Well, the beautiful winter weather we were treated to yesterday had certainly changed by the time this morning arrived: when I clambered out of bed I found Helen outside exercising in falling snow!
So the skies were grey, the temperature cold and everything was soggy. The temperature was clearly right in the crossover area between rain and snow as it was coming down as both when I peered out and the snow didn't stick around for long.
After a warming breakfast of porridge with the last of the golden syrup we brought over with us from the UK, I went out to do a little shopping while Helen booted up her computer.
I took Reggie with me simply to give Helen some peace and quiet. Our first stop was Frateschi, the builder's merchant. On our shopping list today was a gas bottle exchange, some new gate latches (the temporary ones we originally fitted - which were fashioned out of old door frame offcuts - are starting to fail under the harsh weather conditions) and some new fire rope (to patch up the gaps on the doors of the wood burner).
After having a rummage around in the ironmongery room with Paolo to find some latches, I walked away with seven of them (five for the gates we have already, and two for the gates I'm planning) and a full bottle of gas, but no fire rope (or adhesive for the rope). That meant that next, it was off to try Cecchi, the hardware store near the main square. After bursting in and interrupting a lively chat between staff and customers, I was told they didn't have the size of fire rope I required and suggested I tried the hardware shop on the Lucca road.
As the precipitation had subsided temporarily, I decided that a short walk for Reggie was in order (and I also had time to use up on my parking ticket!), so we walked along the river and looped back into town before the rain started again.
Now, we headed off down the Lucca road to the hardware store on the roundabout. I still don't know the name of this shop - which, in fact, goes for at least half of the shops we frequent. Indeed, not only does it seem like the Italians have little interest in websites, but they also don't bother so much with signage - which can make life quite tricky sometimes!
Anyway, after asking the woman in the shop (who I assume is Mr Grumpy(the owner)'s wife, and who is also grumpy) for some fire rope, she took me to a small display rack near the door and showed me a packet containing a tube of adhesive and 1.5m of rope. She didn't have any rope on its own, which meant that, in order to get the 7m of rope I needed, it was going to get expensive and I'd end up drowning in tubes of adhesive. So I left, parking it as plan B.
Before conceding defeat, it was time to clutch at straws, so we headed out to OBI in Montecatini, figuring that if they didn't have any, we would just have to see the winter out without it.
After being sent to ask the guys in the garden section of the shop, I was taken to another hidden rack, tucked away near a fire exit, that I would never have found by myself. There was a much better range this time and after having the same adhesive and rope combo pack foisted upon me, I told the assistant that I needed more than seven metres and therefore took the last three 2.5m packets from him along with a mastic tube of adhesive and left - the first time in a while that I've been happy to have spent some money in that place!
As soon as I walked into the house it was time to get started on gluing the new rope in place so that it would have time to dry before lighting a fire this evening - the instructions said it would start drying after ten minutes, but that it would be best to leave it for 24 hours. By this time it was 12.30pm, so I decided that four hours would have to suffice (a night without lighting a fire in weather like this was not an option!).
After a warming lunch of Tuscan bean soup (recipe here!), I went and fitted a couple of the new latches to the gates in between rain showers and whiled away the last of the day on the computer doing bits and pieces of admin before lighting the fire for the evening.
I had arranged to meet Chris at the Phillip's house at 3.45pm in order to tow their car into a garage in town. The poor guys have had a long saga, starting with a misplaced car key, that has now left their Fiat Panda with a broken central computer and a second-hand computer (purchased from a company that specialises in selling such items with the immobiliser code having been removed) that still doesn't work - so now it was time to hand the car over to the professionals.
We hooked up the cars with a tow rope, flicked on the hazard lights, planned a route which would involve only four turns, and set off at a leisurely 15kmph.
First turn negotiated successfully without the need to stop, we crossed the river and stopped at the lights before a left turn. The lights went green and I followed the car in front to turn left. So far so good, except that three old Italians decided they were going to use the small gap between the car in front and me to cross the road. This meant I had to break fairly suddenly - which was far from ideal as Chris, behind me, was now operating without power-assisted breaks. Fortunately, he saw it all happening and our bumpers were saved from an intimate meeting.
We trundled down through town, stopping again at traffic lights but this time without a turn to make immediately after the lights, it was a nice easy restart to head out of town. All was going fine again until a woman decided to dart across a crossing because there was nothing coming on her side and she clearly assumed that I would stop for her. This time though, there was not enough time for breaking while towing, so all I could do was wave apologetically and continue forwards. That didn't stop her trying to run across behind me - but fortunately she saw the rope and waited there in the middle of the road until Chris had also passed.
Turn number three was a piece of cake, and as we pulled to a stop at the final turn out of a T-junction I could see the garage opposite.
When the traffic cleared, I crept out of the junction but only got a metre or so before I felt a tug from the rear. I couldn't see what had happened when I looked back, but Chris was following now so we continued out and across the road into the garage. When Chris got out of the car he could barely contain his laughter - the reason for the tug was yet another person crossing the road. This guy had waited for me to pull out, and then ran (or tried to run) through the gap between us both. Unlike the woman on the crossing though, this chap didn't see the rope and tripped right over it - which was why Chris had applied the brakes briefly while trying to beep his horn (which wasn't working because of the fault with the car).
After so many incidents in such a short distance, I was glad we'd made it without any real drama.
We had a lengthy chat with the mechanic (Erik, who met us at the garage, helping with the translations) until we all seemed to understand each other and the situation, then I drove Chris and Erik back home, leaving the Panda with the mechanic. Back at the Phillips's I had a nice strong Italian-style coffee with Chris while we talked trees, wood cutting and bee keeping before I drove back up the valley home for dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment