence that usually reigns in libraries takes on an even more special value as soon as visitors first come into contact, with this priceless treasure of knowledge and learning.” So now you know.

As for today, it has been accompanied by crashing bangs which started just after we got up. At first, I thought it must be some hunters out early, but it’s not the right time of year for that and besides, as the noise continued it was obvious the loud booms were at regular intervals. We realised it must be an air cannon in the field across the way, firing to keep the birds (see previous entries) away from the newly seeded fields. It wasn’t too intrusive, and I guess it is just another of those indications that spring has definitely sprung. Another of which was Stephen’s biannual wardrobe changeover, which occupied him for most of the morning and some of the afternoon. Thanks to him we are ready for the onset of warmer weather, and in case you think I’ve been idling myself, thanks to me we are ready for the onset of pork and prune meatballs, a result of my morning’s efforts. I’ll leave it to you to decide which is the more valuable contribution.