Foot-In-Mouth

Ah, local politics ... what’s not to dislike?

Well, for starters, our Sindica (Mayor) has only gone and changed her political allegiance! She was elected when a part of the ‘Democrazia Cristiana Sicilia’ (‘Christian Democracy Sicily’) party, but now Mayor Monisteri has been welcomed, with open arms, into the ‘Forza Italia’ fold.
Who are these political parties then?
Democrazia Cristiana Sicilia (‘DCS’) are a centre-right party, which grew out of the now-defunct national ‘Democrazia Cristiana’, which crashed and burned in the 1990’s due to various and numerous political scandals.
Who knew?

An appropriate headline from "Business Insider" in 2011?

Meanwhile, Forza Italia (‘FI’), whose name can mean anything from “Forward Italy”, “Come on Italy” or even “Let’s Go Italy”, is also a centre-right political party. One founded by none other than the infamous three-time Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. A man who once described himself as: “The best political leader in Europe and in the world.”
Okay then.
However, this change of allegiances hasn’t resulted in any change in the running of our city. It’s still the same old same old. The same old glad-handing, ribbon-cutting and outright denial of any and all problems it’s always been.
Of course it is: Isn’t this what local politics is all about?
A prime (and embarrassing) example here: The Sindica attended a pro-Palestine peace demonstration, giving a rousing speech calling for peace. Fair enough. Until you realise that Forza Italia, part of the Giorgia Meloni-led centre- to far-right coalition government, recently rejected recognising the State of Palestine.
Careful who you back…

Warming Up

Global warming is real, and we have proof of that right here.
Now, I’m at heart very much an analyst. Career and otherwise, always have been. So, for Summer 2025, I decided to record those days in Modica when the temperature reached 30 Celcius.
I found it did so for 71 days between the 6th June and the 17th September: A 103-day period. As a percentage, that’s nearly 70 percent of the time. This included two periods where this happened for 16 consecutive days.

The downside to all this sunshine is extreme drought (as in 2024), effecting our drinking water supplies and causing farmers to lose significant portions of their harvests.
Not forgetting the real risk of ‘desertification’, as lakes dried and soil lost whatever water there was. Not helped by our aging and under-funded water infrastructure. Moreover, it’s f’sure impacted Sicily’s uber-vital tourism industry.
Not good then.
But human nature being what it is and Sicilians being what they are, there is some light in all this darkness. Because some have sought to use it to their advantage by either growing new crops, or reintroducing old ones, using modern agronomic techniques.
As a ‘for instance’ here, did you know you can now enjoy a 100 percent Sicilian-grown coffee? From beans grown in Italy’s first real coffee plantation: The northernmost in the world!
This is in addition to the likes of avocados, mangoes, papayas, sugarcane and even bananas.
Not the whole answer certainly … but a good start!

September

Well, that was September!
Now writer Dominic Riccitello summed it up best: “I used to love September, but now it just rhymes with remember”.
And September is a month of memories. It’s so filled with them, it’s f’sure starting to look ridiculous!

✔ On Thursday the 10th of September 2015, I experienced the first of what I didn’t realise then were heart attacks. By Monday, I was in hospital and the recipient of a couple of stents. Some good did come out of this, of course: It directly led to my early retirement, and us being here;
✔ Then there’s our 37th wedding anniversary. We were married on the 24th September 1988. Why that day? Because it was the day before my birthday, so I’ve never forgotten our anniversary yet! Smart move that;
✔ As mentioned, the 25th was my birthday. My 67th this year, as it happens. Which makes me formally-and-officially an “Old Fart” as well as “A Grumpy Old Man”. Titles I now carry with pride, I’ll have you know ... as I f’sure reckon I’ve earned them;
✔ Never forgetting that on Saturday the 26th of September 2020 we boarded an 11:45 flight from Gatwick to Catania. A one-way flight, and I’m proud to say we’ve never looked back in the five years since; and
✔ Our eldest son, Adam, turned 34 on the 29th. Boy-to-man, he’s one of our greatest triumphs in this life, and we’re so very proud of him.
Maybe slightly OTT but…

More Soon...