I am just back from a visit to my friends Marcello and Silvia. Marcello always insists on conversing in English but the trouble is that his English consists almost entirely of lines from Beatles lyrics! This has led to some strange conversations over the years, though I am not very good at such exchanges myself, being more of a Sondheim lady. Silvia, on the other hand, tries to ignore them, knowing that he has to run out of lines eventually! Anyway, here is a snatch of this evening’s conversation. Imagine Marcello’s contributions delivered in a sing-songy tone, with an Italian accent.
Me [upon arrival]: Ciao, Marcello. How are you?
Marcello: I feel fine, yeh, yeh, yeh! I take your umbrella and I put in a jar by the door, haha!
Me [handing Silvia a bouquet as she steps out of the kitchen]: Ciao, Silvia. How are you?
Marcello: Cellophane flowers of yellow and green … and then, before Silvia has a chance to answer … She doesn’t have a lot to say. [Silvia glances at him poisonously].
Me: How’s work, Marcello?
Marcello: It’s all right. I haven’t been working like a dog, haha!
[Silvia brings a bottle of wine to the table.]
Marcello: Birthday greetings, bottle of wine, haha! [It is no one’s birthday.] Sit back and let the evening go, yes?
Silvia: Was there a lot of traffic this evening?
Me: Not as much as usual, no.
Marcello: Where do they all come from?
Silvia [to me]: I hope you’ve got your appetite back.
Marcello: Then you can start to make it better, haha!
Silvia: Marcello, basta! [= “That’s enough!”]
We slip into Italian and all is well until Silvia brings in a cake.
Marcello: Strawberry fields forever, yes? [There are no strawberries in it.]
[Silvia is looking rather thoughtful as she wields the cake knife.]
Me [to Marcello]: She loves you!
Marcello: Yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh.
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22 comments:
Welshcakes Limoncello> do u write?
I conjured the scene and it was slightly surreal but I am sure filled with affection from good friends anyway HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and hope 2009 is filled with great things. :-)
"Speaking words of wisdom, let it be"
Sorry Welshcakes I just had to do it lol, x
Hello Welshcakes. Well that was extremely funny...Certainly brightened up a very cold and gloomy morning...Yeh Yeh Yeh!
Di.xx
That's hilarious. Does Marcello really know what he is saying and is doing it for fun or does he just think he is cool? And who is Marcella?
made me smile :-)
That is too funny. I may start incorporting lyrics into my conversations around the office to liven things up a bit or make people avoid me - either way I win!
aaaaaaaa the days when all you needed was love and you could get satisfaction, and everything in the world was obladi oblada.
Made me laugh..quite funny really :-)
In what sense, Dr CW? Hi, kissa. Well done! Happy new year to you, too. Hi, nunyaa. Glad you did! Thank, Trubes. Ciao, Flutterby. He does it for fun! Marcella was a typo - sorry. Must be my age. Thanks, cherrypie. Hi, Michelle. Youcould really irritate people like that! - Fun for you, though. Yes, those were the days, Luce. Thanks, Anne.
Sounds like a good time was had by all.
It was, James.
A bit like Peter Mayle who wrote about life in Provence (turned into TV episodes of "A Year in Provence"), but in your case Sicily. You clearly have a rich vein of material at your finger tips - what you just wrote about the Italian who is limited to Beatles' lines.
That sounds like a very exhausting conversation Welshcakes. I'm afraid I would miss half the references.
Thank you, Dr CW. To compile such a book is, in fact, my ambition! Hi, jmb. It is a bit exhausting, yes!
you serious? that's amazing!!
Hi, Gleds. You, I think, would be very good at this!
Just ..let it be...ha. That was really a crack up, Welsh. Silvia must be a patient woman..
Ciao, pink. Glad you liked the exchange and yes, she is! But then, Marcello is a really nice bloke.
I have no words of wisdom to say to that, Shades, so I'll let it be!
He would enjoy Moulin Rouge!
He would, Liz. I think I will suggest it.
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