Tinsel and lights

13th December 2020

This week saw a slight change to the new normal routine, and not just because of the added freedom of a world of yellow. Tuesday, being the 8th December, was a public holiday for the Immaculate Conception meaning the shopping had to be done a day early.

Obviously, I didn’t have any lessons on Tuesday but my work became suddenly busier when I received a message from Fouzia on Monday morning asking, now that things had eased up and, it later transpired in conversation, the factory where she works had caught up after its period of quarantine, if we could restart lessons. Of course, I replied, when? This evening, she texted, in that Italian way. Fortunately, being prepared against such eventualities, I had a couple of lessons all ready for her, thus avoiding a mad scramble. It does mean, though, that my relaxing evenings are at an end, for with her three lessons and Laura’s one I won’t have to sit twiddling my thumbs when the bars close at 6pm.

There was some additional information about our poor Internet signal when EOLO hit the local papers – though in a general way and not because we had started a media campaign. Apparently, lots of people were complaining because the reception for their mobile phones was so poor and it was said that the company was suffering from problems with their coverage in the area. There was no indication, to the best of our knowledge, as to what they were doing about this and when it would improve, but as, I think, our issues began before the highlighted problem I’m not convinced that any remedial action for this will have any effect. I find it best to always look on the bright side of life.

So what else can I tell you about our week?

In honour of the return to yellow we had a grand shopping expedition on Thursday afternoon, starting with the pet shop for dog biscuits followed by Acqua & Sapone for household basics and then Click Café for, of all things, coffee. It was then into Girasole in all its Christmas-lit glory for a whizz round the supermarket for festive chocolate goodies to give as presents to my students (the ones that I see face-to-face, that is) and a stop at L’Erboristeria. There we bought a couple of things for ourselves as well as a gift for Marina in the office, and were touched when the nice lady knew our preferred liquid soap for the bathroom –why so many proprietors seem to remember us when we pay return visits I will put down to the exotic glamour of being from foreign lands as I can’t think of any other reason.

Before we hit the weekend, Friday saw a return to Bar del Borgo for pre-shopping/haircut breakfast in the morning while in the afternoon it was back to Montegranaro for my lesson with Diego and Marzia. As for the weekend itself, it was time to potter about at home again, having done enough gallivanting for one week. Stephen spent his time giving the mele cotogne liqueur its second straining – and a third, unforeseen, one as there was still a considerable amount of sediment. It is now, though, ready to drink and from a sampling I think I can safely say that it is just the stuff to warm the cockles on a cold winter’s day. He also found time yesterday and today to dress the house for Christmas, setting up the tree in the snug for a change and setting arrangements of baubles in various bowls and dishes, and festive curios (of which we seem to have amassed an unexpectedly large amount) around the house on windowsills and other flat surfaces. He also, for the first time, put lights on the railings around the terrazzo, causing confusion for Harry who took it upon himself, as dusk fell, to stand and bark at them.

As for me, I did my usual Saturday afternoon cook-in of mid-week freezer meals and then today it was time to do something with the cachi (or persimmon if you prefer). With the help of my talented and handsome assistant who chopped up the fruit, I used it to make a batch of chutney, which is something of an experiment. There not being, to the best of my knowledge, a dedicated recipe, I used one for apricots substituting them with persimmons. Initial evaluation is that it seems to have worked, and it is a lovely deep burnt orange colour so at least it looks good. As for the taste, we will have to wait a month or so for the chutney to mature before we can run that test. In the meantime we just need to find something for the shedload on the tree, other than the windfalls providing a pre-breakfast snack for Bella, that is.