The tempo has not slackened...

After the wedding and the funeral I woke up early on the day of my return flight to Italy, at my brother Johan's place in the Stockholm archipelago, in order to make 6 'laurel wreaths ' for my Italian theatre friends. These were fashioned using a quantity of holly I had gathered two days earlier in Torekov with my cousins- the transformation from prickly holly to smooth laurel was made by the help of scissors...It is a tradition in Siena- and maybe in all of Italy-  to crown students who have passed their University exams with laurel wreaths. And as my friends were to perform for the first time I thought it appropriate...

                                         

A mad dash followed as I tried desperately to get from Stockholm to Quercegrossa, Tuscany, to see this performance in the local sports centre at 21.30, in the face of delayed flights and general confusion, but hurrah! managed to get on that  train from Florence to Siena against all odds, and there, by the train station, stood Robert, my Swedish friend and frequent guest who whisked us off to Quercegrossa with a few minutes to spare! The play went off without a hitch- they  were all splendid of course, passed with flying colours and the laurel wreaths  could not have been placed on more deserving heads.

  

                                         

The next day I took part in the ONDA triumphal procession through town, this time a high octane fun run, carnival style, with  groups of different costumes and music floats, all inspired by something to do with ONDA's win, and often to do with our horse's name: TABACCO. My group were dressed in white, trying to look like Carmen and her friends in the tobacco factory- all sporting big cigars, cleavages, red lips and frilly dresses. 

    

The best group was without doubt the ONDEPENDANCE DAY group, since the Palio was finally run on July the 4th, having been rained off twice. There were American flags with waves rather than stripes, t-shirts with the names of states changed, and a float with quite a few of the guys having taken inspiration from that infamous storming of the US Capitol when that young blade- rather gorgeous it has to be admitted- had his fifteen miutes of fame on all the TV channels of the world sporting  a painted naked torso, draped in some animal skin and with a horned helmet over his long mane of hair...well, there were a few of those, all painted in ONDA colours...

  

The following day, early, early, we went off on a trek in the Appenines, in the region by Carrara, where we visited a stunning marble quarry, which looked as if it had been drawn by a great artist with a piece of  charcoal:

                                    

                                 

Last night this same group of friends went into the Crete Senese close to Asciano into a plantation of lavender, in the midst of which was improvised a theatre: at sunset a comedy performance of a local amateur theatre group, followed by pizza in a little restaurant in the ravishing little town of Serre Rapolano.