The continuing adventures of June Finnigan, her Man, and Farty Barty the cat.
Benvenuto to all my Loyal and New Followers
As you know, we ended June with a fantastic Rock Concert Garden Party. It was a brilliant evening, the band performed outstandingly, reminding me just how lucky I am to have such talented musicians in the Rock Chick Band. I would like to quickly say, before moving on to July, a big thank you to the band, particularly Stefano Bartalesi, the lead guitarist and organiser, and to all our friends and followers for their support, amazing dancing and appreciation of good wine and food.You may think that the week after the concert might be a little dull in comparison. Oh, no, not here in beautiful Tuscany. Tourist spotting in Laura’s bar/alimentare in Fiano, is very entertaining indeed. Some English and American, but mostly Polish, French, Dutch and German.
On one morning, an elderly Italian tourist from the north, bowed to me and took my hand, as they often do. “Poor bloke,” said my man, with a touch of sarcasm, “he’s probably got a bad back….” At the next table, Signor Rotund is exposing his generous belly, as he cleans his glasses on the bottom of his T-shirt. My man groans and concentrates on the local paper. “It says here that the Tartufo (truffles) from San Miniato (the original ancient capital of Tuscany) are said to be an aphrodisiac.” Oh good, I thought to myself, if he’s thinking about sex, the painful tendon in his foot may not be bothering him too much. Meanwhile, I am musing over who might play the male lead in the hoped for film version of my novel, ‘My Father, The Assassin’. I would just love to have Daniel Craig, or if he is too expensive, Simon Baker. Simon would have to beef up a bit, but he certainly has those gorgeous blond looks that I imagine in Dominic Francis, my character. Who would you suggest for the role?
By mid-month my man was really struggling with the painful tendon. Despite a visit to Guys Hospital in London when he was there the week before, he is no better. However, he did meet the Countess of Wessex over lunch at the Union Jack Club in Waterloo, which cheered him up a little. No, no, he and about thirty ex-military guys, not alone silly. He asks me if I am going to include this in my blog at the end of the month. When he dazzles that smile, I can hardly refuse.
We made quite a few visits to local restaurants where zucchini (courgette) flowers were on the menu. In risottos, deep fried and in salads. I have had a disastrous time in the kitchen lately, including an accident with cauliflower florets flopping on the floor and me skidding across the kitchen on one, then banging my head on the open oven, only to watch in horror as the potatoes slid out onto the oven door! I am safer in a restaurant; my man will vouch for that.
And what about our glorious countryside during July? The vineyards were weighed down with green and purple grapes and it was a busy time for the Contadini (country workers), spraying and weeding. The month had an enormous amount of rain. Some say this will be good for the harvest, some say not. Speriamo di si. The garden enjoyed a second round of wisteria and a surge of passion flowers, much bigger than last year. By the end of the month, we had our first passion fruits. My man picked a load of sweet yellow plums and the oranges trees are producing the most delicious juice for drinking. As regards the wild life, we seemed to have less mosquitos and more colourful Bee-Eaters than last year. Despite the lack of sunshine and heat, July was a good month, though not for the tourists.
Meanwhile, July proved to be a better month for our celebrity ex-politician, Silvio Berlusconi! He actually won his court appeal against his conviction for under age sex that would have put him in prison for years…. Everyone in Laura’s bar reckoned he would have celebrated with a big bunga bunga party, however, no doubt the girlies would have had to prove their age before being let through the door. Our Silvio won’t take that sort of thing lying down again….!
Well, enough of that, I have dedicated August to completing the second novel in my trilogy. It is called the ‘Bolivian Connection’. My heroin Joanna is currently at a soirée where ninety percent of the guests are cold blooded assassins, so I must go and rescue her.
See you next month.
Amore June x
Don’t forget to visit my author page and do drop me a line.
June Finnigan is an English expat who lives with husband Paul and Barty the cat in their lovely villa overlooking the Chianti Hills, in Tuscany.
June is a published Author and her first book 'My Father, The Assassin' is available on Amazon.