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Feeling rootless and homesick in my Italian dream exile, I was thrilled when someone called Leslie left a note on our car windscreen to say she and her husband Martin had seen our British number plate and would like to meet us. ‘Yaaay! British people, look, they’re British…BRITISH!’ I handed the note to Ian. ‘THANK GOODNESS! … Continue reading “hiding from the expats

The man picks up an aubergine and studies it intently. He turns it over in his hand and with his thumbs, gently presses the dark purple, outer skin. He lifts it towards the light and down to his nose to smell it. He nods, hands it to the woman across the boxes of vegetables and … Continue reading Plundering the Blueberries

Ticks in May From May to October ticks lurk in the long grass in our garden. One evening after supper, our ginger cat sat on my lap at the kitchen table. He is called Fatty le Ginge, but too embarrassed to ever say his real name, we gave him an imaginative nickname, Ginger. I was … Continue reading Ticks in May

Easter traditions in Italy are similar but more different than I expected to the ones in Britain. In the run-up to Easter, churches collect foliage from olive trees for Palm Sunday. Piles of branches with silver grey leaves lie in the entrances of the local parish churches. Instead of a Palm cross, parishioners are given … Continue reading Easter