Happenstance?

I started this blog just over 18 months ago, on the 26th of March 2020.

When we were still living in Hornchurch, London.
Six months to the day after I began, on the 26th of September 2020 then, we boarded a one-way Gatwick to Catania flight.
Which, surely, you’ve gotta count as happenstance? Something the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as: "A circumstance especially that is due to chance..."
Or was it? Because this land we've chosen to settle in is ancient. The Greeks and Romans ruled here and, just maybe, there's a whisper of an echo of them - and their beliefs - here still?
Was the Greek god Hermes, considered the protector of travellers, involved?

Janus on (literally) a 2-faced coin!

Or was it Janus? Who the Romans believed to be the god responsible for transitions?
What, or whoever, it may've been, if you remain a sceptic, and need to be convinced? Well, we did (finally) pick up the keys to our home on the 29th of July 2021. Which just so happens to be our youngest son’s birthday.
So there you are?
Regardless, what I can say f'sure about the intervening year and a half, is that I've managed to cover everything from Brexit, €1 homes, Inspector Montalbano, why we decided on Sicily and Modica, residency, house-hunting, Covid, culture shock, 'La Bella Figura', the Government, food, heatwaves, and (of course) the bureaucracy!
Along with some rambling and ranting along the way, naturally.
Happenstance, ancient gods, or otherwise, it’s been one hell of a ride!

Favourite Month

September is grape-harvesting month too!

September is always a big month for us.
Okay, there’s what I’ve mentioned above, but it’s also mine and our eldest son’s birthday month.
Then it’s also our wedding anniversary. I, for one, won’t be pointing out which I believe to be the most important, alright?
I will say one thing though, to those planning a wedding, maybe think about doing what we did, which is get married the day before my birthday. I’ve not forgotten an anniversary yet!
Forgive me for that. That aside, I (we) couldn’t have made it here without Alice, my wife of 33 years.
She was, still is, our ‘ace in the hole’ when it came to settling here.
That’s because she speaks fluent Italian. And I don’t reckon I have to point out the huge advantage of that to anyone wanting to, or already settled here.
It was one of the most important reasons why we chose Italy to settle in post-work, post-kids, and post-Brexit!
An ‘easy’ choice over the likes of say Portugal, Spain, or Greece, which any number of people pointed out were ‘more worthy’ of retiring to. And that included some Italian friends, I have to say.
Now I do know (despite being a ‘Boomer’), that it’s f’sure an entirely different story for anyone working and/or raising a family here? I so feel for you, ‘cause it ain’t easy. ‘Stressful’ don’t begin to describe it!
I feel though, that the pit- and prat-falls are outweighed by the many advantages.

"I Am Modican...!"

After my wife explains, in her excellent Italian, we've settled here for good, I'll loudly and proudly proclaim: "Io sono modicano...!"

Alice being 'a local'...

Because I’m formally and officially a resident here now, of course.
This, however, doesn't make me a Modican. Naturally, for that you really have to have been born and/or raised here, yeah?
And, while the locals f'sure have taken some getting used to, I like 'em very much! Alright, we wouldn't have settled here otherwise, but still…
They can be exasperating!
Witness the entire lack of an ability to queue anything like 'properly'. The grudging way they'll stop at a pedestrian crossing for you, like it's somehow your fault for wanting to cross the road. How they simply can't, scratch that - won't - control their damn dogs.
And let's not be forgetting their constant staring at you.
On the other hand…
More often than not, they'll choose to smile rather than frown. As drivers, they have more patience than anywhere I've been on the mainland. How they’re more than tolerant of outsiders. Including immigrants.
And let's also not forget, it’s difficult to walk anywhere without someone saying “Ciao…!”
I talked about pit- and prat-falls being outweighed by the advantages?
While the above do appear to cancel each other out, the fact remains that they make great friends, will go out of their way to help, and are genuinely interested in you and your life (albeit to the point of nosiness!).
That’s gotta count as positive!

More Soon...