The computer says no.

12th March 2023

The good news is that the change to sunshine last Sunday marked the start of a settled period of good weather and this past week has had a positively vernal vibe. Even when the skies have not been uninterrupted blue, there has been a definite different feel to the air.

What is less good news is that Stephen’s MacBook decided to lose a third of its screen on Monday. This was a bit of a problem as it wasn’t that the screen was two-thirds the size but that a third of it disappeared behind a thick dark band. It was not much of a surprise, though, as both his and my MacBooks have been operating at significantly less than their best for some time, understandable given that they are both well into double figures. The time had come, we decided, during a family summit, to break open yet another piggy bank and update our equipment. More of which later.

Mario and Luigi were making the most of the fine weather and the burgeoning new growth by continuing their aggressive pruning of various trees around the area. On Tuesday morning we had to wait on the road at the top while they fastened a rope around a tree, they had just finished sawing part way through, to haul it over, and then wait some more while they used the chainsaw to cut it into manageable sized pieces to move to the side. This was, though, a serendipitous encounter, as when they had finished, Stephen wound his window down and called Mario over for a word.

If you recall a couple of weeks ago, Stephen had made an abortive attempt to prune the fig tree at the back of the house, but we both thought it might be better to hand the job over to more capable hands, ergo the conversation. There were also a couple of other dead trees that needed removing, and Stephen said that in return for the work they could keep the wood, to which fair exchange Mario was amenable.

Before he left for work on a bright and sunny Wednesday morning, Stephen gave me precise details about what he wanted done, identifying the two trees that needed chopping down completely and explaining how he wanted the fig tree left with three truncated main branches and all else removed. Given the weather, it was not big surprise that the Mogliani brothers’ white van pulled up in front of the house, some little time after nine and Luigi got out. It might, though, have been more convenient if he hadn’t arrived part way through my lesson. I made a hasty apology and dashed out to pass on the information.

This was not quite as straightforward as I had hoped. I took Luigi to the back of the house and explained in my best Italian all that had to be done, and when he asked how we wanted the wood chopped up I said that they could take it. Whether it was this that made him doubtful, or just the fact that I wasn’t Stephen, he asked to speak to him. This meant I had to dash back in, get my phone, dash out and read off the number – though I got the distinct impression that he was expecting me to dial and hand my mobile over. Seeing as I had a student patiently waiting, that was not going to happen, and I left him calling and went back inside.

Stephen, as I found out later, just repeated what I had said, but two confirmed sources was obviously good enough. Luigi drove off, returning a few minutes later, as I could see through the window, with a tractor and reinforcements in the shape of his son and Mario. Fortunately, the noise of the chain saw didn’t interfere too much with the rest of the lesson, and by the time I had finished, the trio had completed the job in double quick time. They then set about other handy vegetation that looked in need of some attention, amassing enough for a small bonfire later in the morning, which was the icing on the cake for Luigi.

Stephen was home in very good time, early enough to be collared by Mario who brought up the topic of the hornets that had built nests in the dove holes at the side of the house, which he had mentioned before. While we are not into mass extinction, especially when it calls for one of us to climb up a ladder, we were convinced to agree to it for the good of the planet as Mario explained that the hornets attack the bees – agree, that is, as long as he carried out the necessary. Stephen went and bought the appropriate pest spray from the ferramenta, and Mario returned after lunch with ladders and determination. In a few minutes he had cleared out the nests, though it was left to me to sweep up the ensuing debris from the path.

Thursday afternoon Stephen was working from home, theoretically speaking - theoretically being taken two ways. The first was in the definition of ‘at home’, because he had to take an hour out to go back to the office due to a delivery of soles. Fortunately, this was after the second way, hinging on what could be considered as appropriate work. Not, I think, taking advantage of some glorious spring-like weather and giving the grass its first cut of the year. This was at the highest setting, but a second cut at a slightly lower one this afternoon means that the grass around LCDDB is not looking too bad at all – if you discount a couple of bald patches that have to compete with tree roots.

And now let us return to the matter of the ageing and rapidly failing MacBooks. Yesterday afternoon we went to the swish Med Store branch the other side of Corridonia for a recce on the current models. Stephen had already decided on a MacBook air, while I was going to keep to a MacBook Pro, and once I had seen the price and gulped a few times I still thought that was the best option. Step in the assistant, who spoke to us in perfect English, and who basically said that the Air was more than adequate for my requirements and spending all that much more on a Pro was a waste of money. Whilst it was refreshing – and reassuring – to have an assistant that both knew what he was talking about and was more concerned with the customer’s needs than sales commission, it took me a while to come round.

Being used to a larger screen and larger laptop, I had to readjust to not equating bigger with better and to think about what was practical. What clinched it was discovering that I could have my model (a slightly more powerful one than Stephen’s) in a very fetching shade called, romantically enough, Midnight. Whilst it was not quite love at first sight, it does seem to be a match made in computer heaven as our first date today, whilst not without hiccups, seems to have got off to a good start. Smaller it may be, but it is sleek and fast, and I was able to transfer all the information from my old one, once we found a YouTube video to help.

The only point on which we disagreed was which key to press, as what had never occurred to Stephen nor me was that the keyboard would have an Italian, and therefore a different, configuration. Whilst the letters follow the universal QWERTY layout, other keys have to accommodate accented letters and some symbols are in very different places. But what was more confusing was that when I did find the symbol and press it, what appeared on the screen was something totally different, which is why it took me ten minutes to type an email address for no matter what I did, the @ would not appear. And then we twigged. Having transferred all the information from the old MacBook, the brain in the new one thought that it was dealing with a UK/US configuration. Again, good old YouTube came to the rescue and a very simple (it must be if I can do it) process meant that the inner workings and the outer now match and both are united in being Italian, the only case in which chauvinism might be acceptable.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement for one day, this evening we were joined by Marco and Maddalena for dinner at Pomod’oro, our first visit there for some time. We had intended to do the obvious and make it a Saturday night dinner, but when Stephen called mid-week, he was told they were booked up. Strange for Italy, where deciding 24 hours ahead where you will eat is considered aberrant behaviour, but dining out on a Sunday seemed to make it more of a treat.

And as if that wasn’t enough excitement for one day, earlier on we spotted our first gecko of the year – but not where we expected. It was, as you would guess, basking in the sunshine but erring on the side of caution he was doing so on top of a towel that was on top of the linen basket situated in front of the “dressing room” window. Not being prepared for house guests, Stephen tried to move in stealthily to scoop up the towel, but the gecko was wise to us. It dropped onto the floor, but where it went from there is anyone’s guess. Hopefully out into the sunshine, which fingers crossed, is here to stay for a few more days yet.