To be without you....

Ok, so Iv been a bit lax in the bloggin’ department...have you seen me lately?...yep, Counting Crows...not going with that one though...

I’m still here in downtown Tuscany, Italy doing the same stuff but for some reason I haven’t found the time or the inclination to blog about it....I always said that the blog was for ME so why should I care that I haven’t had anything to say....well I have been busy....massive BELM.....but Iv jumped ship to a small niche website called Facebook....I know, stick the red hot poker as far as it goes but it won’t make me feel any better about it....my choice, and less personal but I’m chucking a few ideas and ramblings into a Facebook page to try to promote the apartments that we are managing here under the Tuscan 🌞 

Sometimes when I’m lying in a hammock by the pool, wondering where it all went wrong and trying to get some shut eye in the afternoon I think I should be writing summat....I’m feeling guilty now...

I’m thinking I should continue blogging, and I miss matching the music to the blogs so I WILL continue but in the meantime if you fancy a few regular updates then try here

https://www.facebook.com/LaCesaApartmentsTuscany/

So tonight, while Saddleworth burns, England take on the massive footballing nation of 🇧🇪 and Alabama3 rock Preston I will sit under the Wysteria with a glass of vino Rosso with Ryan Adams and consider life....

Still return regularly to this guy, he writes and performs some great stuff...the boy is a genius and understated....”Nothing really matters anymore”....

Check out the dude here from a 6Music recording....https://youtu.be/eJ5eaGcwul8

Feed the Tree....

This week I’v had a ‘Masterclass’ in olive pruning with the great olive supremo, Danielle, the go-to-guru when you need anything tree related in or around Cortona.

He’s quite a guy to work with and has kept me entertained all week with the ‘banter di l’olive’.

Lesson 1: You can’t prune in the rain, that’s the first thing I learnt and my god we have had the rain. So we waited for a sunny day and got cracking with the ‘potatura dell ‘olive’...pruning of the olive tree. We have 250 trees in the Olivetti on grass terraces for harvesting olives in November in Tuscany to make the oil. Now in Spring, the trees need to be pruned and completed this needs to be completed by May 1st. 

My mentor told me to get into the middle of the tree and start with the ‘succhioni’s’...the suckers, as the middle needs to be clear and airy and these little fellas suck up all the goodness needed by the tree. The ‘polloni’ need to be removed too, a separate name for the sucker growth on the trunks. In the meantime Danielle has a set of bolt croppers over his shoulder and is getting stuck into the outer branches with his battery powered ‘Cesoie’...secateurs.

All I can hear from the inside 

of the tree is him muttering “Questa Qui’...this one....snip, ....”taglia questo ...cut this...”lashia questo”....leave this.

It’s all about the shape, you need to fashion a vase shape with an evenly distributed canopy and he definitely has the eye and the experience. You also need to remove branches that crowd other branches but without creating holes and your’e always considering what can go and what needs to grow for the next year. The growth of the olive is prolific but don’t be cutting willy-nilly, study the shape to see if all the branch can come out...don’t be cutting halfway if it’s a bit “molto alto”...too high, as this is frowned upon by this man. Branches that are growing the wrong way are history, radical cuts are made to anything that dares to grow too high for the pickers or he refers to as “bruto ”....ugly!...he studies with his eyes and then holds his hands together and moves them up and down with the words “ it’s not beautiful” in English, for my benefit and laughs.

I watch his artwork....it’s impressive!...and I learn a lot!

He cares about the tree, not himself...he wants it to look it’s best, I can see that in him.

The rule is that when you finished, a bird should be able to fly from one side and exit the other without touching a leaf....a nice idea, eh?

At the end we are left with piles and piles and piles of pruning and clippings....

But we haven’t finished....

The next day the extendable Styhl comes out and the trusty ‘Husquavana’ as we tackle the bigger trees, taking overhanging boughs off oaks and generally lopping owt that he doesn’t like the look of, to let more light to the olivetti.

I haven’t been to Syria but when we are finished I probably think it resembles Raqqa!

I now have days and days of clearing up, cutting logs, mulching and bonfires....and the grass is growing fast....!

Next job is to nip down the Consortzio to buy a couple of hundred kilos of fertilizer to feed the trees....

Of course this is a perfectly apt track and a great indie classic from my upbringing from a debut album by ‘Belly’, with the lovely ‘Tanya’ on lead, ex Breeders and Throwing Muses....

“So take your hat off boy when you’re talking to me and be there when I feed the tree!”

The song is a metaphor about commitment and respect, so it’s here for you to enjoy!

https://youtu.be/RQJjUbMrt8w

Rambling Man...

This last week I decided to get some walking in so I have been out daily exploring the abundant tracks and trails that connect the forests around this area that cover the higher ground. I also had a companion to carry out this task, one with experience of all the sights, sounds and smells of the local forests, namely Rosita, a local Jack Russell. 

These forest tracks are used frequently by walkers, Mountain bikers and enduro riders. Mainly though, the local hunters use them for seeking out the Cinghiale and deer and are vehicle wide so make easy hiking routes. Connections can then be made on smaller, interesting paths that climb up and down deeper through the woods frequently used by porcupines and hares....and lions and tigers and bears!...oh my!

With a dog, a stick, a notebook and google maps loaded on th’ipad I set off on my mornings ramble to find and connect the paths. Using coloured spent shotgun cartridges as markers at junctions I traced and re-traced all the paths until I had walked and mapped the whole area by the end of the week.

A strong wind brought snow to the area by the end of the week but we weren’t deterred and my little companion thoroughly enjoyed herself!

Gaining height and finding clearings in the woods gaveus fantastic views below, across the Valdichiana towards Montepulciano, over to lake Trasimeno and up to Cortona.

Oh naive little me
Asking what things you have seen
And you're vulnerable in your head
You'll scream and you'll wail till you're dead

Today’s fabulous track is ‘Rambling man’, the first track I ever heard by British songwriter, Laura Marling and was immediately drawn in by her lovely voice, enchanting lyrics and sultry guitar. Here a hit from her 2010 album. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/1YXKWOTGskY

Harvest Moon...

Harvest 🌓 

Having just had the biggest super moon of the year at the end of January it inspired me to look into its influence on the gardening front. Spending more and more time outside digging and weeding as the days get longer it gave me the idea that maybe I should be adopting some celestial wisdom by taking a leaf out of the past. A time when wise old sages like Arthur Aristotle, founder of the veg patch, claimed that the moon was quite important and we should pay a little more attention to it.

The old theory goes like this....the moon has 4 phases during the calendar month and if you sow plants in the right lunar phase then they will grow stronger, be more productive, and in turn have more vitality and energy and resistance to pests.

Having not been born with ‘green fingers’ or a classic wispy beard my previous method of ‘bung stuff in and hope’ I felt, needed now to be addressed with these new revelations.

Around here they seem to pay attention to this ancient knowledge and using age old formulas passed down through generations, whether it be for pruning vines, planting crops or even having a haircut or having a party there is a way that has been adopted by many that follow some ‘earth rules’ so I have decided to give it a go too. If it was good enough for Pliney the Elder a few thousand years ago then it’s worth a try for ‘Gary the Trowel’, the new Arian Zodiac mind-warp moon-child of Cortona in 2018.

I browsed the ‘Old Farmers Almanac’, an impressive advisory resource and a leader in all things agricultural since 1792 and learnt that ‘leaf‘ crops need to be planted when the lunar cycle is a waxing ‘new’ moon and then ‘root’ crops go in after a ‘full’ moon when the moonlight decreases and before it starts to wane too much and this is when it’s good for the root growth. This ensures that seedlings get the benefit of the gravitational pull drawing up the water, increasing hydration at the right time and promoting healthy plants.

Ok, so that sounds simple enough and makes a fair bit of sense to me.

So lettuce have a look at the facts, stop ‘beeting’ around the bush and admit it’s thyme to turn over a new leaf....It could be complete claptrap, folklore or botanical boloney but modern science has not managed to disprove it yet. So armed with my new trusty ancient Etruscan ‘Moon gardening App’ I have calculated that if I dig my furrows at the right time my spuds will start to swell, my zucchini will reach a fine length and my prizewinning melons will be massive and be bursting with flavour in the coming months.

So as the werewolves start to howl and the suicide, arson and violent crime statistics rise, a shadowy figure will be digging furiously under the stars, backlit by the light of the silvery moon in a vain attempt to plant a few seeds that will lead to a bumper crop in the summer.

Neil Young’s ‘Harvest Moon’ was the obvious choice for this one!

https://youtu.be/n2MtEsrcTTs

Aries Traits: Enterprising, Incisive, Spontaneous, Daring, Active, Courageous and Energetic, the Aries are the proverbial infants, guileless and optimistic to the fault. However, they also are impatient, impetuous, vain, proud and egoistic”

The Community of Hope...

It had rained heavily over the past few days so it was a bonus to set off from Terontola with bright blue sky above. We headed south on the 2hr train trip to the capital, Roma.

No sightseeing today, just down for the match.

We wanted to see what sort of opposition ‘The Azzurri’ would be this year as we headed off to the Olympic Stadium in Rome for England’s opening match of the Six Nations 🏉.

At Orvieto the train filled up with the local team and the beer and the pre-match banter started to flow. With a rendition of the ‘Tight Fit’ classic “The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ they tried to taunt us but admitted later it was an uphill battle supporting heir national team. They lived in hope so we wished them well at Rome Termini central station and skipped on a few stops on the metro to Flumicini and then walked the rest along the banks of the River Tiber up to the impressive Olympic Stadium. It was a full house for the 70 plus thousand inside and the game went pretty much to plan with a less than impressive performance from our lot but a 30 point clear win nevertheless.

Tonight, on the way back, the Moretti would taste a little sweeter!

Today’s track by Polly Harvey...

https://youtu.be/qsLqsqbObyg

Mr Pharmacist....

I woke this morning to the news that Mark E Smith from the band 'The Fall' had slipped off this mortal coil and I sorta knew what he must have been feeling....I also had not been well in the night and was starting to mull over my demise too.

I attended the obligatory Thursday market but this day I did not join the porchetta queue nor did I have my little cup of italian cofee in the corner cafe as my body was failing me this day, so I returned home with only a kilo of fresh oranges and a bag of yellow spuds....not that I would be enjoying them!

I needed to return to my bed, to be able pass over naturally and comfortably and with some dignity...i was already cold, rigor-mortis no doubt and I could feel the grip of my self diagnosed disease taking hold of me...,I knew I definitely had the 'Consumption' and I wouldn't have too long left in this green and promised land of milk and honey...and olive oil..and tomatoes...etc etc

Even Charlie from Casualty can't save me now!

I took a last look at the crucifix above the door and lay back, closing my eyes as a lone church bell tolled in the distance and i pulled the thick duvet over my head like a makeshift shroud and finally folded my arms across my chest. For the first time felt I was at peace. I had put on the electric blanket so it could warm my lifeless body and I lay back and imagined quietly what it must be like to slide slowly through the curtains and into the flames of the cremation oven when the time comes....as the temperature started to rise I found I couldn't breathe, I was sweating, the heat from the blanket was stifling so I panicked and burst back out gasping for air!

How long is this going to take?

Next I thought it might be an idea to refresh myself with a few words from the good lords book so I fumbled about in the bedside cabinet and called for my last rights and testament to be read out to me....I lay back once again, the book opened at a random page and as I focused my mind and listened intently, it started...."we are jolly well going to enjoy our supper together as Fanny has brought hard boiled eggs, bags of lettuce and lashings of ginger beer...."it read, .WHOAH,,,,,,,,!!!...hang on!

 These aren't the last words I want to hear on departure from this life!

I dismissed the High Priestess immediately and demanded silence for my final moments.

I turned my thoughts to my legacy...what was I going to leave behind?

An enormous wealth in an off-shore account?

Property and land amounting to millions?

A grieving Nation who would build a folly in my honour?

Oh, wait....Iv just remembered about the small cardboard box under the bed, an in it ....Ah, Yes...here they are....only 2 tickets for the England V Italy Six Nations game in Rome next weekend...Lazarus, get your coat!

https://youtu.be/Cl34oJEoO7s

There was only one track I could use for this one I suppose!

Mark E Smith RIP🎚

Go!...

The knights are long through the Tuscan winter months ....so there hasn’t been much to report on but I have been getting a bit of hassle from the great unwashed so I thought I’d better put finger to keyboard and make an effort!

Have recently had some endless hours hunched over a laptop trying to remember passwords, login details, checking emithers, proof reading, writing, re-writing, hosting. posting, inserting, cropping, copying, researching, scribbling, squabbling, linking, drinking.....Ring any bells?

I thought all this was in the past.....??

But allow us now to be able to shout from the top of our social media platform about the wonderful apartments we have to offer for the summer holidays.

It’s been a lot of hard work but we now have hosting and are live on Owners Direct, AirBnB, Facebook, Booking.com and of course our own website.

Researching the internet even turned up an extranet?WTF? and the whole caper has been a mind-field; up-loading, down-loading, hosting and boasting leading to blank screens, blank looks and error messages galore while all the time we were fully aware that a couple of clicks in the wrong direction and the whole thing would probably end up being hosted on the ‘Wish you were here’ pages of the mysterious dark web!

So when a murderous, axe-wielding ex-con goth meth-addict checks in for a week by the pool we would have only our self to blame !

It’s not our fault if he doesn’t get on with the other guests!

Bitcoin or Paypal?

Euro or Sterling?

Dollar or doughnut?

It’s all been a wondrous learning curve on the slippery slope of marketing our summer residences....

On a lighter note, the hens have settled in to their new home and are knocking out the odd egg as they learn to scratch about and use their Etruscan perches. However, productivity needs to go up or we will be forced to make more cuts than Carillon as we are now enforcing a strict....’If you lay...you stay’ policy in the henhouse so Bhaji, Kebab and Pie need to watch out!

Hunting season has finished now and hopefully the nearby bangs from the loud-stick I heard the other day has entitled me some respite from filling any more Cinghiale holes in for a while? The bloody body bag that arrived at the door the other day, I have to say, made a mighty fine ragu!!

We are continuing with learning the lingo too...

We now know our pollo from our galline,

our uova from our uva,

and our Aglio from our Olio.....still a long way to go!

Ciao for now

Todays track ‘Go!’ by Public Service Broadcasting, a track to reflect the ‘launch’ of our venture and a band with an aptly named title. Anyone who has not heard this amazing band should check them out as they do ‘themed’ albums, this one being ‘Space’.

https://youtu.be/BHIo6qwJarI