a postcard from the Mezzogiorno

Back in drizzly, cold, autumny Krakow. But it is good to be home. The basil survived. Wojtek did a good job. Sicily was ace, hot, dirty, with good food, nice beaches, fat mummys' boys and plenty of rubbish strewn across every single piece of public space (beaches included). We tried to hitchhike once to a village. No body stopped. They probably couldn’t see us hidden amongst the mountains of litter living rampant by the side of the road. Strewth. Ian Kiernan and his ‘clean up’ campaign would have no chance on this island. Dirty buggers. It’s all the mafia’s fault that Sicilians don’t give a shit anyway, right? I really liked it. It was raw and not Italian at all (but for their super cool high-end sunnies that they all seem to wear, including school kids). They don’t speak Italian, they’re not as loud as Italians, they’re super friendly and have all the time in the world. The Sicilian motto is ‘if you work you eat. If you don’t work, you eat, drink and sleep’. This explains the ridiculous siestas lasting 6 hours during the day, driving us all insane, as we could do nothing and achieve little during the sleep period.

The coffee was extremely delicious. We spent much time in public coffee houses. Standing by the coffee bar throwing back espressos like the junkies we became. Evenings were spent sipping various types of Marsala – the port-like wine from western Sicily (from a town with the same name) - chewing on octopus or the most fantastic olives on earth. Or both.

I have resumed reading 'Midnight in Sicily' by Peter Robb. It shat me when I first bought it years ago, but now it appears to be a thrilling read. The escapades of Cosa Nostra, the Corleonesi clan and the Andreotti bastard explain why Sicily is so fucked up.

Since being back I have attended one funeral and am off to a wedding in Szczecin tomorrow. Also my mate Jodie gave birth to her second daughter. Also a care package arrived from my uber-cuz Nat on the day I got home, complete with eucalyptus lollies, tim tams, papaw ointment, and various Japanese noodles! What a week!

old geezer at the banks of Cefalu


pottery in Taormina


walking up Mt Etna the volcano - not visible in picture


Vucciria fish market in Palermo


tops wireing and drain pipes of Palermo