SUMMER'S LEASE

And summer's lease hath all too long a date, as the bard did not say and as I think everyone would agree here. As most of you will have seen or read, we have been sweltering in extremely high temperatures, even for Sicily (39°C as I write and that is considerably cooler than last week) for almost three months now and even in the evenings, there has been little respite.

There have also been wildfires, as elsewhere in Europe, but in July a fire seemed to have been started deliberately in the hills around Modica. These hills slope down to the backs of very beautiful old houses in the Old Town and towards other inhabited areas and obviously the situation was very frightening for people living nearby. My area was not affected but you could see and smell the smoke. Thank goodness for the skills of so many groups and organisations, among them the Corpo Forestale della Regione Siciliana, the Corpo Nazionale Vigili di Fuoco, the Gruppo Comunale Protezione Civile Modica and Canadair.  As far as I know, one person was arrested on suspicion of arson but was later released.

As if all that were not enough, Etna has certainly been making her anger felt recently and last week there was ash everywhere on my balcony and around the entrance to my building. She has calmed down a bit now, I am pleased to say.

However, there are some compensations:

Enjoy the rest of the summer, everyone!