April 2010 (From Western Telegraph)

Spring has Sprung

12:30pm Saturday 10th April 2010

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The last week of March there was an amazing sunset with tangerine skies with black filaments as the sun went down behind the mountain in the West. While in the East the sky had a startling wide vermilion band with blue skies and the full moon above it. In front in layers were large white fluffy clouds. If we hadn't seen it we couldn't have believed it. Fortunately a friend did photograph the rare phenomenon but the intensity of the colour just hasn't been captured but the picture will give you an idea of what it was like. The weather improved each day so by the first of April the temperatures had risen to around 18 degrees and the grounds were leafing up, blossoming and generally growing upwards so the lawn mower and strimmers were back in daily use, and the cuckoo arrived.

Easter, early again this year, is one of the two most important days for the church in Italy, and many festivals, parades and markets are held on the same weekend as Easter Sunday. Naturally chocolate is also a dominant factor as Perugia is the centre of Italy’s chocolate manufacturing and Orvieto has started to hold an event at Easter dedicated to it, as well as the chocolate festival later in the autumn in Perugia itself.

A bakery, that had only sold to the trade before, had added a shop open to the public and they held an inauguration day with a buffet to show off what they could provide. We thought we would have pay 2 Euros and get a drink, sandwich and a cake but no it was totally free and what a spread! Cheese loaves sliced horizontally and turned into giant club sandwiches, or single slices topped with salami or cream cheese. Foccacia, ribbolata, two sorts of pizza, normal sandwiches with various fillings, porcetta rolls - as the man with his hot porcetta van was in attendance along with a live singer going full belt. The deserts... pies, pastries, proffiteroles, tarts, Swissrolls. Seemingly endless streams of food and people attending and wine, beer and soft drinks, just help yourself, so we did. They were raffling metre high hand decorated Easter eggs but we didn't buy a ticket as we'd be eating the thing, if we’d won, for the next 2 years.

The glass museum in Piagaro had a demonstration of “Sugar imitating glass” by the "university of flavours". They used a specially designed sugar to do the work which they could colour while it was boiling up at 180 degrees, instead of using granulated sugar and glucose, although they had some with them. They said the stuff they were using would survive about 12 months but sugar only 2 months because humidity would cause the confection to collapse. Once the special granules had melted into a thick liquid they tempered it by pulling and folding it while wearing special thermal gloves, then keeping it warm, they cut it with shears and pulled it into shape or used heatproof silicone moulds to create leaves with veining, birds etc.

One man made a pearly white rose shaping and forming each petal before “sticking” them together with a small blow torch. They also "blew" some of this mixture to make a hollow vase using a small hand pump, very similar to the way Murano glass is produced. We asked why they didn't make the rose in the red coloured paste but apparently this was specifically a type of work called "satin" and it is pearly or translucent as a rule.

On display were examples of work made previously, Cinderella’s glass coach, jugs and bottles on a display case that looked like the antique items within the case.