italiafile

I'm getting dilatory again in my postings. Must do better, though in mitigation I am just off the train from Siracusa in Sicily, where I spent the weekend looking at houses. Got back here to see that the Sunday Times has a double page spread advocating buying wrecks in the south of Sicily and spending years having them done up. That'll mean the prices will double by next weekend, and Easter will see an influx of pension rich 'investors'. I've always liked Siracusa, but was put off a little by the words of the woman in the tourist office on Saturday... 'Theres a thriving community of ex pats here.' My heart sank. 'They all meet in one another's house on Friday evenings'. I had visions of peculiarly English small talk mixed with local snobbery about the right shop to buy your tomatoes. Now I shall have to think seriously about whether it would be possible to live here and avoid them.

Back in Naples, Jude Law is pronounced Judder Lav, much more interesting I think.

The papers have been running stories about people not wearing their crash helmets again. It's a story which comes around alarmingly regularly, usually when someone has died in a motorbike accident' 'Powers that be' say that the problem isnt as bad as it was... though the feeling that in winter people wear helmets as a form of umbrella. In the summer it is more acceptable to ride bareheaded, as it would be too hot to wear a helment. In any case, last year Naples issued 300,000 fines for riding without a helmet. It may sound alot but as most people should get at least one a day it's jusst a drop in the ocean.