SICILY SCENE'S REVIEW OF 2013

As I've mentioned many times, it's been a bad year for me, so let's start with this:

My personal disaster of the year

It's been a year in which I've lived through several personal disasters but when my fridge seemed to give up the ghost recently it was the last straw and the air turned a very deep blue around here! 

But on to something more positive....

My gadget of the year

This contraption for slicing onions is a godsend! 

It comes from Lidl Italia, who, as purveyors of dried cranberries, have disappointed me this year, it must be said.

My books of the year
[not necessarily books published in 2013, but a selection of books that I've read this year]:

At the beginning of the year, I enjoyed the second volume of Cardiff man Ken Follett's Century Trilogy, Winter of the World.  Volume three is due in September and I am looking forward to it. But come on, Ken bach, can't you hurry it up a bit?

I also loved Simon Mawer's The Girl Who Fell from the Sky.

Malala's autobiography, which I read in Italian, was compelling.

For Christmas I received this and Simi and I are enjoying perusing it every evening:

My cookbook of the year is this one, by Italy's "sexy chef" Carlo Cracco - recipes, new ideas, tips and a true masterclass.....

.... which brings me to ....

My TV programmes of the year

Number one has got to be Masterchef Italia and the third episode of the third series goes out on Thursday night. That's two hours of compulsive viewing for me so for the time being I won't be posting here on Thursdays, folks!

Italian TV often gets slated but Rai does turn out some interesting drama series. Of the 2013 offerings, I thought one of the best was Volare - La Grande Storia di Domenico Modugno. Perhaps it's because I can remember how, even in Britain, we all went around humming the song!

I've become addicted to Downton, via a friend who is kind enough to lend me her DVDs. I have watched some episodes in Italian, but let's face it - Maggie Smith's withering lines need to be delivered by Maggie Smith.

Monday nights at 11.30 find me tuned to Sky News UK for the press preview by Kevin Maguire and Andrew Pierce ["Toryboy"]. The banter between these two really cheers me up and I am waiting for them to get their own series.

My recipe of the year

Of the recipes I have invented myself, the winner is this pasta dish.

Post of the year on this blog

The most-read post of 2013 was not about Sicily at all, but about my memories of visiting the Verdi locations in the Emilia-Romagna.

My non-feminist of the year award

The neighbour who obsessively dusts her clothes line was a contender and the young fiancée of a certain Italian politician comes close but I have to hand the award to Miss Miley Cyrus [assuming she can stop twerking for long enough to receive it].

Words I don't want to hear in 2014

Twerking and the name of she who does it; phubbing [ignoring people to look at your mobile phone all the time and I don't want it done to me, either]; decadenza because the expulsion of Mr Berlusconi from the Senate took forever and succeeded in keeping him in the headlines; scontro [clash] because in Italy there's always a scontro somewhere in public life. How about a helpful and peaceful incontro [meeting] instead? Pazienza - a word that should be banned from the Italian language, especially in connection with public transport in Modica! And I don't want to hear any more of Darrell, Pip, Rob or Helen [all on The Archers].

My hopes for 2014

That there be no more tragedies like this.
That there be peace.
My personal hopes are to be held, understood and not judged and to be granted more time with my precious dog, Simi.
May the New Year be kind to all of you and your loved ones, too.

And there's a hand, my trusty fiere,

And gie's a hand o' thine;

And we'll tak a right guid-willie waught

For auld lang syne.

Buon anno a tutti!

CHRISTMAS AT CHIARA'S

It's always a pleasure to dine at Chiara's house and to do so on Christmas Day was very special indeed.

There were all sorts of antipasti, including these ham and cheese puffs

and my friend Linda's perfectly formed aita [chard] pasties:

Being allergic to fish, I had to pass on the salmon but I'm sure it was delicious:

Then there were cestini [baskets] di pasta. I must remember to get the recipe for these!

There were pork chops

 and, of course, turkey:

There were lots of desserts, too, including these lovely, gooey pastries

and chocolate salami:

And it wouldn't have been Christmas without a tronco!

I made and took along this Christmas cake. [It's Nigella's "Incredibly Easy Chocolate Fruit Cake" recipe and yes, I'm still a fan.] I used dried cranberries for some of the fruit content. Christmas cake is largely wasted on Sicilians, who have a peculiar aversion to dried fruit, but the British contingent ate it and I'm going to keep making it anyway because I like the aroma as it cooks and it's pretty.

Oh! I almost forgot to tell you I wore my subtle Christmas angel earrings, which I'd found in Catania the week before. They were quite a hit!

Grazie per la festa, Chiara.

SABATO MUSICALE

Another seasonal offering from Il Volo:

Il Volo - Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

BUON NATALE 2013

Merry Christmas and thank you for reading my blog in 2013!

Il Volo - Bianco Natale

SOMEONE'S READY!

Hi, folks.  It's Simi here again!

Our tree is ready....

Our table is ready...

Our stockings are ready....

I'm ready because I've had my Christmas haircut and I've got my Christmas jumper on again...

So all we have to do is wait for Santa Paws!

But hang on ... what's this that's suddenly appeared on the tree?

My mummy says I can open it at midnight!

I hope all of you have as much Sicilian pazienza as me!

Now, don't forget, fans - leave some doggy biscuits out for Santa Paws and look after your humans this Christmas!

Merry Xmas and lots of love from

Simi xx woofiewags!

SABATO MUSICALE

For a change this week, something from the British charts and a contender for the UK no. 1 spot this Christmas. I have chosen this song because it expresses how I feel at the end of 2013.

Sam Bailey - Skyscraper

Update - 22.12.13: It is officially the UK no. 1 !

BIRTHDAY GIRL

Hi, folks. It's Simi here!

I'm a big girl of 15 today but my mummy keeps telling me I've got more energy than she has!

Today I can do exactly what I like, I get lots of treaties and I can get away with any doggone thing so I'm gonna bark at that ole black poodle down the road and scare a couple of Rottweilers while I'm at it!

Hope you're all having lots of waggies and woofies today too and soon it will be time for Santa Paws to come!

See you at Christmas, fans  - be good!

Love,

Simi xxxx woof!

SIMPLE PLEASURES

As I've mentioned before, 2013 has not been a good year for me and I'll be jolly glad to see the back of it. For various reasons, there are a lot of things I can neither do nor have at the moment and in such circumstances, one sometimes loses sight of the things that are possible. So yesterday I reminded myself that a week before Christmas I can sit in the sun on a café terrace and enjoy the juice of a Sicilian orange and some handmade biscuits.

I still love you, Italy!

MIGRATION UPDATE - "IN A CIVILISED COUNTRY"

I am very sorry to have to report tonight that migrants in the "welcome" or "reception" or "detention" - depending on how you perceive it - centre on Lampedusa appear to be suffering inhumane treatment there: Mobile phone footage shot by a Syrian detainee on 13th December shows nude, cold migrants queueing in the courtyard in order to undergo a disinfestation treatment for scabies.

The migrants say that they caught scabies in the detention centre and that they are made to undergo the disinfestation treatment every week. Corriere della Sera is reporting that some survivors of the 3rd October tragedy were among the migrants subjected to the procedure.

The pictures, shown on Tg2 [Italy's Rai 2 news] last night, have caused a national outcry: President of the Chamber of Deputies Laura Boldrini has said that the images are unworthy of a civilised country and Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Angelino Alfano has vowed to find out who is responsible for the outrage. Giusy Nicolini, the Mayor of Lampedusa, is said to have been appalled by the images, which she has likened to those taken in concentration camps, and has said that the way in which migrants are treated once they reach Italy must change. "This is not what we expect barely two months after all the promises made following the October tragedy", she added.  The Archbissop of Agrigento, monsignor Francesco Montenegro, who is also president of the Commission for Migration of the Conferenza Episcopale Italiana, has said that no emergency situation can justify treatment which ignores human dignity and rights.

The Comitato 3 ottobre agrees with Laura Boldrini and is asking for clarification of the procedures used in migrant detention centres. Amnesty International and Cgil, Italy and Europe's largest trade union, are also asking for urgent clarification. I would like to point out that Laura Boldrini had the humility to thank Tg2 for bringing the situation to the nation's attention. In our criticism of Italy over this matter, we should remember that there are many parliaments in the world which would have lashed out at the media.

A PAPAL BESTSELLER

In the lovely church of Santa Maria di Betlemme in Modica Bassa there is an exquisite terracotta presepe [crib] made in 1882. It has 66 statuettes and the onlookers at the nativity scene are depicted as Sicilian countrymen and women. It is an absolutely stunning sight.

You will see a crib in nearly every Sicilian home at this time of year and some of the figurines will be family heirlooms. The custom of filling the crib with statuettes dressed in Sicilian costume continues and I think this must make it easier for children to identify with the characters. The Holy Family, though, are depicted traditionally and one figurine, that of the baby Jesus, is not added to the scene until Christmas Eve.

In Sicily the city of Caltagirone is particularly famous for the craftsmanship of its cribs but, as many of you will know, the "crib capital" of Italy is Napoli. The tradition began there in the Baroque era of the 18th century, when the carving of wooden figurines was elevated to an art form.  Now, in the via San Gregorio Armeno, you can find not only traditional figurines and figurines inspired by Italian country life, but representations of politicians, royals and celebrities. 

So who is "in" and who is "out" [literally] in this year's cribs? Well, Silvio Berlusconi, who has been prominent among the figurines for decades, and who was even represented, in the past, alongside figurines of some of the ladies who, at the very least, enjoyed his parties, features less often in 2013. If you must, however, you can still find a figurine of him holding a card declaring, "Sono decaduto" ["I have decayed" and a reference to his decadenza - fall from power]. You can also add the entire Napoli football squad to your decorations and representations - complete with his beloved iPhone - of Matteo Renzi, the Mayor of Florence and recently elected leader of the Democratic Party, are said to be selling well. Figurines of Nelson Mandela are available, as you would expect, but the overall bestsellers this year are figurines of Papa Francesco - a worthy winner, in my opinion.

This year the Archdiocese of Naples has the honour, for the first time, of sponsoring the Vatican's Nativity Scene, which will be unveiled in St Peter's Square on Christmas Eve. The background has been inspired by the Campania countryside and the figurines have been crafted in 18th century Neapolitan tradition by Antonio Cantone of Cantone & Costabile. The scene is entitled Francesco 1223 - Francesco 2013, a reference to the date when St Francis created a living crib in Greccio and, of course, to the current, popular Pope.

SABATO MUSICALE

Topping the Italian singles charts last week was this thoughtful little song from Giorgia, about what happens and how we feel when a star, or something within us, dies:

Giorgia - Quando una stella muore

SANTA LUCIA 2013

Today is the festa of Santa Lucia and, for those of you who do not know her story, here is an edited version of a post of mine about her from 2009:

Santa Lucia was martyred in Siracusa in 304 AD during the Persecution of Diocletian. She is one of my favourite saints, along with St Martin and St Francis, because a feminist reading of her story would lead one to conclude that she was partially condemned for her unconventionality [though I suppose all saints were unconventional].

Lucia consecrated her virginity to God and expressed a wish to give all her worldly goods to the poor. She refused to marry a pagan, but her spurned fiancé had his revenge after Lucia and her mother, Eutychia [or Eutychiaea], visited Catania in the hope that the martyred Sant'Agata of that city would cure Eutychia of a haemorrage. Eutychia was cured and Lucia distributed some of her wealth to the poor, thus incurring the further wrath of her would-be husband, who denounced her to Paschasius, the Governor of Sicily.

First condemned to become a prostitute, Lucia literally could not be moved, so then her persecutors unsuccessfully tried to burn her. Finally she was decapitated with a sword and the story goes that her eyes were gouged out first. One legend has it that only her eyes remained of her, but there is also a story that her body lay undisturbed in Sicily for 400 years before other relics were dispersed. In art, Santa Lucia is often represented with her eyes on a plate and church-goers in Italy are given tiny pieces of pasta representing her eyes on 13th December.

Other symbols of Santa Lucia are the sword and the palm and she is the protector of electricians, eye specialists and the blind.

A Sicilian proverb tells us,

Da santa Lucia a Natali quant'un passu di cani. 

- From Santa Lucia's Day till Christmas the days lengthen by a dog's step.

Beniamino Gigli - Santa Lucia

MIGRATION UPDATE - MARE NOSTRUM

It may be the festive season for much of the world but that does not mean that the "boatloads of sorrow", containing desperate migrants, have stopped arriving on Sicily's shores. In the past few days, in fact, there has been a marked increase in the number of boats making these dangerous journeys because of temporarily calmer seas.

In the early hours of yesterday Italian naval and Coast Guard vessels saved 1,233 migrants whose boats had got into trouble to the south of Lampedusa. Among these were 118 women, 16 of whom were pregnant, and 65 children. An initial check carried out on board the rescue vessels indicated that the migrants were from Eritrea, Syria, Senegal, Egypt, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Gambia, Guinea, Ghana, Mali and Libya. Almost all said they had wanted to reach Italy in order to study, work or to escape war.

The naval ship the San Marco brought 550 of the migrants to safety in the port of Augusta and the patrol ship the Foscari took 229 poor souls on board and then had to attend another rescue operation which was a difficult one because some of the migrants involved were in poor conditions of health.

Since the launch of Operazione Mare Nostrum, a military-humanitarian mission to avoid further migrant tragedies in the Mediterranean, 5,000 migrants have been saved in the Strait of Sicily and more than 3,000 have been brought to safety on board Italian naval ships.

Running in tandem with Operazione Mare Nostrum is another military initiative, Operazione Strade Sicure Sicilia Occidentale [Safe Streets in Western Sicily] in which army personnel are patrolling the areas around the reception centre and confiscated migrant boats on Lampedusa in an effort to keep both migrants and the citizens of the island safe. On the night of 9th - 10th December Moroccan and Eritrean cultural mediators working with this team managed to calm 50 frightened women and 13 traumatised children who had disembarked from a migrant boat.

May God keep all migrants, and those who rescue and help them, safe this Christmas.

BALTHAZAR'S ROAST

It was putting out the Sicilian crib, with both Sicilian and more traditional figurines, which I was given some years ago that did it: I decided I wanted some eastern flavour in my weekend cooking and this is what I came up with:

Ask your butcher for a 500 gr piece of lonza [pork loin] in butcher's netting.  When you get it home, rub it all over as best you can with a cut clove of garlic, some seasoning and some mixed fresh herbs such as thyme and sage - especially thyme. [An Italian butcher will probably do this for you, using his own mixture - trust him!]  Put it in a dish and marinate it in 2 glasses of white wine and 1 tablsp culinary rosewater in the fridge overnight.

About an hour before you want to serve it, put it in a small, foil-lined roasting pan with the marinade and roast for 45 minutes at 180 C. 

Five minutes or so before the end of this time, put 2 tablesp pomegranate molasses and 200 gr frozen mirtilli [which are not blueberries or cranberries as some dictionaries suggest but whortleberries] in a small pan over a low heat. Stir in a few pomegranate seeds and cook, stirring, until the mixture starts to bubble. Now cook and stir the mixture for a further minute. When the 45 mins for the roast are up, pour the mixture over it and cook at 150 C for a further 5 mins.

Let the roast stand for a few minutes, then cut the net off, slice the roast and serve with the mirtilli and their sauce. Sprinkle a few more pomegranate seeds over the slices if you like.

I suggest serving this with herb-roasted potatoes, which can go in the oven at the same time as the roast.

I have no idea whether Balthazar might have eaten pork, by the way!

XMAS TEA TIME

My friends Roberto and Roberta decided it was time for a good old British-style tea party yesterday, to kick off the festivities in our little circle.  What a spread we enjoyed!

This was Roberta's lovely table:

Of course, there had to be sarnies - with "real" pickle!

There were scrumptious scones as well...

.... and a fruit cake:

The sausage rolls kept beckoning me, as did the mince pies and no one makes brownies like Roberta! Naturally, there were also plenty of cups of "proper" British tea.

Roberta reminded us all to leave room for the trifle, so we did:

Thank you for the festive afternoon, Roberto and Roberta!

SABATO MUSICALE - FOR MADIBA

RED FACES IN POLAND?

From red faces in Napoli earlier this week to red faces in Poland - or at least, there ought to be some!  The publishers of a new Polish guidebook to the island have caused much offence to all decent Sicilians by including the Mafia bosses Bernardo Provenzano and Salvatore [Totò] Riina in a section entitled "Eminent Sicilians", reports La Sicilia.

Whatever were the authors thinking of? How did the editors, employees of a publishing house in the city of Gliwice, let this pass? Right there, on the same page as the entry on the author Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa is a long entry on Provenzano and Riina appears alongside the Modican Nobel laureate Salvatore Quasimodo. Do the compilers really imagine that the island counts these criminals among its greatest citizens?  Furthermore, do they think people want to come here to follow their trail? What about Sicily's creativity, cuisine, history and outstanding beauty? One can only hope that Poles reading this guidebook have the sense to throw it into the nearest bin, where it belongs.

In the next few days there is to be a conference on Sicilian tourism in Taormina and among the delegates will be the Sicilian Region's Councillor for Tourism, Michela Stancheris.  You can bet that this book will be on the agenda!

NEST

RED FACES IN NAPLES

As I reminded Lidl Italia [because I want to know when they are going to get some dried cranberries in] on twitter this morning, it is nearly Christmas and that means it is time for Il Sole 24 Ore to publish their annual Quality of Life in Italy survey.

The figures, which came out on Monday, ranked Italian cities according to six criteria: standard of living, business and work, environmental and health services, population, public order and free time. According to the results, the top ten cities to live in in Italy are:

1.  Trento

2.  Bolzano

3.  Bologna

4.  Belluno

5.  Siena

6.  Ravenna

7.  Florence

8.  Macerata

9.  Aosta

10. Milan

Rome is in 20th position and Turin, surprisingly, in 52nd. These are the Sicilian results, with last year's ranking in brackets:

84.  Ragusa  [81]

88.  Enna  [87]

89.  Siracusa  [88]

91.  Messina  [94]

96.  Agrigento [95]

98.  Trapani  [103]

100. Caltanissetta  [105]

101. Catania  [90]

106. Palermo  [99]

Ragusa at least has the comfort of being top of the Sicilian list! There is little comfort for Naples and its province, coming in last at 107th, and still less for the city's beleaguered Mayor, Luigi de Magistris who, on the same day as the figures were published, was hosting Transport and Infrastructure Minister Maurizio Lupi and other dignitaries at a ceremony to open the new Garibaldi metro station. Just as the party were taking the escalator to the top level of the station, the wretched contraption decided to break down, leaving all to walk up the many stairs and not a few red faces.

Never mind, Napoli - I'm sure Julia still loves you:

MAKING A START

I can't say I'm feeling very festive and, as even stores here do not usually decorate until the 8th December holiday, I have not been in a hurry to get started. However, I've noticed a few shops getting ready earlier this year and now that my neighbour across the way has got her glittering snowmen in her windows, through which I can glimpse her tree sparkling away, I suppose I had better get on with it.

Thoughts turn, too, to Christmas baking and yesterday I decided to give a trial run to Rachel Allen's Raspberry Upside-Down Cake, a recipe which appears in the Christmas edition of Good Housekeeping UK. I used frozen raspberries, as that is the only kind you can get here in any season and, as we cannot get self-raising flour, added two sachets of vanilla-flavoured lievito [raising] powder. I must say that, once I had finished bashing my head on the cupboard shelves trying to find the right pan, this was a very easy cake to make.

OK, I probably overdid the pink icing sugar and the star shape I'd wanted to create in the middle went a bit wonky but the cake sliced up very nicely and my students today thought it was great!

SABATO MUSICALE

Some reflections on time and love from Laura Pausini, who celebrates 20 years in show business this year:

Laura Pausini - Se non te

MESSINAWOOD

Looking across the Strait of Messina

Here, at last, is some news to cheer Sicilians up and boost tourism on the island: The messinese actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta, along with Massimiliano Cavaleri, president of the cultural association Prima Stella, has come up with the idea of creating a "Walk of Stars", inspired by the Hollywood Walk of Fame, along the shores of the Messina Strait.

The idea is to put Messina back on the film map of the world and celebrate its cinematic heyday in the fifties and sixties. At that time, film stars from Italy and beyond would come to the Rassegna Cinematografica Internazionale di Messina and let themselves be seen there as they do now in Hollywood, Cannes and Taormina, where the Festival was relocated in the 1970s. The project, which looks to the future, too, has won support from all quarters of the Messina Council and Port Authority and architects have already been appointed.

It is envisaged that there would be a permanent commission to choose which stars would be honoured and now two star designs are being considered: a traditional star to be inserted into the existing paving or a three-dimensional design with room for some biographical details about the film star it represents.

I have just one tip for you, Messina:  if you don't want a certain politician lobbying for a place on the Walk, keep calling it the "Walk of Stars" and not the "Walk of Fame"!

A TRAVESTY OF LANGUAGE

There are no prizes for guessing the top story in every Italian newspaper and in other media here today - it is, of course, the final and definitive expulsion of Mr Berlusconi from the Senate. "Didn't that happen at the beginning of October?" you may ask and the answer is that it did, sort of, but that was a vote by a Senate committee. The process required another vote by the full Senate in order to be confirmed. What you have to understand about Italian politics is that nothing is straightforward, no one ever resigns and everything is as complicated as possible and designed to take the maximum amount of time. If you can comprehend these three principles, you are on the way to grasping the essence.

Tonight I am not going to repeat a tale which has been well reported all over the world but I do want to focus on some of the language being used here in reaction to it. Prior to the vote yesterday - for he can have had no doubt as to its outcome - the former Premier declared the day to be one of  "mourning for democracy". Following the decision, some Senators changed into black outfits and many of Mr Berlusconi's supporters donned black armbands.

Then words like "tragedy" were heard and among these voices was that of Miss Francesca Pascale, Mr Berlusconi's 28-year-old fiancée.  So upset is she at the spurning of her partner that she has asked to see Pope Francis in order to explain the "tragedy" to him. [The Pontiff's reaction has not, as yet, been reported.] Now, whilst it is disappointing to lose one's job at any age, no matter whose fault it is, Silvio Berlusconi is hardly your average pensioner trying to make a few extra pence to pay his winter fuel bills. He is one of the world's richest men, is well past the age of retirement and remains leader of his Forza Italia party. Even allowing for Italian exaggeration, what befell him yesterday cannot be described as a tragedy.

Miss Pascale has not, to my knowledge, expressed indignation or sorrow at events such as the 3rd October migration tragedy in the Mediterranean or last week's disaster in Sardinia and one wonders whether these people have lived unusually charmed lives. As for mourning, Silvio, I'll save that for deep personal loss.

A PROBLEM FOR THE AIRPORT

Oh, dear - just when it was all going so well for Fontanarossa [Catania] Airport, along comes the EU and cuts off its funding for the next ten years. The airport, the sixth in importance in Italy and among the top ten in the country for traffic, no longer appears in the Core Ten-T and Connecting Europe Facility upper band, having been downgraded because of poor transport links - especially by rail -  with the centre of Catania and the port. It is a ruling which will affect not only Fontanarossa, but the whole Catania area, including the port, the Circumetnea rail service and even the new airport at Comiso [Ragusa]. This means that the area will not feature in the new trans-European network corridors planned by the EU for the future and is a cruel blow for the Sicilian tourist industry.

Governor of Sicily Rosario Crocetta and Mayor of Catania Enzo Bianco have met today to decide upon a strategy and will soon be announcing an initiative, in conjunction with other partners, to support the airport. In some quarters this is being regarded as too little too late and there has been much criticism of local institutions for not putting more pressure on the EU.

The continued development and efficient functioning of Fontanarossa is essential, not only to the economy of this part of Sicily but to the island as a whole. Let us hope.

ARCOBALENO

Friday morning was grey and drab, just like my mood. I was walking along, thinking of Tennyson's line,

"On the bald street breaks the blank day",

when I happened to glance up.  And there, above Modica, was one of the most beautiful rainbows I had ever seen. [The photo does not do it justice.]  It was only there for a moment but it really lifted my spirits and my thoughts turned [not for the first time in Modica] to some lines by Colette, which she attributed to her mother, Sido:

"Regarde la couleur du ciel au couchant, qui annonce grand vent et tempête. Qu'inporte le grand vent de demain pourvu que nous admirions cette fournaise d'aujourd'hui? Regarde la première pousse du haricot, le cotylédon qui lève sur sa tête un petit chapeau de terre sèche..... Regarde, vite, le bouton de l'iris noir est en train de s'épanouir! Si tu ne te dépêches pas, il ira plus vite que toi!"

"Look at the colour of the sky at sunset, warning us of strong winds and a storm. What do the strong winds of tomorrow matter as long as we can admire today's burning fire? Look at the first shoots of the bean, the seed leaf popping up with a little hat of dry earth on its head......  Quick - look! The bud of the black iris is opening.  If you don't hurry it will go faster than you!' " 

Actually, Sido probably didn't say it but what matters is that the words were written.

Afterwards, I suddenly I found myself humming this song:

Annette Hanshaw - If You Want the Rainbow

SABATO MUSICALE

Easy to understand why this is top of the Italian charts!

Mika e Chiara - Stardust

A NORMAL FRIDAY

The 22nd November 1963 was a normal, grey, drizzly Friday in Bristol, UK.  Aged 13, I went to school as usual, came home just after 4 pm and couldn't get out of my uniform quickly enough. It says something for the significance the day would eventually have that I can remember the clothes I changed into - a burgundy corduroy skirt and pale blue jumper which probably didn't go. After "tea", as we called it then, I settled down to watch my favourite medical soap opera, Emergency - Ward 10, with Desmond Carrington as the handsome young doctor, Chris Anderson.

There had been a lot of talk of war in the preceding months, for the world had held its breath during the Cuban Missile Crisis of only a year before and my parents still talked about World War II. I don't think that people of their generation ever realised how much they scared their children by doing so and maybe it's because of this, and not only the songs of Bob Dylan, that we became the generation of "peace and love". When the programme was interrupted and a picture of President Kennedy was shown on the screen, my immediate thought was that war had been declared and I was terrified. Then came the announcement - the President had been shot in Dallas.

We didn't have live news pictures in Britain at the time and the announcer said that the programme would continue and further news would be brought to us as ITV received it. A few minutes later, the programme was interrupted again and we were told the devastating news that the President had died. Then the announcer said that, in view of the gravity of the news, solemn music would be played for the rest of the evening. There were still no pictures.

We all glanced at each other in shock - my mum, dad, grandpa and me. My great aunt Mabel, who also lived with us, was out at a church meeting and when she came in, my dad gently told her the news. Great aunt Mabel was a widely-read, self-educated woman and I remember she buried her face in her hands, immediately grasping what this meant for the world.

For my generation of Brits President Kennedy represented all that was new and all that we loved about America:  he was handsome, he was a war hero, we could understand his speeches and he was the first young politician we had ever seen. Every girl in my class wanted a "Jackie" fringe and how we loved her pillbox hats and style!  The thought of her screaming, "Oh, no, no!" in the car was too much for us to bear. Of course, none of us knew then that the marriage was far from perfect but I don't think it would have diminished our hero-worship if we had.

Jacqueline Kennedy, much maligned later for the Onassis interlude, was a product of her time and class and admitted as much after Onassis's death:

"I have always lived through men and now I realise that I can't do that any more."

I am glad that she found love, reliability and true companionship in a man towards the end of her life and I am certainly not going to judge a woman who, on that fateful day half a century ago, cradled her murdered husband's head in her arms as their motorcade sped through Dallas to the hospital.

I believe, to this day, that it was hope that was cut down in Dallas on 22nd November 1963 and I don't think it re-emerged until the end of the decade, in the protests and demonstrations that young people held all over the world. Now, 50 years later, in Sicily, Italy, I find myself dealing every day with young people who feel they have no hope and they have no Kennedy figure to inspire it.

It is impossible to know in what ways the history of the world might have been different had President Kennedy survived but I would venture this opinion:  Had he lived, faculties intact, into his nineties, he would have been appalled to see young people in such despair in a crisis brought about largely by people in a position to have known better. He would have known little of the situation in far-away Italy but he would have realised that this was a world-wide failure involving far more than money and he would have spoken out.

Everyone has their favourite Kennedy quote and mine is one of the less famous but I believe it is appropriate for our time and, indeed, for Italy.  It is this:

“If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.”

John Fitzgerald Kennedy:  Address at The American University, Washington D.C.,  

10th June 1963

WARM RICE SALAD

The other evening I decided I just had to have a warm rice salad to go with my butcher's excellent spiedini [kebabs]. The shops being closed, I had to use what was in the store cupboard and [newly working] freezer, so here's what I did:

Cook 500 gr long-grain rice - in Italy we can get special salad rice - in salted water for the time indicated on the pack. If this time is no longer than 10 minutes, chuck 200 gr frozen peas right in there with the rice. If the time indicated is longer - and please note it's the time from when the water comes to the boil - throw the peas in for the last ten mins.

While the rice and peas are cooking, chop a large red onion and a couple of peppers from a jar of grilled peppers in oil. Halve some datterini or cherry tomatoes and tear up a handful of basil leaves.

When the rice and peas are done, strain them and transfer to a serving dish. Mix in the other vegetables and basil and season well. Stir in 1 tablesp olive oil and serve.

Serves 4 generously. 

Buon appetito.

THE HEROINE OF SANT'ANTONIO

Today some people in Sardinia have been able to return to their devastated homes as the clear-up operation continues. There are conflicting reports about the number of dead - some newspapers say 18, others 16 - and at least one person is still missing.

From the Sant'Antonio district of the badly hit town of Olbia comes a tale of bravery and friendship, among many others which will emerge in the coming days, I am sure: A young German hairdresser called Martina Feick, who has been living in Sardinia for seven years, did not hesitate, when what has been described as "the water bomb" arrived, to swim across her street in order to rescue an elderly lady who lived opposite her with her dog.  Having rescued both the lady and her beloved canine companion, who had been at risk of being drowned in their home, Martina took them into her own house, where the three spent Monday night together.

To the people of Sant'Antonio, Martina is a heroine and I am happy to be able to bring you this story of hands literally reaching out across cultures in a time of great danger.

Update, 22.11.13:  The final death toll is 16 but one person is still missing.

SARDINIA

Official flag of Sardinia

This has turned out to be an unkind autumn meterologically in several parts of the world and last night, as many of you will have seen in news reports in your own countries, the island of Sardinia was hit by a major cyclone, Ciclone Cleopatra.

The worst-affected area is the town of Olbia and the whole Gallura region is, according to Corriere della Sera, on its knees. The death toll at the moment is 18, including four children and the latest estimate is that 2,737 people have been made homeless.  

Tragically, a policeman escorting an ambulance was among the victims as the bridge which his vehicle was crossing collapsed in Dorgali [Nuoro]. Three of his colleagues were also injured and there is as yet no word on their condition.

Prime Minister Letta, who is on his way to Sardinia as I write, has declared a state of emergency and referred to the event as a national tragedy. His government has allocated €27 million for emergency relief and the miltary have already been deployed in the rescue and clearing up operation. 

Italy's Environment Minister, Andrea Orlando, has said that 17.3" of rain fell on the island last night - a figure equivalent to half the average rainfall there for a whole year. This has put an unbearable strain on Sardinia's water system. President of the Camera dei deputati Laura Boldrini has said that the tragedy has once again brought environmental issues to the fore and has called for more environmental protection measures.

As always in such circumstances, Italy has rallied to help those in need: Hotels in Olbia are receiving the displaced and a medical emergency room has been set up in a pharmacy as the local hospital is still difficult to reach. Following reports of the disaster late last night, I was impressed by the speed with which social media were being used to inform people about where they could go for help and to offer accommodation to those who have been evacuated.

President Napolitano has expressed his solidarity with and sympathy for the Sardinian people and Pope Francis, on twitter, has asked people to pray for the victims, especially the children.

CHEERY BREKKY

- Brought to me by a friend today.

SABATO MUSICALE

Here's a nice one to sing along to, especially if you're feeling a bit so-so, like me!

Riccardo Cocciante - Celeste Nostalgia

"O, MACHINE!"

"O, Machine!" exclaims Vashti in E.M. Forster's short story The Machine Stops and I must admit, that is how I felt when my repaired fridge was delivered back to me the other day. 

I am old enough to remember a time when the domestic fridge was deemed an innovation but I don't really remember how my mother kept food cool before we had our first one. We did have a pantry and that helped and as, until I was nine, we had a sweet shop, my Dad used to plonk scoops of ice cream from the shop freezer into glasses of lemonade in summer - much as Sicilian bar-keepers will offer you a scoop of granita in your cold tea on the hottest days.

As far back as the Greek era, Etna snow was being used to cool wine and that must have been lovely provided you had servants to go and fetch it for you. Rich Victorians had daily deliveries of ice but how did the less fortunate manage? It is important to remember that food shopping for more than one's daily needs is a fairly recent development and there are still countries today where not even staples are stored in the home. Those who dwelled in the countryside often grew vegetables and raised their own livestock but, in places like Sicily, meat was considered a luxury. When it was used, it was often washed in milk and boiled several times.  

The stone houses which many Sicilians lived in were cool and then there were the myriad means of preserving food, above all, in olive oil but also by salting [the technique of salting fish was brought here by the Arabs] spicing and using sugar [also brought by the Arabs] in sweet preserves. Some food was kept in cellars or even nearby caves and there were also ceramic water coolers. Those lucky enough to live near a lake or river sometimes kept food in it in well-sealed containers, too.

All of this sounds quite exhausting so I'm off to coo, "O, Machine!" to my dear old fridge once again before bed.

I

TAKING THE PISS?

Image: WP Clipart

Italians love their cars and Modicans, I would say, more than most: every one of them will tell you, "We have a transport system that doesn't work" but this doesn't seem to matter because, as a student told me some years ago, "Only old people use it." "Thanks very much", said I.

So frustrated am I by the infrequency of Modica's buses that, whenever I go to Catania, I am like a child let loose in some Christmas wonderland at the sight of buses that actually appear to be going somewhere and bus stops placed in locations where people might want to alight.

Using your car for every journey is all very well but, in these days of the crisi - which is showing few signs of abating in Italy - it is, more than ever, costly. Help, however, may be on hand from our neighbours in Sardinia, where on Tuesday entrepreneur Franco Lisci unveiled a plan to use urine as petrol. This is not a new idea but it is new to Italy and Mr Lisci was very happy to demonstrate the use of a filter made of 100% Sardinian wool to isolate impurities. 

By all accounts the plan could work and help not only the Italian environment but the health and purses of the country's citizens as the use of urine as fuel for cars and for the running of domestic appliances would not only be cheaper but would reduce CO2 emissions.

Two questions come to mind:  firstly I would like to know how long it will take the Italian government to think up a way of taxing the stuff - not long, I suspect - and I have visions of everyone walking about with those pretty revenue stamps of which Italian officials are so fond attached to their private parts. Secondly, from whom is the quantity of urine required to be procured? I do have a suggestion:  Get it from the politicians, Italy.