SHUT UP DIRTY CRIMS!

Hello one and all

I write this to you, not with the desire to give you any real 'message' or 'enjoyment', but mostly because I'll not be able to sleep with the noise. But what noise I hear you gasp? Well, I live opposite the football stadium. Sweet! But beside the stadium is a jail. Edgey! And for the last three nights the dirty crims have been making alot of noise when those of us who live in the land of milk, honey, steak and women should really be asleep. There's alot of whistling, banging of shutters and rattling of tin cups on bars. It's very much like Porridge, except with no humour, porridge or Scottish warden. So, there you go. But while I'm here, I'll give you a brief down-low on happenings Italian style.

Last time I said I was going to Rome. This was a great success, with much beer drunk and beer drinkers drunken. I did my tourist thing of walking quickly to an ancient building, taking one photo of it and moving on. There are many in Rome, so it made the hangover less than pleasant. I know that drinking isn't big and clever, but it is fun - when I arrived, Stevie and I walked to the pub and then spent 10 hours catching up and drinking beer. Was fun with capital F-U-N's. I expect that my photographs are very similar to anyone else's who've been to Rome, so I'll not bore you with them. However, I did see an amusing street name, so had to have a snap taken with it. It's here, and was the only sight deemed important enough to include me in the shot as well:

Tomorrow I bust out of this joint and head back for a Scottish summer. I don't really want to go home, but I have to and of course it'll be nice to see friends and family. However, the weather had better be good, as I've been accustomed to a level of heat that has only just become bearable, and I don't fancy the change. I'm also a bit nervous about flying as I never really enjoy it. Hopefully my plane is A-OK, but I always wonder when I book flights if it'll be my last one? Cheery stuff, I know.

On that optimistic note,

Ciao for now

Domani vado a roma

Hello you lot

As the Italian literate of you will be able to deduce from the title, tomorrow I go to Rome. Therefore, I felt that I should update you all on my life, even if I don't have a great deal to say. But then again, this is a blog, so that's probably keeping to a trend.

After saying last time around that I had very little work, this week I was hit with an avalanche of 29 hours in 4 days. This has included two 9 hour days, which frankly I'm not built for. It's been very tiring, especially as I've had one group for 20 hours, and the majority of them were absolute beginners. I can empathise with them, because as dashingly handsome and funny as I am (modest to boot!), this much intensive language learning is pretty heavy. Still, I got a bit sick of them sighing and complaining that they didn't understand anything, even after the 4th explanation, translation into Italian and tediously numerous examples. That said, it's nice to work, as it means I'll have more money to squander away when I'm back home.

And squandering away I plan to do. I reckon I'll go wild and buy myself a Nintendo DS to wile away the hours until I'm back in the comforting heat of Italy. The thought of going back to Scotland and having to wear a jacket (!!!!) is not appealing. Still, it'll be nice to see everyone.

I realised just t'other day that I've been here for one year now. Admittedly, this includes a combined gap of two months, so really only ten months, but still, you get nowhere by rounding down. In this spirit I've earned millions of Euros while charming handfuls of Italian women. Life has been good.

I feel like I should say 'ciao e grazie mille' to the loyal return-readers of this un-edited mess over here. So, Angela, Patrick and Stefania, cheers, your continuing adulation keeps me all warm and fuzzy inside. There may be more, and given the breathtaking insights I offer up here week in month out, I wouldn't blame them. If you're out there and reading this, also 'grazie mille'.

So yes, going down to Rome tomorrow to drop in on my old partner in wine, gin and beer, Stevie. It'll be properly good to see the old rogue again, and also I've heard somewhere that Rome's nice. Bonus.

I'll be sure to be a proper tourist (without having my camera stolen and stabbed by an Ultra), and take lots of photographs to wow you with next time.

Until then

Ciao, e buona notte

Mostly football related

Hello once again mes amis

Time is a ticking on my time here this year, as I'll be home in depressingly familiar Scotland three weeks today. I expect this time will fly by, as at the moment I'm doing precious little by way of work so my days are generally filled with idleing. I'm not complaining - if I thought that it would help my job prospects I'd include idleing as one of my hobbies and interests on my CV. I doubt that it would though.

Last week you may have read that I have embarked on a campaign of fitness. Alas, this is going about as well as Napoleon's invasion of Russia (history fans) - I was a bit drunk on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and over this peripd may have smoked one or two cigarettes. Still, this weekend I have literally no plans or money, so will be spending time by myself planning my next assault on the seemingly impenetrable heartland of fitness. I've had a wee bit of a sore back for a few days, which one of my students helpfully suggested might be rheumatism. Thanks a million!

Sunday was the emotional final day of the season before the long boring football-free summer. Genoa were at home to the lowly Lecce, and won 4-1. It was the final games for two of the Genoa stars before they head off to Inter, Thiago Motta and Diego Milito. Both are frankly too good for us, and Milito in particular is class (we call him Principe - 'Prince'). It was nice, because both were given big rounds of applause, and overall it was a good match for them, and for us.

After the game, there was a celebratory procession up Via XX Settembre (equivalent to Princes St), which then turned and went back to Piazza della Vittoria. There were loads of people there, with a lot of singing, flares and general good times.

In Piazza della Vittoria there was a stage with a ska band and comedians warming up the crowd before the players came on and gave there monosyllabic grunts. I have to say that one ska song is ok, but hearing 6 or 7 ska songs which are basically all the same was a bit much, and just about sent me one step beyond sanity. Added to this, I was very very tired from the previous night, and then there was a fireworks display, which you may or may not know, I don't enjoy. If I'm in a building, fair play, I'll watch them and may even enjoy them, but when I'm outside surrounded by drunk people and explosions, I feel a little on edge. My main concern is that one hits me and damages my beautiful face or some other less important part of me. Still, it was nice to see the players, coach and president come out and say hello and thanks. It was really quite emotional. Although also strange: when the players came out, to much excited shouting about Europe next year, they played Highway To Hell by AC/DC, which suggests to me that Europe is Hell, rather than the promised land that is just waiting to be conquered. Only time will tell...

I think that's all I need to report this week, so until next time

Toodle-oo