Hello darlings!
Sorry about my very long silence. It has provoked rumours of pregnancy (I am too old, mentally not biologically), lottery winning (I wish!) and falling down a large pot hole in one of Sicily’s main motorways (I just invented that one actually).
None of this is true, but… Drumroll…. I am at last allowed to announce that I have a job in the UK, and I have left Sicily’s sunny shores. You thought I only knew how to burn the pasta and make fun of Sicilian driving, didn’t you?
Since being offered this job I have been madly busy. I had three weeks in December to find and rent a house in England, enrol my son in a school, furnish the house, set up the wifi and other utility bills, buy two cars and two mobile phones for myself and my Intrepid Hubby, ship over some crates of clothes, lego and my trusty vintage computer from Sicily, and figure out how to use a central heating thermostat dating from 1972.
So how are we getting on in England?
Well, we are living in a small village which is a picturesque cluster of abnormally small semi-detached houses and charity shops huddled around the iconic Asda supermarket building. The vibrant village centre boasts not only a public library with wheelchair access but also a structurally sound primary school and a moderately sized veterinarian centre which caters both for pets and local sheep alike. What’s more, it is mere minutes from the centre of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, where it only rains twice a year on average (once from February to August and the second time from September to January).
My little lad is really happy in English school, and not just because the building isn’t falling down! English culture with its emphasis on not shouting your head off really suits him too.
Hubby has made friends with the local farmers and buys amazingly good meat from them, and seems to be enjoying being a house husband. He went through a period of adjustment. For example, I told him that when you hang up the laundry in Stoke-on-Trent it will still be wet after five days or else have gone mouldy, and he thought I was just joking. He also thought he would be able to buy warm clothes in Sicily and still use them as his “warm clothes” once we got to England. He also thought he would stay indoors till it stopped raining, bless him.
Then one day he suddenly became more English than me and told me off for parking sqiffily and trying to sneak through a light that was just turning red.
England has a way of doing that to people.
The Dangerously Truthful Diary of a Sicilian Housewife 
Missed your musings.
May the sun shine on the Misters laundry.
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So refreshing to read you again, my dear! I used to live in Middle Barton near Banbury. How about that? I know of what you speak. So glad about Luca – he does seem more the proper sort – and Marco will definitely adjust. Can’t wait to hear about the first MIL visit.
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Home again:)
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God Bless you and your family Veronica..Best of luck!! The rhubarb looks wonderful..How I miss New England rhubarb pie!!
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Welcome, welcome, welcome back, my dear! I was afraid you had ditched the Hubby, taken up with a Mafia Don, moved to Palermo, and given up the blog. By the way, my wife and I have been to Stoke-on-Trent twice. It rained both days. Deliriously happy to have you and your word processor back in my life!
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Glad to hear Stoke and its rain didn’t let you down! 😉
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Sounds like you are adapting very well. Just hope you don’t start missing the sun too much.
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He heee!! I know this may be hard to imagine, but I am actually enjoying the rain!! Maybe the sun in Sicily fried my brain a bit??
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Welcome back! And congratulations on the new job and the move! So is the blog title going to change from the Dangerously Truthful Diary of a Sicilian Housewife to the Dangerously Truthful Diary of an English CEO? 😉
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Well, I did wonder about making Hubby carry the baton from now on, and calling it The Dangerously truthful Diary of a Sicilian House Husband.
If he did that, you would get the terrible Inglishe mistaiks, ya know, but on the other hand you would at last get some really good recipes!
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Hmm… recipes are very tempting… would he share your witticism and flair for tongue-in-cheek observation? Because I would be sold on that, “Inglishe mistaiks” aside. =P
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Hubby needs his own blog Dangerously truthful Diary of an English House Husband. Good to hear from you, and look forward to reading your blog again. Best wishes.
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Wow! Congratulations on your new job, I can’t imagine that there could be anything better than working in a role where you believe in what you do and understand it so fully. In bocca al lupo!
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So glad to have you here, Veronica, even though I fear we, the Brits, will now bear the brunt of your wit. Good luck to you. xx
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I wondered where you were! Wishing you a swell start to your job & lots if Cadbury dairy bars!
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Nice to have you back in more ways than one 🙂
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Aha, suspicions confirmed!
“She longs for the greenness of her native land. She pines for the picturesque cluster of abnormally small semi-detached cottages of Alsager, is it not? Already in imagination, she prepares rhubarb and engages in all the activities of the English lady.”
OK, I’ll stop. But, if someone should offer you a Brough Superior SS 100 1925 motorcycle, just say no if you know what’s good for you.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brough_Superior
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Sounds like you are quoting Prince Faisal from Lawrence of Arabia 🙂
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Try Hubby with Rhubarb & Apple Crumble!
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Good luck and I hope you get proper treatment.
it really is a major danger in so many places, and there are so many people with ruined lives who could have got better if only their doctor knew how to recognise and treat it in time.
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Wow, it really is a small world!!!
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Càccamu’s loss is irreplaceable. Le auguro tutto il successo che giustamente merita nella sua nuova carriera. Dublino e Scoglitti.
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You made my day – so happy to hear from you and God Bless you and your family. You’ll be fine you’re a tough cookie.
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Tea time! Which chair is mine?!
…On second thoughts, scrap that, I’ll just eat my way round the table anti-clockwise, sitting would only slow me down!
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Ha haaaaa! That is pretty much what we did actually!
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Great! A dream has come true, as it seems. Congratulations! Now the blog can be called “The Dangerously Truthful Diary of a British Houseman” 🙂
I really admire how you organized all that in only a few weeks. That is a capacity. No wonder that such an organizing talent had some trouble on Sicily.
By the way, the blackmailing of the other mothers concerning the school in Sicily has ended now, too. Maybe, you will encounter other blackmailing, now. Maybe this time, you even will not notice it, since you are used to it, but your husband will!
As Google Maps tells me, your home town is in the countryside. At least this can remind you of Sicily 🙂 At least, I have learned now what “Asda” means.
https://www.google.de/maps/@53.0964077,-2.3031103,3a,75y,1.66h,89.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1svH7-QvrbEtoTJAZA_70umg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1
Only 0.7% Muslims in your region?! How is this possible? This is a very good situation to really integrate them into the British society. Congrats to your son, especially!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshire_East#Religion
And again your sister is on the stage, this time with a perfect tea time table. What have you said, am I right, your sister isn’t married yet?
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Ah, and concerning the rhubarb: You must make a cake of it! Even *I* like rhubarb cake! With a meringue topping. *mjam*
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So glad you are ok. We feared that you were “sleeping with the fishes”!
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Missed you a lot
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The new job and new home sounds awesome! Glad to hear everyone is more or less adjusting well to the transition :p Can’t wait to read your musings again!
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Hahaha! What a fun post. Congratulations to you for the new job. Hope you adapt to England even better. Cin cin.
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Mannaggia your ears must have been burning! I finished reading your book a few days ago and was wondering if il Mastrostronzo had fitted you with cement shoes! In bocca al lupo for your new job! Is your move permanent or time limited? Can’t wait till your suocera visits! I’ll bet she brings an extra valigia. Instead of filling it with religious souvenirs, she’ll bring the ironing contraption! Looking forward to new posts-oh and I loved the book! Ciao, Cristina
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Congrats on the job! Glad to hear the transition is going well for all of you.
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A hearty welcome back, missed you terribly, your wit and humour, and also your musings about Sicily, my favourite place for holidays. Looks like I shall continue to miss Sicilian musings, more’s the pity, but I wish you well in your new life in Stoke. I shall just have to dip into your book to get that warm experience of life in Sicily and to help me remember my times there. I’m at the opposite end of the country, the Isle of Wight, so our weather experiences are very different. Settle down and enjoy life now and I hope your husband keeps enjoying it too. It can be traumatic after a little while for foreigners. I know (says she, darkly).
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Good grief….I hadn’t realised the lengths you have gone to in taking on this role to fight for us…..kudos and much gratitude to you and your supportive family!xx
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Tell hubby he is not missing anything at the moment… we have rain at the moment, lots of it
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I swear I think Hubby is starting to like rain. He is becoming so English it is scaring me.
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Mrs Semsible was like that, it was a novelty after the heat of Sicily. I think she became fed up with the cold damp and dark winter days.
She loved how everything appeared to function in the UK
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Congratulations on the next chapter of your life and convincing your husband to move away from Mama. You will always be the Sicilian Housewife to me. Looking forward to your future writings.
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Ha ha! Once a Sicilian Housewife, always a Sicilian Housewife!!
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Congratulations for the new job and a successful move! Now you can have proper tea again!
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Cheers!
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Congratulations! Will this mean the end of this blog and starting another, or will you continue from time to time with eccentricities of Blighty? Do let us all know – we missed you so.
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I can’t escape Sicily fully… And I also have enough photos for at least another couple of years of blog posts! So I will keep blogging 😀
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wonderful
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But what does rhubarb taste like? Is it sweet?
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It tastes tangy. You have to add sugar. Then it is yummy!
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Mmm, tangy, I know a new word now, thank you 🙂
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Thank you! 😀
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How good to see you back! So now, ‘the Dangerously Truthful Diary of an English House-Husband?’ Good wishes with a job that seriously needs doing.
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Enjoyed reading this post. Being married to a Sicilian who essentially grew up in Australia I will look forward to reading the back posts and any future posts on things Sicilian. Well done with the move,it’s huge and best of luck with the new job. Big change for you all.
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Oh no, I just wrote a huge comment to another post, encouraging you to become the next sindaco and now a few minutes later I read this post. Good for you though.
Congratulations! All fine for me as long as you keep on writing. All the best for your new job.
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Please keep writing about your adjustment back to England. I have been in Italy for several years now and am considering the move back with Italian in tow so I would be very interested to hear how you and your husband go about it! Best wishes and good luck with the new job.
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I will do, I promise!
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Thank you!
🙂
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Just stumbled upon your posting about Sicily and had to laugh, repeatedly. My belly is still reverberating. I love the parts I’ve read explaining your love of the people and country. I have to say I especially liked the post regarding looking for lodging in England and translating the realtor advertisements to your husband. “Bless him” indeed.
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Hi, I used to have regular emails when you put a new post up but I’ve had nothing in months. Just thought I’d check in to see if you are still around. Missed your musings. Should I re-follow you or am I just somehow being missed out.
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Yes, still around, thanks for asking! I have just had heart surgery and also work is very busy, hence the long silence. I plan to sit down and do a post at the weekend….
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I hadn’t been here in a while, I came because I missed your words. Congratulations on your new job, it’s good that (due to unfortunate reasons) it’s a job that means a lot to you, you will do it well. And indeed some Sicilian housewife sense is bonus in this role 😉 xxx
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Thank you 😀👍
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