Sadness and Joy

The week began with the  sad news of the death of my dear friend John Wilkins who was a regular member of our little reading group in London during the last few years when we  read, every other week, the entire Divine Comedy. He was the distinguished journalist and editor of the Tablet, a highly respected Catholic weekly magazine for the two last decades of the last millenium. It was a privilege to know him and I will always miss his kindness, our conversations which were always such fun and so illuminating; I will miss the mischievous glint in his eye and remember  his laughter...

https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/15349/john-wilkins-former-tablet-editor-dies-aged-85

Spring has arrived, finally, after was has been described here as an unusually cold April, the last day of which I went hiking again with my Italian walking enthusiasts. This time into the splendid country of the Val di Farma.

It was quite a demanding walk of ca 15 k in steep terrain this time- but the reward was great  as we ended up soaking  in the hot springs of the Terme di Petriolo: 

And as if this was not already enough to create the perfect weekend, Sunday presented an opportunity to reconnect with my dormant equestrian self: my new friend, the American Carol- right below- picked me up on Sunday morning at the Porta Romana and drove us  to her riding club close by Volterra, where she keeps her lovely Hunky- an apt name for her handsome white and very big horse! After her private dressage  lesson with the Austrian proprietor below, we went off for a perfect lunch in a little village Osteria... wondering what we have done to deserve all of this ...

                                                     

And that was not all- once back in Siena I met up with Satomi for an aperitivo at the Campo and then moved on to the Duomo where there was a concert in honour of St. Catherine of Siena, whose anniversary was being celebrated. However, I had missed the main attraction in the morning which was, apparently, a procession involving all the Contradas in full regalia, carrying a reliquary containing the thumb of St Catherine through the streets of Siena. Hmmm, nevermind...