...which I was, yesterday, it now seems that Monday's collision in the Strait of Messina might have been avoided had the Vessel Tracking System been in full operation at the time. Monitoring of the system apparently stops in the late afternoon, except, for some unfathomable reason, on Thursdays, "as if", as one paper remarks, "there were no traffic in the Strait after this time". Today ferry workers have been on strike and have staged a demonstration demanding better safety measures in the Strait. [This was planned before the accident.]
On a more trivial note, I have got raging toothache - must have caught it via cyberspace from James - and the dentist's is closed on Fridays. [There are, of course, emergency ones open, but I would rather put up with it till tomorrow and see my own.]
This is what it's like living in Italy: one day your heart is almost bursting with happiness and delight at the country's beauty, exuberance and rhythms; the next you are tearing your hair out because of those very rhythms.
Never mind: I did well for coffee this morning, having been offered one in the jeweller's, then the perfumery and , of course, when I went to get my "Raffaele fix" [hairdo]. The world can always pause for a minute while coffee is sipped and pleasantries are exchanged with a customer.
14 comments:
Hope the dentist has fixed up that toothache soon! Lovely pictures here :)
tea
xo
Your toothache - ouch. I can feel it with you right now [mine's still there but it's post extraction]. All my thoughts go with you.
As for the ferry, there's always hindsight, really but I suppose it's all for the eventual best.
Thanks, T &M.
Ta for the sympathy, James. Yes, all is easy with hindsight.
Worse than that, WL: my writing club was nearly closed because of the northern european storm & general, as well as the consequent, lack of light. But then again the children really wanted to write in the dark so it all turned out ok. Next time it's "Literacy" (yuk) I'll just turn off the lights!!!
When I worked for a multi-national I used to Euro-hop rather a lot and Italy was no exception. I used to regularly come over to Ivrea (Olivetti-Town) which involved flying to Milan then driving to Turin and turning right...
Italy both delighted & alienated me in equal measure for all sorts of odd reasons although I imagine the equal experience would be if a European came to Britain a lot but only ever saw somewhere like Long Eaton.
I have known several people who absolutely love the place and I did spend aworking week in Milan a few years back but one day I think the fountains of Rome & the slurry of Venice should be worth a look.
I do enjoy your tapestry of Sicily life, by the way...
tin drummer, I saw the storms on tv and I do empathise. It sounds like the kids had a great writing class last night, though.
I.G., thanks for your kind and interesting comment. I agree with you re. a continental European coming to the UK and only experiencing the kind of place you describe. I do absolutely love Italy, by the way - it just drives me barmy as well! Glad you like my blog.
Will be over to you all tomorrow, hopefully - gotta sort this toothache! Auguri a tutti.
Sounds like you need to grab yourself a bottle of gin or perhaps a good brandy or cognac for the weekend, Welsh...that should ease the pain a little! ;) Medicinal purposes, of course!
I hope the toothache goes away soon. Have a super weekend.
Poor you, you have lots of sympathy here in blogosphere, just hope it doesn't spread to the UK next!
That was very bad luck about the collision, can the ferry company sue, I wonder?
Thanks for all the sympathy re the toothache, everyone. The dentist thinks it's neuralgia and I have to wait and see what happens by Tuesday. Reckon I'll take up your suggestion, Lee!
The funerals of those who died in the Messina accident have taken place today so there has been no news on it other than that.
I do hope your pain has improved. I love the photos on your blog of food and your description of such a beautiful culture makes me feel warm even on such an awful day here.
My heart goes out to those who have lost relatives in Messina - what a tragedy. But I wouldn't have heard of it if it hadn't been on your blog - our TV and papers are full of "Big Bother" - why? I am not quite sure. Perhaps our perspective needs to reach out to other countries and not just about ourselves...
Best wishes Shani
I hope your teeth feel better soon, WL. I hate toothaches!
Hi, Shani. Thank you for your kind comments. I'm surprised there's been no coverage of the ferry disaster over there. The BB fiasco is being reported here but it's not front page news. They are driving me mad with it on Sky though! Auguri.
Hoping by now... your all better! ~M
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