TWO FLAGS

Two lovely flags flew from my balcony today, for the occasion of the Italy - Wales match in the Euros 2021 in Rome.  

I love both countries but should confess that I don't love or understand football. However, sometimes you need to go with the flow and even I could see it was a good match. 

For me the anthems were the best bit and I must say the Italian commentator made a valiant attempt at pronouncing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.

Well done, Italy and onward, Wales!

BREXIT - THE PLIGHT OF EXPATS

"Come home, then", was a comment I received on twitter a few nights ago in response to a point I had made about the situation of expats in the era of Brexit and it has to be said that, although curt, this comment was nothing like as rude as others that we "remainers" have been subject to in recent months. When, I keep asking myself, did my tolerant and open country become intolerant and closed?  It is a heartbreaking change to watch.

"Come home":  I'm afraid that for many expats, including me, the situation is not as simple as that. It is a myth that we are all slugging gin on sun loungers in sunny British enclaves and it is equally a myth that we are all rich. It would not be financially possible for most of us to come home and I am not the only one who would have nowhere to go in my native country.

Therefore, when we raise concerns about the future of our pensions or access to healthcare in the countries where we now live, they are real concerns, for a freezing of our pensions would spell poverty in old age for thousands of us and the threat of cutting off our right to healthcare, at the time in our lives when we are likely to need it most, fills us with fear.

Now, before I am shot down by those who think that, having decided to no longer live in the "green and pleasant land",  I deserve everything that is, or more likely is not, coming to me, and before I am told that, for the same reason, I have no right to any British pension at all , I would like to point out the following: I believe I served Britain tolerably well in my role as a teacher and then as a lecturer. The schools I taught in were far from "élitist" and I worked hard for my pension. With regard to healthcare, the agreement in place at the time I moved to Italy was one of entitlement because there is a reciprocal agreement in place for Italians living and working in Britain. I have never sponged off either system in my life. When you move to another country, you do so under a certain set of circumstances and you do not expect retrospective legislation to pull the rug out from under your British feet.

Incidentally, if the value of people's pensions had been cut by up to 25% in the UK , there would be uproar, yet this is exactly what has already happened to expats since the Brexit referendum and we are all afraid to say so publicly because we will be branded "selfish, élitist remoaners." Well, it is about time someone said it and I do so here.

Another fear we have is that, even if a "right to stay" agreement is reached, it may be dependent upon some sort of property qualification. No, I am not restoring a castle or tending my vineyard - like many other expats, I pay my way but I do not own property in either country.  We do not figure in  the British Prime Minister's narrow vision of the "jams" [families who are "just about managing"] but that is often the reality for expats.  [Oh, and I'm not out here with family, either - I am truly dispossessed!]

Why, some of you may wonder, would anyone want to leave Britain in the first place?  My answer is because I am a modern languages graduate and I fell in love with Italy at an early age. Loving another country does not mean that you love your own any the less; in fact you can come to love it more, because you see it with new eyes from abroad. Moreover, having had the chance to teach in Italy, I believe I have contributed in my small way to the spreading of British culture here.

When the British State educated me and trained me as a teacher, it did not do so in order that I might live exclusively in one country or the other;  it did so in order that I would have a choice.  That's what education does. I was given the ability to make a choice and I made it, believing, like others, that I was protected in it by treaty. That our native land now wants to rip that treaty up is hardly our fault and we are appalled by our formerly gentle nation's abandonment of its own citizens in the EU.  This is not the Britain that I recognise and it is not the free and fair Britain that I have told so many Italian students about.

I am hurt, as I am sure other expats are hurt, by the name-calling we have had to endure: I am not a "remoaner"; I am merely someone who wishes to embrace more than one culture and my languages have enabled me to do that fully.  Where was I on the day that such a wish became a crime in Britain?

The general view in Britain seems to be that a million or so expats are just a few snail-eaters who do not matter and I have no information on how many of us still have voting rights there. But elections and referendums, as we have seen, can turn on very few votes.  Perhaps one day soon the British government will wake up to the fact that we matter. I hope it does not do so too late.

DOMENICA MUSICALE - DIVIDED LOYALTIES

This afternoon Italy plays Wales in the Six Nations Rugby Tournament, so the only song I can play is, once again, this:

Max Boyce - The Glory That Was Rome

I, needless to say, have divided loyalties:

SCHOOLS NEED A HISTORY LESSON

I am more often than not ashamed of my own country these days and am particularly so today regarding a gaffe involving my beloved Italy:

Online enrolment forms for certain schools in England and - I am sorry to say - Wales, ask parents to indicate their child's nationality. For Italians, however, there is not one code but four and they read as follows:

ITA     Italian

ITAA   Italian [Any Other]

ITAN   Italian [Napoletan]

ITAS   Italian [Sicilian]

Is this stigmatising the South or is it just ignorance?

The Italian Ambassador to the UK, Pasquale Terracciano, protested yesterday, pointing out that Italy has been unified since 1861 and today the Foreign Office has formally apologised to Italy, promising that the forms will be amended.

Whoever compiled the form seems not to know the English word denoting a person from Naples, either.

I would be interested to know what kind of schools were involved and if I find out, I will update this post.

Update: 13.10.16

It seems that these were state schools and that the forms were compiled by the British government. A government spokesperson has said that there was "an historic administrative error" in the language codes used. Are we to believe, then, that in the 21st century, the UK government is using pre-1861 language codes for an online form?

The first complaint is reported to have come from the city of Bradford.

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:

SABATO MUSICALE

A series I've enjoyed recently on Italian TV is Questo Nostro Amore.  Set in 1967, the story takes place in an Italy that is very different from today's, or even the Italy I first visited two years later.  Divorce had not yet been legalised and Vittorio and Anna, who are very much in love,  have three children but cannot marry as Vittorio is already married, to Francesca.  As the first episode begins the family are thrown out of their flat because the parents are not married and this is not the first time it has happened.  The family move to another town and acquire Sicilian neighbours. But Francesca is about to reappear....

Here is the trailer with the theme song sung by Rita Pavone:

Questo nostro amore [Rai] - Trailer

THE BATTLE OF THE DAVES

We're back with the Italian media tonight as I had to laugh at today's headlines in the foreign news sections of most of the newspapers here:  Reporting British Prime Minister David Cameron's shaming, and now famous, responses to British history questions posed to him by David Letterman last night, ANSA, La Repubblica and Il Messaggero all have "Cameron bocciato in storia" ["Cameron failed in history"] while Corriere della Sera contents itself with calling poor Dave an ignorante.

I must admit I didn't know who composed Rule Britannia either but I did know it wasn't Elgar and there were other questions that few of Mr Cameron's compatriots could have answered correctly.  That, however, does not make it all right and I groaned when Mr Cameron, displaying a typically British disregard for the existence of languages other than English together with a shocking lack of awareness of basic etymology, was unable to tell his host the meaning of Magna Carta. I can only exclaim, as an Italian might, "Vergogna!" ["Shame!"]

So now we all know what an Eton education does for you .....

A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES

It was nice to see that Mr Monti's staff had their priorities right as a cheer for Italy's goal in the Euro Championships yesterday interrupted the Premier's news conference with French President François Hollande in Rome. The genial Monsieur Hollande, who this week found himself in the middle of a spectacular cat fight, looked as if he longed to be enjoying simple boys' stuff at a football match!

At around the same time, I was on my way to call at a certain office with a friend.  Suddenly there was a screech of brakes as my friend  turned his car round in the middle of a main road, then started for home at a terrific speed, saying, "They won't be open - the match is on."

MUCH ADO ABOUT SOMEONE

There has been much ado - and understandably so - in the Sicilian media about the presence on the island this week of the Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson.  Miss Thompson has been here to film scenes for the forthcoming BBC documentary Shakespeare in Italy and visited Messina, Castellammare del Golfo and Palermo, where she graced the Antico Caffè Spinnato, much to the delight of the staff and their early-morning customers.

The documentary, presented by the historian and broadcaster Francesco da Mosto, will focus on the Italian locations and strong theatrical traditions which inspired the bard as well as pointing out the ways in which Shakespeare has influenced and continues to influence Italy.  According to a BBC press release, there might have been another, secret reason why Shakespeare was so fond of Italian settings and to find out more we'll just have to wait for the screenings.

According to the Palermo edition of La Repubblica, Miss Thompson, when asked what she thought about the theory that Shakespeare was not only Italian but Sicilian, replied that she did not think it mattered.  She believes he came from a mixed background and that the coming together of different cultures can save humanity.  She also said that the British and the Sicilians share a sense of irony and an awareness of the closeness of tragedy and comedy.

The "Shakespeare was Sicilian" theory has been around for some time and Professor Martino Iuvara from Ispica wrote a book about it, Shakespeare era italiano, in 2002.  In this volume he claims that Shakespeare was born Michelangelo Florio Crollalanza [or Scrollalanza] in Messina and that his family later fled to London to escape religious persecution.  "Crolla" can be translated as "shake" [verb] and "lanza" is almost "lancia", which can mean "spear", a theory with which the author Andrea Camilleri [of Montalbano fame] and his friend the director Giuseppe Dipasquale had much fun when they turned it into a play in 2010.

What do I believe? For what it's worth I believe that William Shakespeare was indeed from Stratford-upon-Avon, England but, like Miss Thompson, I do not think that it matters.

"IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD THE TIP..." - A "LET'S BLOG OFF" POST

Every two weeks, the blogosphere comes alive with something called a Blog Off. A Blog Off is an event where bloggers of every stripe weigh in on the same topic on the same day. The topic for this round of the Blog Off is "If you can't afford the tip, you can't afford the meal."

The excellent Vecchia Aidone restaurant
in  Enna, Sicily

Back in Britain I had a friend who refused to tip.  This used to irritate and embarrass me no end whenever we were out together but over the past few years I have softened a little towards her stance.

In the UK, unlike in the US, tipping is not obligatory.  You may get some surly looks in certain restaurants if you don't tip but the only person likely to yell at you for your omission is a London cabbie.

Whilst I used to round up taxi fares to the nearest pound in Britain and tip in restaurants provided the service had been good, I rarely tipped my hairdresser because the tip, added to the already high cost of his attention, would have rendered my visit to him prohibitively expensive. It is also a British convention not to tip the owner of a salon.

Not so long ago in Britain the postman, newspaper delivery boy or girl, refuse collectors and the milkman all expected tips at Christmas and these were usually given ungrudgingly by householders. I am even old enough to remember when we had coalmen and the coalman, too, got his tip.  But then there came an era when all these good folk started knocking on doors to ask for their "Christmas box" and I'm not sure that people gave it quite so willingly from then on.  Having been away from Britain for nearly seven years I am uncertain about the extent to which this custom continues, but it is rarer these days because there is more rotation among workers and local populations change faster than they used to.

Here in Italy, too, tipping is a matter of choice:  it is appreciated but not expected as a right in bars and restaurants and I even know of waiters and barmen who will hand back a proffered tip to a customer.  Why? Because taking the trouble to present even the simplest order elegantly and providing good service with a smile are regarded as routine duties and not as frills for which the customer has to pay a hidden "extra".  There are, however, a few public conveniences [restrooms] in tourist spots which the unfortunate traveller will find hard to exit without leaving the "optional" tip!

My friend in Britain felt that the tipping habit was resonant of the aristocrat distributing largesse and that its continuance actually stopped workers from fighting for better remuneration.  I have some sympathy with this view and regard tipping as being on a par with the boss who always buys his secretary a frivolous Christmas present rather than paying her the proper rate for her work.

To sum up, in a tipping culture I want a choice in the matter of whether I tip or not but I would really like to see the custom abolished. It is a social minefield and a throwback to the class system.  Pay everyone a decent wage instead!

Below is the full list of bloggers who are participating in this week's Blog Off:

SABATO MUSICALE

Tonight I just have to show you the 2011 Averna TV advertisement as the singer is none other than the girl from Tiger Bay herself, Shirley Bassey:

In case the embedding facility gets taken off for this video, here is the link.

No one belts them out like Shirl!

Dame Shirley Bassey - Get the Party Started

A TALE OF TWO CULTURES

Corso Umberto, Modica Bassa, by night

Depressing though it is, I feel duty-bound to take time out from the Sicilian summer in order to comment on what has been happening this week in my own country and, in so doing, to make a comparison or two:

As I watched the horrific scenes in London and other UK cities I, like many others, wondered whether the parents of those involved knew or cared what their children were doing but I was even more shocked when the media broadcast police messages entreating those parents to check where their offspring were:  in what kind of country do parents have to be TOLD, late at night, to find out where their children are?

"In a country where the family structure has broken down, where the left / right / centre political parties have ruined education, where there is too much emphasis on material possessions, where there is lack of opportunity and where there is nothing for kids to do":  all these and more have been suggested as answers and there is probably some truth in all of them.  

But then I consider the situation of young people in Sicily and I realise that these responses are too glib and too easy:  it is true that the family structure is strong here but people are generally poorer and young people study for years with little or no hope of finding work, unless they know someone in an influential position or are able to inherit - yes, inherit - a public job.  Yet they seem content to go on studying and education is valued for its own sake.  Nothing to do?  In preparing teenagers for English oral exams, I often ask them what they do on Saturday evenings and the answer is invariably, "I go to the Corso [Modica's main street] and I walk up and down with my friends."  And that is exactly what they do, contentedly, Saturday night after Saturday night and when they have finished walking, they go home.  They do not set fire to buildings, go on the rampage and terrorise the rest of the town's population.  They do not blame others for their situation - though they would be justified in showing anger towards certain politicians - but continue to study in the hope that one day their qualifications will get them somewhere and that they themselves may eventually be instrumental in bringing about peaceful change in their country.  In other words, they are culturally and politically aware.

Last night I listened to a Sky News debate in which one panel member said that the rioting young people were angry because their elders were concerned only about what had happened to property and not about several recent murders in London which had gone unreported and, he implied, largely uninvestigated.  There could, again, be an element of truth in this and I found myself beginning to nod before I thought, "Just a minute - these kids live in a democracy.  There are peaceful means of demonstrating anger available to them and more opportunity to put their case to millions of people, via new technology, than there has ever been before."  Part of the tragedy is that they seem unaware of these peaceful methods of drawing attention to their cause.

I do not want to be drawn into the education system side of the issue:  as a former UK high school teacher, I have seen my profession become a political pawn and successive governments have all been as bad as each other in this respect.  I will say, though, that I fear for a system and a culture that fail to value the arts in general and I despair at the ugly and violent results of this policy.

Events in Britain this week are not representative of British culture, nor are they manifestations of a sub-culture or even a "yob culture";  they are, instead, an indication of what can happen where there is no culture.

THREE CHEERS FOR INTEGRITY

Italian politicians, often deservedly, receive a bad press but today several other world leaders could do worse than follow the example of President Giorgio Napolitano who, besides having cut back on expenditure at the Quirinale and being thus in a position to pay €15 million back into the Italian Treasury, has also declined, from now until the end of his term,  the automatic index-linked rise in salary to which he is entitled.

The President would normally be on holiday on Stromboli at this time of year but has postponed his departure until at least Tuesday in order to be able to monitor the turbulent domestic and international political situation from Rome.

Let's hear it for the President! 

SICILY TOP DESTINATION FOR ITALIANS

The recession has hit Italy hard and, according to a survey carried out for Fedalberghi, only 55% of the country's citizens will be going on holiday this year.  Of these, 13% will be visiting Sicily, 10.2% will be making their way to Sardinia, 9.7% to Calabria and 9.5% to Puglia. The  Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany are fifth, sixth and seventh on the list respectively. It seems that 70% of Italians prefer seaside holidays and most of them like to take these in the South.

Just 21% of Italians will be travelling abroad for holidays in 2011 and most said that they will be taking a shorter break away from home than usual.

Italy was the third or fifth most visited country in Europe in 2010, depending on which set of statistics you believe, but there is no doubt that the top European country for tourism remains France.

THAT'S AMORE

myspace layouts

We all want to be loved and politicians, judging by the recent pronouncements of even the most warlike of the breed, are no exception.  Now it has been revealed that the best loved regional Governor in Italy is the Valle d'Aosta's Augusto Rollandin of the independent Union Valdôtaine Party.   Leghista politician and former Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia, Governor of Veneto, is the country's second most loved Governor, Enrico Rossi of Tuscany and the PD was third and Sicily's Raffaele Lombardo of the MPA came in fifth. 

Valle d'Aosta Coat of Arms
Image:  Wikipedia

Of course, there are those who say that, as Governor of Italy's smallest and least populous region, signor Rollandin has less people to please than his colleagues but let us not be churlish, reader.

LOVE LETTER TO A COUNTRY - LETTERA D'AMORE A UN PAESE

My dearest Italy,

As I write this letter, there is no doubt that you have some troubles:  you celebrate the 150^th anniversary of your unification at a time when the very principle of that unification is in question,  you have a refugee crisis on your southern shores, the European economic recession has hit you hard, your ancient monuments are crumbling and in recent months you have been making world headlines for all the wrong reasons.

It occurs to me, therefore, that perhaps you do not realise how much you are loved; that there is an Italian dream just as there is an American one and that those of us who are lucky enough to live it, even for a short while, hold you in our hearts forever.

Your beauty is legendary, your food arguably the best in the world and as a cradle of civilisation you have no equal.  Those who criticise you for allowing some of your historic buildings to collapse cannot possibly visualise how many there are and, if you were to pump even greater sums of money into their upkeep, that would in all probability be judged harshly too, for sometimes it seems that you just cannot win.

You have a bureaucratic tradition which would frustrate a saint, public institutions which are famously inefficient and you make the best of laws for the best of reasons, forget to repeal the old ones and then wonder why the system does not work.  Yet you have remained a democracy since the end of World War 11 and have a  Constitution which bravely outlaws the excesses of that war and which should be regarded as a shining example by all who value freedom.  And you are loved.

You have given the world pizza, perspective, the  Fiat 500 and the Bialetti man.  I have yet to meet someone who does not wish that they spoke your language or someone who has spent time with Italians and does not wish that they could emulate their life style and priorities.

My lovely land, your great, collective heart and the kindness of your people have saved so many of us, so many times. So celebrate this great day with pride and go on teaching the world how to live.

I have loved you for such a long time and today I want to thank you for loving me back.

Mia cara Italia,

Mentre scrivo, è chiaro che sei nei guai:  festeggi l'150° anniversario della tua Unità in un periodo in cui il principio della stessa Unità è in questione, c'è una crisi di migrazione sulla tua sponda meridionale, la recessione economica dell'Europa ti ha colpito in modo particolarmente duro, i tuoi monumenti antichi crollano e recentemente hai alimentato la cronaca del mondo per motivi sbagliati.

Dunque mi pare che forse tu non sappia quanto sei amato; che esiste un sogno italiano tale quale quello americano e che le persone che hanno la fortuna di viverlo, anche per un breve periodo, ti tengono per sempre nel cuore.

La tua bellezza è leggendaria, la tua cucina è possibilmente la migliore del mondo e come culla della civiltà sei senza paragone.  Chi  ti critica per aver consentito al crollo di alcuni dei tuoi edifici storici non è in grado di immaginare quanti ne hai e se tu spendessi un sacco di soldi in più per mantenerli, anche questo sarebbe duramente criticato, perché a volte sembra che tu non possa mai vincere.

Hai una tradizione burocratica che potrebbe dare fastidio a un santo, hai delle istituzioni pubbliche celebri per le loro inefficienza e tu formuli le migliori leggi per motivi buoni, dimenticando di abrogare quelle vecchie e cosi chiedendoti perché il sistema non funziona.  Nonostante questo, sei una democrazia dalla fine della seconda guerra mondiale e hai una Costituzione che, coraggiosamente, condanna gli eccessi di quella guerra e che merita essere considerata un ottimo esempio per tutti gli amanti della libertà.  E sei amata.

Hai regolato al mondo la pizza, il disegno in prospettiva, la Fiat 500 e l'omino coi baffi della Bialetti. Non ho mai conosciuto qualcuno che non voglia imparare la tua lingua o qualcuno che, avendo trascorso del tempo con gli Italiani, non voglia imitare il loro stile di vita e le loro priorità.

Paese bellissima, il tuo grande cuore e la gentilezza della tua gente ci hanno salvato tante volte.  Allora, festeggia questo grande giorno e continua ad insegnare al mondo come vivere.

Io ti amo da tanto tempo e oggi vorrei ringraziarti di avermi amato reciprocamente.

MIGRATION UPDATE - AND A CONTROVERSIAL VISITOR

As the world's headlines focus on the tragic events in Japan, another tragedy continues to unfold not so far from here:   yesterday the island of Lampedusa saw its most difficult day yet in the current migration crisis,  with 800 North African migrants arriving during the day and  22 - 24 boats carrying migrants arriving during the course of Monday night.  The Cie [Identification and Expulsion Centre] on the island is operating at well over its official capacity.

Also on Monday a boat carrying 40 migrants and heading for Sicily from the Tunisian port of Zarzis capsized shortly after leaving the port.  Only five people have been rescued.

In addition, a ship carrying 1,836 migrants, most of whom were Moroccan but some  of whom were from other North African countries, left Tripoli on Sunday afternoon intending, according to its captain, to sail for Morocco where it would repatriate its human cargo.  The captain asked for permission to dock at the Sicilian port of Augusta in order to refuel but  the Italian government, fearing that the ship and its passengers would  remain in Sicily, refused it permission to enter Italian waters although ministers considered helping it to refuel at sea.

Into all this on Monday walked French politician Marine Le Pen, daughter of Jean-Marie and, since January,  leader of her country's extreme right Front National.  Mme Le Pen was accompanied by Lega Nord politician Mario Borghezio and  an attendant media circus.  The two had to be smuggled out of Lampedusa Airport via a concealed exit and their presence on the island at this sensitive time did not make the job of the Italian authorities, already working at full stretch around the clock, any easier.

Mme Le Pen had ostensibly come to assess the situation at the Cie  - although for security reasons she did not speak to any of the migrants there -  and made the hardly helpful suggestion that Italy, instead of allowing the migrants to land, should take food and water to them at sea.  Oh yes, and what are the poor souls supposed to do then, chère madame? Float around on the high seas forever?

Anyone with a knowledge of French politics can work out that Mme Le Pen did not visit the island out of concern for the migrants, Italy or even the EU as a whole, but to ascertain whether there was any "threat" of some of the migrants landing in France.  At a time when Italy is asking the EU for help in the situation and on the very day when the country at last secured a promise of support from the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durao Barroso, Mme Le Pen said that the EU is "demonstrating its powerlessness in the situation" and cannot help all the migrants because of its own unemployment rate.  The people of Sicily are well aware of the unemployment situation in the EU, Mme Le Pen, and do not need you to remind them of it.  But neither they nor I can believe that 27 countries, making a concerted effort, could not solve this crisis.

Please stay away, Mme Le Pen, and keep your abominable opinions to yourself.

BOOK REVIEW - "EAT, PRAY, LOVE"

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Having resisted both the book and the film for some time because of the hype, I finally decided I had to find out for myself what all the fuss was about. Now, I know you shouldn't see the film first, but that's what I did and, like most people, I guess, I enjoyed the Italian, "Eat" part but was puzzled by the middle, "Pray" part, which I did not particularly enjoy. I did quite like the final, "Love" part - who could not, when it's got dishy Javier Bardem as Felipe? - though I must admit I couldn't relate to Liz's reluctance to go away with him!



Anyway, it all made me want to read the book to find out more about Liz Gilbert's true story and I have to say, it is not your usual kind of travel book: it is, as it claims to be, the tale of "one woman's search for everything" and it is well written, witty and intriguing. The only problem is that many of us may think that Ms Gilbert already had pretty much everything: an acclaimed writer and journalist, she had beauty, money, a life-style to match and what most women would regard as a perfectly acceptable lover.



However, I can understand why someone with the means - and Ms Gilbert does admit that she was lucky to have the means - would want to spend time "marvelling" at the food and beauty of Italy and, apart from the fact that her character seems to think that language learning consists of absorbing the contents of a dictionary, the Italian section of the book is highly readable. Ms Gilbert does write beautifully about food but those of you who have seen the film may be disappointed to learn that the scene where the Italian landlady explains how to use the bath is not in the book;  sadly, it was always extremely unlikely that someone with pigeon English would have no difficulty with the passive tense with "get".



In short, I loved Ms Gilbert's descriptions of Rome, disliked her dismissal of the city of Messina and nodded as I read her observation that visiting a place requires a totally different kind of energy to that needed when you live there.



The second part of the book presented more problems for me, just as the middle section of the film did, and I put some of this down to my British cynicism, for it seems to me that Ms Gilbert's guru had it made: no one with any real problem was allowed to visit her ashram, those who had suffered recent trauma were also barred and people actually paid good money to go there and wash floors. I became increasingly incredulous as I read and frankly, the descriptions of chanting soon turned into endless chants themselves.



It was a relief, then , to reach part three of the book and I did learn a lot about Balinese history and culture from it. From the character of Felipe I also learned more about how people react to extreme poverty and I am grateful for that. But again, the endless descriptions of meditative processes began to pall and the cynic in me wondered again at the self-indulgence of it all. I also wanted to know far more about Felipe and the process of learning to trust again.



Would I recommend the book? Yes, because there is much to learn here and much can be forgiven because of Ms Gilbert's writing style. But do not expect a light read in the form of a straightforward travel book or romance!



View all my reviews

ITALY: AN OUTSIDER'S VIEW OF THE STATE OF THE STATE

In a week when Italy's Premier has made what is being seen as yet another outrageous gaffe and is generally being depicted abroad as a buffoon, I think it is time for me to add my two-centesimi worth to the debate.  For anyone who has not read of the latest scandal, the background is here but to cut a long story short, the Prime Minister of Italy is being accused of inappropriately helping a minor to evade police charges of theft and illegal entry into Italy. Erotic parties are said to have regularly  taken place at Mr Berlusconi's Milan residence and the girl, who denies having had sex with the Premier, says that he gave her money and gifts.  Yesterday Mr Berlusconi shocked progressive Italians and caused indignation around the world when he said that it is better to like beautiful women than to be gay.

The remark, in my opinion, was not a gaffe but a carefully orchestrated appeal to the Berlusconi heartland of sexually conventional Italy.  Everywhere an Italian looks, it seems, there are sex scandals but at least the Prime Minister is attracted to the right gender, goes the logic.   So when smiling Silvio shrugs his shoulders and conveys the message, "Look at me - I'm a regular guy", he reassures middle Italy whilst also appealing to a very Italian instinct - the instinct for joy.  After all, the reasoning continues, even the Premier's detractors would have to admit that the man has worked hard so doesn't he deserve a little fun?  And hey, is there any man out there who wouldn't like to party with pretty girls?

This is not to say that everyone is defending the Premier - far from it, for many Italians are expressing shame at the way in which their country may be perceived abroad.  Many women in Italy, feeling that the Premier's behaviour is degrading to their sex, have been expressing their shame for some time and Mr Berlusconi's estranged wife, Veronica Lario, is a heroine to some.  Personally I am not sure about her status as a heroine, for independent women do not expect men to provide for them nor do they hark back to a career they abandoned upon marriage as a justification for that provision, for who knows how that career would have fared?  If I were to name a heroine of the Berlusconi era, it would be Rosy Bindi, President of the Democratic Party and long the target of some of the Premier's cruellest remarks, which she deals with extremely well and with remarkable restraint.

But if Italians are ashamed of  Mr Berlusconi and are losing faith in  the governing Coalition, whom, then, do they trust?  Not the Opposition, generally seen as weak and not, en masse, the federalist Lega Nord [Northern League, currently part of the Coalition];  possibly Gianfranco Fini, President of the Chamber of Deputies and founder of the parliamentary group Futuro e Libertà per l'Italia.  Mr Fini is perceived as strong and able to stand up to both the Lega Nord and the Premier.

There are brave journalists, too, who defy government attempts to gag the press and, although Mr Berlusconi's media holdings are vast, most Italian newspapers, contrary to popular belief in other countries,  do question the Premier's behaviour.

As an outsider who cares very much about Italy, I would stand with another heroine of mine, Rita Levi-Montalcini and put my faith in the country's young people:  time and time again, and with astonishing equanamity, young Italians put themselves through impossible procedures to obtain jobs that do not, in reality, exist for them; they are politically active and aware in ways that a country like Britain should envy; and they are ready to do their utmost to achieve the peaceful change that is needed.

Italy, despite or perhaps because of everything, is still a proud democracy.  What it is not, however, is a meritocracy and this is the factor that is holding it back.   Only Italians can decide whether this situation can change under this Premier.

SABATO MUSICALE

Wales and Italy meet in this delightful clip:

Katherine Jenkins e Mattio Rossi - Con te partirò