Sunday, January 11, 2015

A Different View


When it got to Christmas 2014 I realised that I needed a break. I know to some people the entire life of a writer may seem like one long holiday but nevertheless I felt I needed a complete change of scene.



The fact that rural Derbyshire had just disappeared under six inches of snow might have had something to do with it, too, although as a skier I like the white stuff.

So, when the friend-of-a-friend offered me three weeks’ cat-sitting in a villa in Tuscany, how could I turn it down?



The cat in question is a rather beautiful big vocal white animal, who I was warned could be rather stand-offish, but has been glued to me since I got here. She’s smiley-faced and absolutely gorgeous.



The villa is fairly gorgeous too. It’s perched on top of a hill in a small town of tiny narrow streets surrounding the central castello, where only those little three-wheel trucks or Fiat Pandas minus their door mirrors can squeeze between the houses.



Arriving with no Italian whatsoever, I’ve learned to say, “Scusi, parlo molto poco Italiano.” (“Excuse me, I speak very little Italian.”) And how to ask for my café latte in a cup rather than a glass. The locals are friendly and accommodating of my feeble linguistic efforts, but I am aware of being very much on my own here.



Still, it has given me the ideal opportunity to ease myself back into writing, and time to plan what’s on the cards for the year ahead – or at least the first part of it. At the moment I can’t see much beyond the next few weeks, never mind the next few months.




But at least I’m looking forwards instead of looking back, and finally feeling like doors are opening rather than slamming shut.

This week’s Word of the Week is feuilleton, meaning a story published in instalments. It originated when French newspapers began to include separate sections devoted to literature, art, fashion or even fiction, a practice quite normal today but innovative at the time. The word is a diminutive of feuillet, French for sheet of paper, derived from Latin folium, leaf, which we are familiar with as folio, a leaf or page of a book.

12 comments:

  1. What a charming way to spend a holiday -- Tuscany and a cat. Sounds perfect.

    Your word of the week, feuilleton, brought back childhood memories of the Netherlands back in the early 1950s. We subscribed, probably just as an informal arrangement between neighbours, to a folder of selected magazines that would pass from one household to the next, thus spreading out the cost. This folder was also called a feuilleton. I always looked forward to that week's feuilleton because one of the magazines was one that consisted entirely of serialized bandes dessinées (comic strips).

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    1. Hi JJM

      What a lovely idea for a group of neighbours to take part in. And how apt to recall comic strips and cartoons at this particular time.

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  2. If I was you Zoe I would stay there! In the last three days we have had three storms (winds gusting 130mph) snow, hail, sleet, sunshine, power cuts, no trains, floods and basically too much weather!
    And no, I haven't had my roof repaired since you were last here and it's probably just as well as it would probably been blown off again! Enjoy where you are and rest well.

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    1. Ah, everything's the same as usual, then?

      I've discovered I'm quite good at roof repairs, though ... :)

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  3. Oh, Zoë, you *DO* know how to make all of us jealous, don't you? Sigh. What a beautiful setting, and what a great place to recharge your batteries!

    The great thing about following MIE is that it's like reading a feuilleton of all of your autobiographies!

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    1. I am feeling suitably recharged now, EvKa, although I had a bug that knocked me flat for a few days after my arrival, which has probably been a long time coming on. Starting to feel distinctly more human now!

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  4. I think you're seeing very clearly precisely as far as you need to at the moment. And that, Ms. Z, is all the progress we can ever hope for! Way to go, and give the cat a hug for me.

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    1. Thank you, Jeff. Things are starting to become clearer out of the murk and, as you say, that's all the progress we can hope for.

      Cat suitably hugged :)

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  5. Zoe, a clean, well-lighted place is easier to find in Italy than most places. You are surrounded by a culture that believes in art and the human spirit above all else. I only regret that you are leaving the day I arrive.

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    1. That is spectacularly bad timing on my part, Annamaria, but all the more excuse to return later in the year ....?

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  6. Zoë I am totally qualified to help you take care of the cat as I have 11. I am really good at nice weather, too, in case you need help with that.

    E.K., this IS an amazing autobiographical travelogue blog, isn't it!

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  7. Hi Jono, 11? Wow, that's a positive herd of felinity! The weather has warmed up nicely to the point where it's now probably about the equivalent of a moderate English summer. Just pleasant, in other words. And I've even managed to get my writing head back on. In a small way so far, but it's definitely a step in the right (write) direction :))

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