I’ve been meaning to write about Sicilian electricians for a while. I needed to accumulate a good set of photos, though, as pictures speak louder than words. Sometimes, in fact, they scream while shuddering all over, with their hair standing up on end, fizzing with 240 volts. While I was taking this photo, the resident of…
Category: Humorous
Sicily’s always good for a laugh!
Hints and Tips on Driving in Sicily: Roads, and other Sicilian Driving Hazards
PART UMPTEEN OF AN OCCASIONAL, HYSTERICAL SERIES We have had torrents of rain for the last week. As a result, driving my son to school has been permanently upgraded from a Level 2 to a Level 1 risk activity. This is because of the new holes that have formed in the road. I do have a…
This is Not over: The Befana is Coming!
In England, Christmas and New Year and all that jazz are pretty much over now. People are ready to think about diets and other unpleasant stuff. Not in Italy. Oh no! The 6th of January is La Befana, the festival more religiously known as Epifania or Epiphany. Christmas gluttony ain’t over till she’s been! This…
Is Autumn EVER going to come?
“I can’t wait for the leaves to turn red and golden and purple when Autumn comes” my little boy announced a few days ago. “Er, they won’t go purple” I said. “Yes they will,” he insisted. “We’re doing Autumn at school and we wrote a poem about the leaves going purple.” Upon investigation of his…
The Black Madonna of Tindari
Yesterday we went to Tindari in Eastern Sicily, famous for its statue of a black Madonna with a black baby Jesus. Like most of the “black Madonna” statues from places where the majority of the population is white, she is carved out of wood, and so was originally light-skinned. Wood darkens over time so, eventually,…
In Praise of America!
1492 was a great year for food. That was the year Native Americans discovered Christopher Columbus lost at sea. They fed him, made him wash his armpits, and gave him tomatoes. He eventually limped off home with the juicy red loot. At last, people all over Italy smacked their taste buds in delight. They named…
Fancy going to a Mafia Wedding?
People sometimes ask me how, and more often why, I became a Sicilian housewife. It is all my husband’s fault. This is the story of how I met him. +++ “Fancy going to a Mafia wedding in Sicily?” my sister asked, one drizzly English afternoon. Who could turn down an invitation like that? Certainly not…
The Italian Legal System and How to Evade it
Italians are a bunch of scofflaws. They think the laws apply to everyone else, but they personally are a special exception. All of them think that. Which explains Italy, really. Sicilians take this to a whole new level. For a Sicilian, any rules, in any context, are created purely for you to see how many…
Sicilian Builders and their Bottoms
I have a mild dispute going on with my husband. He wants to get a sun-roof constructed over the open-air roof terrace, so we can have barbecues up there without getting slow-roasted in the sun before our food does, and developing skin cancer before lunch is over. I don’t. My reason is simple: it would…
Do you iron your socks?
Sicilian housewives do. They iron all their towels and underpants as well, apparently. My mother-in-law, aka The Godmother, dropped in yesterday afternoon. Despite our tense relationship, we have found an uneasy truce, based on the fact that she finds ironing so relaxing she is willing to do mine when she has run out of her…
The Villa Romana Del Casale, Piazza Armerina
This post is about a UNESCO world heritage site in Sicily! Classy or what? There are altogether 44 UNESCO world heritage sites in Italy. The criteria are that World Heritage Sites can be “natural” or “cultural” places of general wonderfulness. That’s my handy summary of a long and tedious paragraph. Interestingly enough, the UK only…
Manna from Heaven? Or from Sicily?
This summer we went for a day trip to a town called Castelbuono. If you speak Italian you’ll know that this means “good castle”. The place is well named because there is a castle there, and it is pretty good actually. It’s medieval, huge, has a scary portcullis and a massive dungeon, a secret undergroud…
A Terrible Boob
After returning from our exciting trip to England, I have to admit this Summer has dragged somewhat. To break up the monotony of my little boy’s three-month school holidays, I used ice cream. Do you think I’m a bad mother? We’ve been to the beach and got sunburn, we’ve collected every size and shape of…
Questionnaire: How Sicilian are you?
I have been delighted over the summer to learn how many Sicilians are enjoying my blog. It seems those who live here, and the expats who have fled to the USA and other places, are equally happy to be mocked mercilessly. Some of them have indicated that they now straddle two cultures and feel nostalgic…
A De Luxe Day in Luxurious Sciacca
Well, we’ve got so much to catch up on. I think, this time, I’ll tell you about the lovely sunny day we had at Sciacca with my sister-in-law and her family. My brother-in-law is the manager of a Rocco Forte hotel – oops no, I mean luxury spa and resort – which sports two exclusive…
The Dangerously Truthful Diary of a Sicilian Housewife 