Slip sliding away

18th October 2020

After all the excitement of cotogne and cars, the lack of anything exciting this past week has come as something of a relief. The weather tried its best to keep things interesting, with a unsettled week veering between sunshine in the morning and stormy rain in the afternoon, before settling, today for what looks like a return to a period of cold but clear and sunny weather. This all means that Monday saw the first burst of central heating in the evening to take off the chill, though it is not so cold as yet as to demand a log fire – but at least when that happens we can start the season of the baked potatoes.

After a quiet few days it was just before Thursday’s afternoon downpour that I took a short but unexpected trip, and all thanks to Luigi. It came about when I was taking a quick break from doing some lesson preparation to bob upstairs and check the dogs were all right. When I came back down, Luigi was hanging around the barn and looking a little perplexed. He hailed me and indicated that he wanted me to come over, and I obliging did so.

Using a combination of sign language, Italian and dialect, he communicated that he wanted my help in trying to support a sapling growing on the edge of the banking and which was starting to list at a precarious angle. His method for this was to find a piece of rope that was lying about and to tie it round the trunk as far up as he could reach. He then went to secure the other end through one of the holes in the concrete post of the barn. For my part, he got me to hold a pitchfork against the trunk and to push it as far upright as it would go while he tugged on the rope.

This would all have been fine if not for a couple of mitigating factors: (1) as the tree was right on the edge of the banking that is where I had to stand in order to push it towards the concrete column; (2) with all the recent afternoon rain the ground was not in the firmest of conditions and (3) not having expected to be engaging in manual activity outdoors I had on my feet a pair of lightweight espadrilles I keep for indoor wear, which don’t exactly have a heavy duty tread on them. And so, as I was pushing, the inevitable happened: my feet slipped on the grass, my bottom hit the top of the banking and I slid, with remarkable grace considering the circumstances, on my backside to the bottom, all the while holding the pitchfork aloft like some sort of battle honours.

Luigi showed a reasonable amount of concern, but assuring him I was ok (apart, of course, from a pair of blue cords that now needed a good wash) I skirted round the banking and took up position once again, this time making sure I was out of immediate danger. As someone once said, to fall down the banking once may be regarded as a misfortune, to fall down twice means you are a plonker. At least I can console myself that Luigi had a good story to tell when out for his after dinner coffee at Pina, and Stephen has promised to have a word with the brothers to explain that I don’t do practical, as that particular gene passed me by.

After this unexpected little interlude, the week wound down to a quiet conclusion. While I was busy with lessons on Friday afternoon, Stephen made some quince jam, adding his own touch by pulverising the mixture with the stick blender so we have ended up with what looks like several jars of apple sauce. He then on Saturday started off another batch of liqueur, this time using the pere cotogne (see last week for an explanation) so we can compare and contrast. Besides this he found time to complete the wardrobe changeover, so we are well set for any downturn in the weather. And in case you were wondering what I was up to all this time, I was busy with my own odds and ends: a bit of teaching, a bit of lesson preparation, a bit of cooking, including a batch of baked beans and a polpettone to divide up for midweek meals, and the odd moment of relaxation, though surprisingly Luigi never reappeared to see if I was available to lend him another hand. I wonder why?