Grim Reality

How often can one say "well, it is November......" ?, why do people insist on complaining about the weather for heavens sake ? I know this is something that proves we are British/English but I find myself increasingly intolerant of this lack of pragmatism, it does rain in November, and sometimes it is cold too, the grump into which I descend is most uncharitable and unnecessary , perhaps it's SAD ? On the upside, if it is cold and damp it is the perfect excuse to wear furry, fluffy, snuggly things, and having hair with a similar texture to a Shetland pony I can just shake off the most inclement of weather (the downside is my legs are of a similar length to said equine !)


Today I am struggling with Italian homework, and it's amazing how quickly the old excuses come rolling back...... "The printer broke", "Oh, was it for today ?" and so on - last term there was one glorious occasion where I could, legitimately, say "the dog ate my homework". Obviously a description of my family holiday was just too delicious to resist. Anyway, homework; to encourage us our tutor told us that Italian was much easier to learn than English, because English has 16 tenses ........... yes, but I know English ! I can even make a reasonable fist of French, courtesy 7 years with scary Mam'zelle, and have a nodding acquaintance with Latin which is very useful for vocab. Maybe the truth is that although I still have the ability to assimilate random facts (thank you, Lucy - loved the Turing thing) and delight in serendipitous google linking, I no longer have the application to process sequences of co-ordinated information.


As I said in the title - grim reality.

(Next post will be sparkly, twinkly and rapturous - I will eat chocolate first !)

No, I didn't see Donald Sutherland

So, I returned home for a few days and then back to Italy. I loved feeling like a regular and seasoned traveller, and I dropped the fact, oh so nonchalantly, into as many conversations as possible.....but...... travel is all well and good if :-

a) it happens when expected

b) all your belongings arrive with you

c)your credit card isn't maxed out

d)you don't fly cheap with KLM

(this is a tale so dismal it does not need to be told, I am sure many of you have experienced some or all of the above)

on the upside it was Italy - did I mention that ?

Venice was ethereal, as ever, and even more flooded than usual, but tippy toes sufficed and wellies were not bought, Bellini, the artist and the drink, were given due reverence and the joy of wandering with no purpose revisited.

The true thrill of the weekend though was listening to a friend sing a Byrd Mass in St Marks on All Saints - not bad for an Anglican church choir - the "spinal shiver" was phenomenal, enhanced, perhaps, by the fact Comme des Garcons could have OD'd on in situ incense


Sad reality kicked in all too quickly on my return, the list of people in line for molten lead enemas is growing apace.......... was there ever a greater misnomer than "service industries" ?, and Lord knows, I am in a position to make that judgement, meeting the Great British Public at the sharp end on a daily basis....................

Shameful lack of posting....

Well, this is not the way to ensure a lucrative book deal. The lack of posting has been the result of tripping hither and yon, be-flusterment and the reacclimatisation to the Real World, none of which are really an adequate excuse, fortunately I am not inundated with readers, waiting on tenterhooks for my next sparkling missive.

I had a wonderful long weekend in Milan and in spite of it being patently obvious that even with all three credit cards at once I would be unable to buy anything, I got to stroke Prada bags - who'd have thought Goth could be sooooo chic - and totter in Alexander McQueen shoes - oh the joy !!

My Italian got some exercise too, it took some effort though to find out how to say "What is that called......?" in Italian without being told the name of whatever I was standing next to ! I did manage to but myself a pair of bright dark purple suede boots in the correct size without resorting to mime, so maybe something is sinking in. Gracia Enzo.....

We did go to see the "Last Supper", a concession to non-consumerism, and as I said last time, still a wax crayoning, actually, more like a pavement artist has been allowed to work in the vertical....... but still L de V did do it and that has to contribute a bit of a buzz.

More posting to follow, including the joys of KLM and alto adige in Venice - an excuse to buy more boots perhaps, even if wellingtons.