Hello to everyone! Before embarking on the News From Italy (1) I should thank you all for your support and offer you my greetings as 2021 begins.This newsletter is the first one that deals with real news only: no jokes, no fake news! just real and honest reporting.

Believe me!

LOCAL NEWS

In Langhe and Roero, where we live, the new year came first with some rain, then sleet and finally snow: about 4 inches as per this morning. This is a lot of snow for our area and makes owning a front wheel or a four wheel drive a must if you need to travel by car and live in this hilly country.

Should you need to walk around, as Claudia and I did this morning, then we suggest to use these instead:

I bought these snow shoes in 1974, when I first worked in Northern Quebec in winter. I bought them from one of the group of Inuit (First Nations people formerly and improperly called Indians by does who believed to be in India instead of Eastern Canada) that actually saved me from freezing to death on the gravel road linking lake Mistassini to the village of Chibougameau. He strongly suggested I keep one set in my pick-up just in case. He wanted to give them to me for free but I convinced him to take some money instead, just in case they had to rescue me again.

Should you have no access to any such vintage snowshoes you can always buy one of the most recent models such as these ones:

Not as classy of course, but what, if you need one, you need to have one!

Here we are not locked down unless we are stopped by our Carabinieri asking us why we are not at home instead of walking with vintage snowshoes or driving a four wheel drive car. Then you have to be prompt, serious and convincing.

These excuses normally work fine:

• A pregnant cow was giving birth to a calf and Luigi needed help,

• Your car broke down and it took you ages to fix it, so you were late to get back home,

• One of your (vintage) snowshoe got a flat (tire) and you had to fix it,

• The reason you ask us for getting home late is none of your business: this you say only when all the above fails and the Caramba are going to fine you anyway!

Here in Langhe and Roero we can walk the dog. Walking cats is not mentioned as a reason not to stay home and watch RAI 1: not necessarily 4 miles away from home of course but our luminaries (politicians) forgot to tell us how far from home we could walk our dogs. Did they do this on purpose ? We will never know!

NEWS FROM THE REST OF ITALY

This morning Associated Press reported that “ In graying Italy, the old defy biases laid bare by pandemic (the journalist meant our politicians but was so into pandemic that he wrote “pandemic” instead of “politicians”)”.

You’ve got to be real good to have an article on Italy reported by AP, unless the report deals with something the Pope did which was not really Popey, or the Vesuvio  killed hundred of innocent (foreign) tourists wanting to experience the real thing by watching the volcanic crater from the very rim of the volcano. Very few Italian politicians can rival Trump in making news.

One of ours did!

Giovanni Toti, of Forza Italia (the party led by our famous politician, Berlusconi: do you remember this guy?), now Governor of Liguria (the region just south of Piedmont), did it: He is a genius! .

He said yesterday that “older people are “for the most part in retirement, and are not indispensable to the productive effort” of Italy’s economy Mr. Toti stopped short of proposing solutions to deal with this serious problem. Hindering the ability Italy has to grow healthy and wealthy. You should know that 23% of the Italian population is over 65, and is paid retirement money .. can you believe what this guy said?

Toti is 52, never worked one day of his life, and belongs to a party who’s leader has been accused of tax evasion, bribing of politicians and judges, leading prostitution rings and entertaining links with our mafia tribes.

Berlusconi got away with this because he was able to make changes to our laws in his favour.

I know who else you are thinking of rivaling Berlusconi’s feat, I should say unsuccessfully until now,!

To read the report from Associated Press click here ARTICLE