FERRAGOSTO AND THE FRIDGE THAT HATED ANGURIA

As long-term readers will know, Ferragosto (Assumption Day on 15th August and the two-week period surrounding it) is not my favourite time of year: When you are on your own, those daily encounters with the staff at your local bar, with shopkeepers or just with passers-by that you normally see, are very important and I miss them. Then there is the relentless heat, which, of course, is getting worse; for me, as for many others, it is less the intensity of the heatwave than its duration that is exhausting and the nights have brought little relief. However, the heatwave broke at the weekend - it usually does around Ferragosto - and then in Modica we found ourselves assailed by a very noisy and nasty hailstorm and even a tornado! I did not see the tornado, although it was in my area, so I first learned of it through online images: nobody was hurt, thank goodness, but some trees and road signs were down, roofs were damaged and there was certainly damage to crops. People were, as you can imagine, very frightened and the Mayor of Modica gave up her time to go and speak to them. I am sure this was appreciated.

I have my own little Ferragosto traditions, as I have for other festivals, so at home I again comforted myself with my granita all'anguria (watermelon granita) and every time I make it I think of the fridge I had that hated watermelon: This was the fridge-freezer I had brought with me from Britain in 2005 - I had only had it for a year so deemed it worth transporting - and it served me mostly well. The only problem was that it hated watermelon - it really did! At first I thought it was the weight of even a watermelon of modest size that was upsetting it but no, even when I bought ready-sliced anguria in small quantities the fridge temperature (which was displayed on the outside of the appliance) would shoot up in seconds. I swear that fridge could see, smell or otherwise sense anguria as I came through the kitchen door, even though this was long before the advent of smart fridges! 

The last straw for me with that fridge (after ten years or so of its histrionics) came on the eve of one Ferragosto when I caught my foot in the door and the nail of my big toe got detached from the nailbed. Talk about agony! I know I should have gone immediately to the Emergency Department at the hospital but I just coudn't face it and, probably consequently, my toenail has never grown back properly. Now my fridge not only had a tantrum whenever I bought anguria but it had kicked me, so it had to go. I am glad to say that the two fridges I have had since then have shown no signs of rebellion against the lovely, refreshing red fruit.

All things considered, I have had a pleasant Ferragosto at home with my dog, my books and - dare I say it? - anguria and I have not been kicked by a fridge!