Accetturese

Twice, in the last couple of months, we have had a knock on our door in the evening. Mrs Accetturese goes to answer because I am too shy - my italian is not yet up to par.
It is the mayor, he steps back after ringing the doorbell and when my wife opens the door he points to a couple of facemasks that he has placed on our doorstep. He asks if we are ok, and if there is anything that we need? Assured that we are fine, he wishes us a good evening and moves on.
Does anything like that happen in the UK? I doubt it.
Our commune has asked that anyone in difficulty financially or otherwise because of the lockdown should get in touch so that they can help.
There are many things that annoy me about life in Italy, but they are way, way outnumbered by what is wonderful!

Geordieborn

Living back in the UK at the moment, I totally agree!

philat98

We were lucky we had Conte at the helm. His behaviour seems a good deal better than quite a few other world leaders.

scrubbedexpat142

Great, positive story - thank you for sharing it. Here, in Budapest, not dissimilar, a lot of help offered & advertised, particularly for the over 60s. Lucky enough not to need that ourselves but good to see!

Lorna at Vicenza

Well sorry to be the one to burst the happy bubble.... but ...... nothing much has happened in my comune. We all got free face masks shoved into our letterboxes by God knows whom when they became obligatory and they were masks of the kind that let you breathe and cough and not fog up your glasses and even blow out several lighters. You could have blown out two dozen birthday candles wearing the free Veneto mask. Let's not talk about government help. I lost all my school jobs. I spoke to INPS about getting some kind of help. I don't have a Partita Iva. I do not have the Gestione Seperata. I am basically a nobody working nowhere. No help. Grocery deliveries for the first time in my life working here and living here? No. Only a certain age group and only if you can waste an hour on Internet registering on the new part of the coumune website proving your age or disability with a dozen bits of paperwork and most importantly - bank statements or your registered ISEE to prove you live below the breadline to qualify for help.
I did get 100 free GB for my son from Wind but as I already pay for home Wifi, it made little difference to his home schooling and don't get me started on that. What a bloody farce that was with everyone trying to get Google Meet etc. and then work it and when it did work - you didn't get a lesson from all of the Profs, you just got them screaming down a phone line into a device.

modicasa

Yep Lorna that about sums it up. Here no masks, not even to be bought until 10 days ago. No gloves to be found. Everyone in cassa integration or worse. I got my 600 euros for March (applied for on April fools days) arrived on 25th May. ON 26th May I had to pay the same INPS 935 euros in pension contributions even though I hadnt earned a cent due to lockdown. Result: 300 euros out of pocket.
Sicilians on the whole very good about lockdown, distancing, and all that - proud of them until they go ballistic calling for an old dear who came home from Padova to be stoned to death. Helped along by the cretin of a mayor we have. (And Barbara D'Urso). So... ups and downs. Home schooling near zero - half the kids dont have necessary technology or signal.

brian12

A few weeks ago we tried to buy masks,no joy anywhere.When we mentioned it to our neighbour,within an hour she ran up 2 on her sewing machine.Wasn't expecting that ,fantastic.

philat98

Nothing happened in my comune either. Not even masks. The only good thing was my doctor allows you to call her for a repeat prescription and she sends the prescription via email.
Did your daughter manage to return fron Australia?

Lorna at Vicenza

Thanks for asking. She's still there but to be perfectly honest with you, she's better off where she is. When lockdown happened there she was still at the campsite where she'd been volunteering. The campsite closed immediately but the owners very kindly kept on Chloe and the other 'kids' that were there and carried on feeding them. Without any tourists around they are all working during the day keeping the veggie gardens going, weeding the pathways, sanding and re-varnishing all the wood, painting, building new pergolas and porches etc. They cook and eat together and without any tourists around, the campsite has become their own private playground and they go for a swim early morning or after work. The campsite is a "back to nature" kind of place out in the bush so very rural. There are two Finnish girls there, two French guys, A German lad, a girl from Scotland and a boy from Wales, a boy from Chile and I can't remember who else. It was Chloe's 20th birthday last week. I had no idea what on earth to send her and she'd told me that she didn't really need anything. I could have just shoved some money into her bank account but I've never really liked doing that and even when her and Alex became teens and did like having money to spend, I have always made sure they have a couple of presents to open too. Then I had an idea ......I emailed the campsite owners asking if they'd accept a delivery of booze if I used an Aus website to order it and pay for it and also thanked them for continuing to look after the kids and I got the loveliest of emails back. I ordered two cases of beer, some cans of cider, a couple of bottles of wine and a bottle of Prosecco - something fizzy and Italian for the birthday girl to pop open. Not ten minutes after clicking on 'confirm and pay' I got a voice message from Chloe saying she'd quite like a portable speaker for when she's out in the veggie patch, the beach or in her caravan and maybe a warm blanket/throw for her bed and when she's sitting on her porch. My parents usually give her some money when they see her in the summer so I told them to keep it for me instead and I ordered a decent speaker and a fleecy throw from Amazon Australia. I let Chloe believe that it was just too late now to get anything sent to Australia and if I just sent her some money she'd have to buy her own stuff.
On the morning of her birthday the other kids made a big, cooked breakfast whilst the couple that runs the campsite cafè drove to the Post Office in the town to see if any packages had arrived. Amazingly everything I had ordered was there despite Amazon's email stating that delivery would be today, June 1st. Chloe was blindfolded whilst they laid out all the boxes on the table and as they sang happy birthday to her, her blindfold was removed. She video called me later. It was 9.30am here. She was already tipsy over there and absolutely gobsmacked that I'd managed such a huge surprise and even got quite emotional - though that might have been the booze already consumed
So, apart from the fact that she's paid almost $400 for a new visa to avoid becoming illegal and being banned from re-entering the country in future years, she really is happier and better off there than she would be here listening to her brother's teachers, getting bored and having no social life. She even told me that she's started reading - something she avoided here because reading was just a bloody Italian homework chore even though our home is full of books because I'm an avid reader, and better yet, she's reading in English.

philat98

I bet quite a few people wouldnt mind being locked down in Australia like that.

Geordieborn

Might as well try the sprouts again Lorna!

Lorna at Vicenza

Ha ha. The only thing I didn't send her was a bag full of sprouts saying "love from Mum xxx "

Geordieborn

Do you know from Oz I'm sure sprouts would go down as hell! But I still love them...