Spring 2020. This time six weeks ago, we were unpacking our suitcases, and unpicking the various hotel bookings, appointments and social arrangements that we had planned for the following two weeks, which we were to have spent in the UK. … Continue reading A Spring Like No Other
I’m sitting at my dining room table again. I do this a lot at the moment, as we are living in a new world, even though we are at home. This time four, short weeks ago, we were sitting on … Continue reading Life Under Lockdown
I normally write my blog posts from my little commuter train. Once a week my work as and English teacher takes me right into the centre of Rome, rather than the language school. The hour I spend on the FL1 … Continue reading Keep Calm and (Don’t) Carry On …
One of the first lessons at the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell, is “how to be on time”. This lesson is considered of such high importance that (at least in my day), this skill is taught in Week One, alongside … Continue reading Beware The Green Panda
And just like that, it’s January. This post finds us living downstairs in the renovated (more or less) portion of the house, which we will call The Bungalow, to distinguish it from the un-renovated, upstairs part of the house, where … Continue reading Back to the Future
We spent a lot of time, effort and angst finding our home in Italy. We were quite forensic in our search criteria, demanding a gorgeous view, with neighbours (but invisible ones), no further than an hour from Rome, less than 500 metres above sea level, with easy access to trains, motorways, shops and doctors etc etc. One thing that we didn’t consider, however, was access to friends, and to a social life. We hoped to make a few Italian friends, but assumed that, apart from occasional visitors from Rome and from home, we’d be alone most of the time. Wrong. … Continue reading An Absence of Loneliness
It’s been a week of Firsts. Our days are full of new things, but this week has been particularly Firsty … The first First was “the first time it’s ever rained all over my new floor”. I was about to say “it rained inside my house”, but actually, given that the bathroom ceiling leaks, and that the upstairs windows are not watertight, and that downstairs has no windows at all, rain inside my house is fairly standard. However, we returned from a wonderful lunch out with friends to find an indoor swimming pool where our floor had been, and that … Continue reading The First Time I Ever …
November is here, and we’re all obsessed with olive oil. Whenever we see friends, neighbours, colleagues, strangers in the bar, it’s the number one conversation subject here in Sabina at this time of year. “Did you make oil this year? … Continue reading Fifty Shades of Olive
According to The University of Google, a healthy olive tree, well pruned to the correct size and shape, should take no more than an hour to harvest, and produce around 25kg of fruit. An olive box holds 25kg of fruit. … Continue reading An Extra Virgin Harvest
Over the last couple of months, we have been busily finalising our residency status here, in preparation for Scott’s retirement, and also to Brexit proof ourselves. In Scott’s case, this has been incredibly straightforward. A couple of visits to the … Continue reading Busy Doing Nothing
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