Maralyn's activity

Good for you James, taking the bull by the horns and doing something your heart says.  I did a similar thing a hundred or so years ago and went to live in Cyprus, pre tourism etc., and worked over there.  What an experience to look back on and so glad I did it. Unfortunately the war over there in 1974 meant I had to come back to the UK as I was living in Nicosia, right in the middle of everything.And now I have done a similar thing again all these years later and am moving to my lovely old house in Italy. I wish you well, have a fantastic life and adventure.Maralyn

Thanks for your reply Adriatica.  All the time Ron and I have been in Italy we haven't experienced anything like it before, and Ron has been there for more than a year in the past two and a half years.  I was there on April 6th though. We have been told there are frequent earth tremors, but our friends who phoned us, for a general chat in fact, said these were worse than normal. As you say, we will have to wait and see but I am certainly not going to lose sleep over it.  My house is over 200 years old and still standing as solid as the rock it is built on.Maralyn

Hi there, no time to talk as I have to dash but I live part of the year (not enough of it though) in Picinisco which is next to Atina.  I adore Atina, on market day it is like stepping back in time, but the whole of the Val di Comino is fabulous which is why we bought a house there.  We have no Italian background, just adore the area. Ron, my husband, is out there now, but we have a business in the UK and it is hard for us both, right now, to get away together.Must dash. Be back later. Maralyn

Adriatica, yes it is a really lovely trip through the mountains. Sora is about 20 minutes from us on the Sora/Cassino road. As you travel to Cassino from Sora we are in the mountains on the left signposted Atina. I am visiting Caserta this week going to the Reggia di Caserta.  Somehow I don't think we will get to see all the 1200 rooms in this palace!  Have you been there?If you are doling out gold stars then I think I deserve one as compensation for the fact I am only on 2 weeks holiday and not in Itally permanently!!  And yes, I would love to meet up with you when we living there full time.Maralyn

I too thoroughly enjoyed your post Adriatica (John?)  You need a gold star for writing it let alone for us reading it! When looking for a house to purchase Ron and I met an elderly Irish/Italian couple who said to us "if you want to come and live in Italy you have to come with a vision".  We took those words on board.  They explained that a lot of people visited Italy for a holiday deciding they wanted to buy a house there and once the novelty had worn off, finding the winters long and lonely at times (those up in the more remote areas), that the grass was not necessarily greener but maybe a litle warmer, that life iin the mountain could be colder in the winter and very rainy in the spring, etc, etc.,  then some returned to the UK, or wherever.  Living and holidaying in any country being so very different. I have lived in various countries throughout my life, ie the Netherlands, France, Germany, Cyprus, Belgium and Denmark (yes, I was an Embassy and Forces dependant) and have embraced the various cultures and languages accordingly.  I have never really missed certain foods as I love all food types (with the waistline to prove it!) and have eaten the food stuff of the country I have been living in.  We have had our house in Picinisco (near Cassino, Frosinone)  three years now and feel that we have been accepted into our small village and made so many friends. We feel so very, very at home when we are there.  Unfortunately we still aren;t living there full time due to work commitments in the UK but are working on getting over there as soon as we can.  And we have a "vision". We have bought a lovely house in a typical Italian cluster of houses (4) yet there is only us and one 84 year old man living in this cluster.  We have numerous outbuildings we are adapting into studios and our vision is to have, for about 5 or 6 months of the year, residential glass art holidays, where people learn various forms of glass art design and making, including Venetian glass.  As a professional glass artist myself, I cannot envisage ever giving it up but the one thing I get such pleasure in is teaching others to work in this medium.  I have had tremendous interest in the holidays already, and hopefully our new venture will work and I will spend many years (or what I have left) living in a country I adore, working at what I adore.  And what is even better is that I am flying out to Rome tomorrow, driving to my house about 1.5 hours south, to spend 2 weeks there! Yayyyyyyyyy!!! Maralyn

Some years ago when staying in Gran Canaria I loved eating the "Canary Island Potatoes". I asked how they were cooked because they were so delicious and was told they were boiled in water with about half a kilo of salt!!  I never did try cooking them myself as I normally never add salt to anything. Has anyone ever tried cooking these type of potatoes themselves?Maralyn

I am not far behind you age wise and agree with you.  Mind you the youngish policeman said likewise and said he and his colleagues despair of the government guidelines that give these vandals so little punishment, if any, so that they just go out and do the same again. Sorry, I seem to have hijacked the pine martens thread!!!Maralyn   

The Police have just left. We are one of three to their knowledge, in our street, that have had lead stolen off the roof either Saturday or Sunday night.  There may be more because some people may not have noticed yet.  Got a crime number but now it is the bother of getting it sorted and repaired and have been told there is little hope of ever catching the moron(s) who did this. Am going to get burglar proof paint to put on what is left of my roof!!!Maralyn

I am just outside Durham and have to say that over many years we have not suffered from vandalism, especially compared to lots of other areas and businesses.  The value of the lead they have cut away, very badly, is about £30 I reckon. (As a stained glass artist I use lead so have an idea of value). And it will cost us hundreds of £s to repair our roof. They are not animals - just scum and b******s.  Must go, the police have just arrived as I write!!!!Maralyn

Ironic that I should just come on the board and read this thread!I am at my gallery in the UK and have just looked out of the window and seen damage done to my extension roof by "animals" and would gladly poison them if I get my hands on them. They have stripped wide areas of lead down to the bare wood underneath, disturbed and broken tiles and by the look of it were disturbed when trying to get another sheet of lead off as the score marks are there and it is partially cut.    I hope they broke their legs when they jumped down.  Yes, our great unwashed have been vandalising and stealing to the detriment of others!And why do I want to leave England? I can cope with pine martens (we had them in our house in Denmark, in the attic).Maralyn