This year, the day has also been nominated as Record Store Day (RDS). The actual RDS is the third Saturday of every April but this extra date has been added probably not with any real expectations of a boom in customers but more as an additional reminder that record stores still exist and are worth preserving. They serve a valuable social function that cannot be met by blogs, mail order sites and P2P file sharing. Continue reading
Scorchio!!
The English are obsessed by the weather and the Italians are obsessed by food.
These cultural stereotypes are true up to a point but it would be wrong to assume that Italians never discuss climatic conditions. The difference is that in the UK there is so much more to say.
For the past week in Italy, temperatures have been consistently between 30 – 35 celsius so each day has been hot – hot -hot.
What can you say about this?
“Turned out nice again” is lame and “It won’t last” is the type of British negativity that has no place here.
What happens is that discussions centre on variations in the levels of humidity (“It’s not the heat – it’s the humidity” is the clichéd gripe). The fact that it is hot is taken for granted. Outdoor concerts and summer shows are organised with no expectation that they will be washouts. Freak storms are always possible but they tend to pass as quickly as they arrive.
Consequently, I’m looking forward to going to England next week in the expectation of experiencing four seasons in one day. If we hit a heatwave, I’ll ask for my money back!
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