Reviewing the situation

5th June 2022

It hasn’t been the most exciting week ever at LCDDB, but that’s ok as with the weather becoming increasingly hotter, a mad whirl of activity is the last thing you really want. Besides, although I am more or less back up to speed after my operation, I am still erring on the side of caution where anything physical is concerned (nothing new there then).

So, what of the week?

Stephen returned on Monday with another of Mrs C’s salvos across the dottoressa’s prow in the shape of nine freshly laid eggs. Obviously, the diktat that one a week is our limit is madness, so we were faced with what to do with them. We managed to get rid of four with illicit egg sandwiches for lunch one day, which still left five to toy with. The answer was to use three this afternoon in what used to be one of my go to summer recipes, a savoury clafoutis with mozzarella and cherry tomatoes, but that is now a rare treat with the double whammy of eggs and cheese. As for the remaining pair, inspiration was provided from two directions.

The first was when Stephen asked me on Thursday if I was doing anything next Friday – to which he very well knew the answer – and if not was it all right if Computer Luca and Shoe Marco came for aperitivo, as they enjoyed it so much the last time. It was just as well I said that of course, as the topic had already been discussed between him and Luca, and an invitation offered and accepted. This led to the second inspiration, as when I was browsing through my Facebook feed, there was a link to a recipe for savoury mini muffins with ricotta and speck, the speck forming little baskets in which you cook the mixture. Perfect not only for a sophisticated evening with friends, but also to use up the last of the eggs.

Returning to the start of the week, on Tuesday morning we had a pleasant surprise when we went to Pina for our pre-shopping breakfast to find a whole new vista opened up. When we were there the previous week, the television had been taken down from its stand in the corner and a workman was busy making a pair of brackets, designed, we assumed, to suspend the tv set from the ceiling. And indeed, this week we found it to be the case, allowing Pina to put a table and chairs in the far corner and make the most of the full length window with its view down the narrow side street and beyond to the mountains. We wasted no time in bagsying the spot, giving us if not a room with a view at least a breakfast with one.

The afternoon saw Stephen in giro, not getting back for dinner, what with one thing and another, till after 9 – but that was as nothing compared with the birthday card that arrived for him the next day. The jury is out as to whether this is a new record, hinging on two things. One is that it came from his sister in Australia, and as post from the colonies is dependent upon favourable winds should it be judged in the same way as mail from the UK? The other is deciding when exactly it was posted, because the stamp on the envelope was celebrating the 95thbirthday of Elizabeth II, and in April this year she was 96. Is it possible the card took over fourteen months to arrive? I think we know the answer to that one.

Thursday was another public holiday, being the Festa della Repubblica, and, for the lucky ones who were given the extra day bridge, the start of a four-day weekend. This didn’t include me, as the evening saw my first lesson with the young nephew of Fouzia, while on Friday afternoon I had my usual session with the Montegranaro Two, though I had an interesting time getting there. A closed road meant I had to return to MSP and take an alternative route, as suggested by Stephen when I called him, because, of course, while the authorities had happily put up barriers and signs, they hadn’t bothered with offering a suitable detour.

As for the weekend, yesterday we ventured out on a little trip late afternoon, first to buy some coffee from our friend at Click Café and some much needed new summer shorts from Girasole before treating ourselves to aperitivo at Totò. They seem to have decided to go up market somewhat, if not with the actual food then at least with the presentation. Asparagus scattered with elderflower florets was one thing, while crostini with a baccalà pâté served in something with a remarkable resemblance to a fishbowl, complete with mock sand and large pebble, was sailing uncomfortably close to a Heston Blumenthal vibe.

Today we had our first walk of the season on Porto San Giorgio beach, though after several days of blue skies, the morning started out dull and became duller. By the time we left the beach, we could feel spots of rain, but these didn’t come to anything, nor did they seem to deter the surprisingly large amount of people spending the day al mare. Fortunately, we arrived before most of these, meaning we were able to find a spot to park along the lungamare as in their wisdom the authorities had not yet opened up the free car park that we used last year. We can only assume that they regard it as too early in the season, and that it has nothing whatever to do with visitors having to pay to park on the promenade.

Even though, or maybe because, the skies were grey the temperature this afternoon still managed to climb to a humid 33º, which cast my decision to do a spot of baking (see above) in a bit of a dim light. Stephen fared slightly better as he worked outside in the orto, putting up the canes to support the cover for the tomatoes. He too felt the heat, despite staying out of the kitchen, and gave up before enlisting my help to cast the netting over the poles.

That is a job for another day, though one job that will no longer need to be factored into our daily routine, at least for the time being, is my eye drop regime. 9 o’clock this evening saw the last suspension of the dropper over my right eye, the last of a total of around 150 applications, which means we will be experts when it comes time to repeat it all for my left one.