MOMENTS IN THE TIME OF PANDEMIC - NO. 17

Cicero 106-46BC – “If you have a garden and a library then you have everything you need.”

Our plans to visit our house near Cortona were thrown up in the air due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Flights booked for February, Easter and June were cancelled as we entered lockdown. The disappointment was just awful but that's life I guess, you just get on with it.

Thankfully Emma my wife had bought herself a present for my birthday in September…a polytunnel just waiting to be filled with lots of exciting veg: garlic, onions, lettuce, peas, spinach, tomatoes, zucchini and more.

Good thing I have a concept of space as it was going to be difficult getting in the door if I didn't call a halt to Emma's plans to add further varieties of veg! Suffice it to say there is now a line of grow bags around the perimeter of the tunnel to cater for the overflow. We were blessed with beautiful weather here for April and May and have had a bountiful crop.

The library we have; so as far as Cicero is concerned, we wanted for nothing,

Pubs were closed from early March so our local off-licence did a roaring trade and kept us supplied with a good selection of Italian wines. They were doing such good trade that a letter to the Irish Times pleaded with the Government: 'For God's sake open the pubs before we all become alcoholics'. No reply there!

We missed our children and grandchildren dreadfully.

While Zoom and Skype work to a degree, there is nothing to compare to the physical embrace of those you love. When that time came it was emotional…lots of ice cream and a carrot for the horse did the trick and we all reconnected quickly and were glad to have avoided and survived this awful virus.

Now we wait and see when the Government will allow non-essential travel to Italy before we quickly pack our bags and go. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Ray Flynn, 02/07/2020 09:25:54

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