Lorna at Vicenza

Once upon a time there was a nice girl. Placid, polite and fun, a bit flirty and she liked a joke. She was also very helpful. So helpful in fact that admin asked if she'd like to be a moderator of the Italian forum. Being the helpful, nice girl that she was, she said 'yes' even though she knew it would take up some unpaid time. She spent a lot of time on Internet anyway so could always do a quick check-in at tea break time. Italians believe that English folk stop for tea at any time of the day, especially four o'clock and she knew that she could make it work.

For the first year or two all was well. The other posters were nice, friendly helpful and she got to know and like the regulars. Together they invented "Happy Hour" and used it often. They also invented "Moans and Groans" and even our nice girl had cause to use that thread more than once. After all, Italian life is not all Dolce Vita, sometimes it's incompetence and strikes and sheer jobsworth that leave us gobsmacked with their insane comments.

Our nice girl learnt to live and almost accept this kind of incompetence, the slow workers, the workers that don't actually work, the teachers (don't ask her about the teachers), the clerks, the bankers - wankers and everybody else. Hell Fire. She even worked with quite a lot of them. She tried to change some of them, make them more worldwide, European, less Veneti, less Italian but, they couldn't or wouldn't trust her to break their chains and take them into a larger market. Some of them even said "foreign female - what do you know?"

Did I mention that by this time our nice girl had her first child? Well she did, and she stopped working in that oh so nice office because they tried to sack her when she said she was expecting. Not the response that she was expecting after seven years with them. Seven years!

This is why our nice girl started to work from home. This is how our nice girl got to know about British Expats. Her beautiful little baby could giggle and gurgle all day and our nice girl could still get a bit of work done.

This is why our nice girl wants to and will help any newcomers to Italy. It's because she's been there since the Lire, made phone calls with 'gettone', queued for hours for a 'permesso' and had every single conversation going with Telecom, Enel, Vodafone and even frozen food companies.

I still think I'm a nice girl, still helpful, still flirty, kind and jokey. Am I more cynical and sceptic too? I think so. Take the jokey, happy, flirty side of me because from now on, the trouble makers will get short thrift. I just am not patient anymore.

ononno

Lorna, sounds like your tolerance level has sunk to about the level of mine.
Just picked up a wonderful expression from an Alzheimer forum:
'if you pick up everybody's monkeys, you'll have so much weight on your shoulders you won't be able to walk to the shop for all the effin extra bananas you'll need'.
bye bye dicette l'inglese

highlander1

Thank Lorna for your insight.



There are been a change in this forum, and not for the best unfortunately, with new posters entering the forum with the sole intention of being stupid, irritating, abusive.

The strange thing is the other, rival italian forums seem to be concerned with were to buy Marmite or the latest offer at Esselunga. I wonder why ?

Conspiracy theory all around, maybe ?

arjacey

Isakat

Lorna, hugs.

I wish you were closer, we could hit the Proseco together.
Chin up and treat yourself this weekend, we can not change the world.

Do not let people get to you, we all appreciate your help on the forum, your great humour and wit.

Enjoy the weekend.

highlander1

Sorry to be a spoil sport, but tragic news on Prosecco production and wine in general in Italy this year.
The advice is stock up ( especially Prosecco ) as prices are set to rise .

Lorna at Vicenza

Thanks friends. Don't worry about me. I've also grown quite a thick skin over the years.

I just wanted to let you know that nice girl or not, there's no room on here anymore for trouble makers. Apart from all the help and advice that you give, I think some of us use the forum for a laugh and a joke in English and a 15 minute escape from daily Italian life. There's enough crap out there as it is so we don't need it here as well.

Anyway ....... it's my finger on the ban button . Don't be alarmed if it gets used a bit more often

Have a great weekend yourselves and don't pick up any monkeys

Lorna at Vicenza

I heard that too. I might have to clear the bikes and all the junk out of the cantina so I can use it as a wine cellar.

highlander1

That is the only kosher use for a cantina, storage of junk and bikes should be forbidden by law...... oh no, silly me, it probably be a new law by the end of next week.

arjacey

We are finding out about living in Italy with some extended visits and (some of) the posts on the forum.

Now, excuse me, but I has assumed that's what the cantina was for anyway

Tweedpipe

Hi Lorna,
Don't let the b***ards grind you down, I for one have always enjoyed your comments whenever I look across from the frog forum.
Fwiw, my sister was called Lorna, as a result of my father being a great lover of Blackmore's novel Lorna Doone. My sister wore that name like a mill-stone around her neck all her life, but fortunately it didn't prevent her from being an excellent musician, and a brilliant scholar.
I trust the name has never cramped your style!

Incidentally I've just been reading that due to one of the worst wine harvests since the 50's, Italian wine production is expected to fall significantly, and give up it's title of world's No. 1 wine producer to France. Sorry about that......

dmu

+1
Ciao!

Patty

I second what Isakat says -keep up the good work Lorna and just dont let the minority get to you.

Theres a brilliant expression in italian : La mamma del cretino e sempre incinta
(roughly translated - the mother of the idiot is always pregnant? )
and unfortunately Lorna some of those idiots seems to take great pleasure in coming on here and stirring up a hornets nest.

As you said - alot of of us come here to let off steam and have a joke and a moan and share our stories. Its always been a great forum with hardly any bitchiness and back stabbing so long may it stay that way

Hugs xxx

Sally Redux

Sorry to hear you are getting grief on your manor!

Let me know if you need any heads nailed to coffee tables.

Xx

Lorna at Vicenza

I've never met another Lorna in my life. Couldn't scratch my name into any of the wooden school desks as I was always the only Lorna in an all girls school. Granny used to call me Lordy. I hated that and finally plucked up the courage to tell her. So she shortened it to Lord Sisters thought it was bloody hilarious but the habit stuck and I find myself smiling now when they absentmindedly say Lord or Lordy on the phone or email. Girls at school called me Lornsie and that got shortened to Lorns...... and my mum though that you couldn't get a nickname out of Lorna when she chose my name