‘afternoon chaps and chapettes

Tomorrow morning we are off to Italy for a whole month!!! It seemed such a long time ago since we started planning it and now it’s almost here. Yey. I’ve been running around like a mad woman trying to get the house in order and packing done and all the baby stuff we’re taking for the baby Bumble (my husband’s gorgeous new grandson). Hint to anyone taking babies to Italy: nappies are very expensive.

Hubby is going back to UK to work for three days a little later in the month, and during that time, I will be going to Como, well, Brunate, with a friend. You may remember that my Sospiro story is set there and after struggling for months to find information online or in books for this area in 1943 I have found a guide who specialises in the history of Como. That’s such a relief as the story would have come to a standstill if I hadn’t found her. The company she works for specialises in tailor-made guided tours and I can’t believe it took me so long to find her. There you go though, the internet is just too big sometimes.  I feel a little sorry for my friend who might not fancy walking around the town learning stuff from that era but she’s a brave soul and can alway wander along on her own.

The sad thing is that I’ve had to put the Brackenden Green spin off on hold because I have to concentrate on Sospiro for a bit. Having been bitten by the loss of idea bug before (you know, when you come up with something brilliant but you don’t write it down because you’re sure to remember it) I’ve written every little thing about this story down, including a great big cast of characters which I’m really quite chuffed with. It’s a good thing to do anyway especially as the original Brackenden Green is being reviewed and in the name of improving the story, changes will have to be made.

My next blog will probably come from the car as we’re battling our way through the weekend traffic in France and Switzerland :).

The photo is of the area around our house in Apecchio and you can see the windmills they have built on top of Monte Sospiro, mountain of sighs, and also Monte Nerone that towers over all the villages and towns for miles and miles.

Ciao for now.

Marie