I Bet They See A Coeliac Is Treated Correctly
I haven’t been to Bologna for many years, but I enjoyed the food there. However, this lady, who is a vegetarian, finds the city difficult as she reports.
I suspect though, as it’s Italy, coeliacs get treated correctly.
Berlusconi’s New Girlfriend
Silvio Berlusconi has apparently got a new girlfriend according to this article in the Daily Telegraph and quite a few others.
The man’s rather a joke and let’s hope the Italian people see sense and keep him away from office. But they do seem to keep electing him!
Iron Bars
I know it is a serious matter, but it is being reported that Spurs supporters have been attacked in Rome using iron bars. It’s here on the BBC web site. This is an extract.
The owner of the bar, Mario Manzi, told the BBC: “At 1am there were around 30 English fans here, plus some American students, and some Italians.
“At some point, from around the corner, some 40 guys, all wearing helmets, faces covered with scarves, came here, destroyed that window, and came in.
“The English people hid behind here, and everything was destroyed. There were rocks, iron bars, everything.”
He said: “The English fans were very calm, they weren’t even drunk, then these men with heads covered came barging in throwing cobblestones. They had clubs and metal rods. It lasted about 20 minutes.”
Now where do you get iron bars from? Not that I want to get any. But it does seem to be an expression used with violence.
Berlusconi Found Guilty
Berlusconi has been found guilty and sentenced to time in jail.
Perhaps he should serve it in a womens’ prison.
What Do We Do With The Henry Moore?
Tower Hamlets council have a problem about what to do with a Henry Moore sculpture that they own. It’s all here on the BBC.
In some ways, the problem has been brought on, by the success of public statues. Look at most big stations these days and they have large sculptures. St. Pancras has two. So there are a lot of them about and because many are made from valuable bronze, they are just too tempting for thieves. But I’ve never heard of one being nicked in even a moderately-sized railway station, as the security is just too high. Or even it actually isn’t high, railway stations tend to be busy places with a good mobile phone signal and someone would probably call the police.
So perhaps, one of the first places to place a valuable statue is in a suitable railway station. but there are only four stations in Tower Hamlets. Only Shoreditch High Street station would probably be large enough. But it would probably be impossible to place a very heavy sculpture now, the station is built.
So it’s a real problem.
A practical idea might be to keep it indoors in a special museum, paid for by the money, that would otherwise be used for insurance. I have a feeling that some of the famous statues in Florence and other places in Italy have been moved indoors, not to protect them from vandals and thieves but the weather. This happened to Michaelangelo’s statue of David.
But whatever happens, we must make sure it is not stolen and melted down.
London’s First Real Olympics
The Times points out today, that the 1908 Olympics was held in the UK, as it was supposed to have been held in Rome. But Vesuvius exploded, so the Games were moved.
Although, we held them in 1948, that was very much because we got left holding the parcel, after the Second World War, as no-one had any money. If there had been no war, London would have had the Games in 1944.
So that makes 2012, London’s first real Games!
A Title For Your Civil Partner?
The Sunday Times is saying that the civil partners of those with titles, like Sir Elton John’s partner, David Furnish, will be given courtesy titles.
I have no view one way or the other, but I doubt there will be any objection, as the article states the courtesy title will apply to everyone who is in a legal partnership or marriage, no matter what their sexuality.
I do have a vaguely interesting story. A couple of years before she died, C did a very big child case, where she was led by a QC. It turned out that he was married to a lady who had been given a peerage and sat in the House of Lords. On one holiday in this very smart Italian hotel, he started to get fed up with the staff, who kept referring to him as Count. They just coulddn’t get it round their minds, that he was just Mister and the title was his wife’s.
The Good Luck Runs Out
What else is there to say!
Hodgson Speaks Italian at a Press Conference
The BBC seems very surprised that he did this, but he did manage a top club in the country. If they read his Wikipedia entry, it says he speaks eight languages, five of which fluently.
I haven’t seen or heard what he said, but perhaps he threw the Italian into the press conference to make sure that the Italians knew he would understand what they shouted from the touchline. I suspect too, he reads the Italian papers’ comments on the match. That must be a great help, as newspapers are always trying to be better than the managers. And usually failing!
The Italians Are Coming
According to a report in The Sunday Times, Knight Frank have said that the largest group of emigrants to the UK are rich Italians. I suppose they have to be rich to afford the houses Knight Frank sells.
I hope they bring their money with them and invest it in the City.
The Anonymous Widower 