The Party-goers of Peralta

A terrace looking out over the Mediterranean with a backdrop of Tuscan alps. Candlelight, a full moon, a warm early September evening. An Irish fiddle player and a banjo are rehearsing jigs and reels. Oceans of sparkling Prosecco are fizzing in our glasses and on the table rolled turkey breast stuffed with lemon, oregano and thyme, a wheat salad called Farro, Tuscan borlotti beans, and chargrilled aubergines marinated in olive oil and garlic.

A light breeze is ruffling the napkins and tossing the candle flames around in their glass jars. Wisps of cloud blow over the moon and a thunderstorm is flashing over distant mountains. It is the end of summer here - a return of cooler weather and hoped for rainfall to save the olive harvest.

Soon I'm going to be on my way back to England - this time with a lot of regret. I've had almost two weeks of sunshine and space to write - met some fantastic people - and fallen in love with Italy all over again. But hopefully I'll be coming back. Someone has very generously offered to lend us a house for a few months over the winter and, if I pay for a broadband connection, I can do my Open University creative writing tutoring on-line, coming back to England only to run dayschools and sort out the logistics of the new book. It all sounds too good to be true at the moment. Fingers crossed!

Comments

  1. Always enjoyed fine writing. Thanks.

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  2. Send a poet to describe a scene and what do you get? Poetry.
    Lovely post Kathleen.
    I am so pleased you have had a wonderful time in Italy, it has sounded heavenly.
    The plus side is of course that you are going home to another beautiful place.

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  3. That's right Al, I couldn't bear coming back if I didn't have somewhere so lovely on this side of the water!

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  4. Thanks to Khanh Ha and Al for the compliments. As a writer you always hope that the words you choose will give pleasure!

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