No news... and no vibes

13th March 2022

I wouldn’t stop what you’re doing as this week’s blog is not going to make too many demands on your time, but if you want something to do while the kettle boils, here you go.

The wet and dismal start to March segued into clear skies at the beginning of the week, but at the price of cold days and freezing nights. Still, it was worth it to see lots of blue and lots of sun. This did cause some confusion with Bella and Harry, however, who spent most of Tuesday morning going to and fro onto the terrazzo, trying to figure out why, if the sun was shining, it was so cold when you got outside. The answer was the icy wind, which fortunately died down for the rest of the week, meaning they could sprawl the morning away and leave me to get on with my chores uninterrupted.

Stephen, in the build-up to MICAM, started with a mammoth stint at the factory in Porto Sant’Elpidio as Monday was the shoot for the catalogue. Why he was needed is not entirely clear, as his remit was to style the collection not the photographs, but I think it might have something to do with him being the one with a clue. A long afternoon and evening saw him not coming home till gone 8.30, after everything was wrapped up to everyone’s satisfaction – though maybe not everyone, as Stephen seems to think the photographer may not be one of his biggest fans. That is the thing, you see, if you draft in Stephen in an advisory capacity, he will do just that – but he’ll also do it even if you don’t.

There was more camera work afoot all day Wednesday when he not so much offered his services as was dragooned by the Carellis to take the photos for their catalogue, what with him being the man with an iPad and a light box. That does seem woefully under-equipped for a professional result, and while Stephen did his best, his best might not have been quite good enough for Mirco who complained that the pictures were too dark. We know what to do next time, then.

Whilst one of us was coming over all David Bailey, the most exciting that my week got was picking up my three months’ supply of lenses from the optician in Corridonia and ferrying Stephen to Civitanova station yesterday morning for his 08.09 train to Milan. Although the weather had continued cold but dry, we were still a little taken aback to find the car giving an outside temperature of -3.5º when I switched on the engine at just after 7.00. Nor did it get any higher until it managed to hover around zero when we hit the big city by the sea.

Stephen arrived safely early afternoon, and after taking occupation of his apartment he made it to the exhibition space to meet up with Misters C, Senior and Junior, and check that all was ok with the stand. This morning he got out his glass polish to make sure all was sparkling before the shoes were arranged on the shelves and the metaphorical doors were opened for customers. In the meanwhile, I have spent a quiet couple of days pottering and getting on with even more chores.

As for the unseasonably cold temperature, while it continued to deter the trees around LCDDB from bursting into bud, the daffodils, which are made of sterner stuff, are making a jubilant show in the copse behind the house. I don’t know about you, but I always think that when God was creating this world, the daffodil, like the duck-billed platypus and the potato, resulted from one of his more inspired moments. There are not many sights more uplifting than a host of triumphant yellow trumpets - which gives me an idea for a poem. Now, where’s my notebook…?