The Italian wine shippers send an e-mail saying that the two cases of wine have been lost in the warehouse. ' We shall attempt to replace them as soon as possible' . A vague answer but progress of sorts.
'The Font' was due to head off to Ann Arbor today to a godsons graduation. The Lufthansa flight to Detroit cancelled two months ago. Now news that the airline is thinking of filing for the German version of Chapter 11. It will be years before the airlines get back to normal. We still have flights to DC in September but the chances of us going are minimal. This WaPo news story with its alarming gif doesn't make me any keener to get on a plane : https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/scientists-think-they-know-ways-to-combat-viruses-on-airplanes-theyre-too-late-for-this-pandemic/2020/04/20/83279318-76ab-11ea-87da-77a8136c1a6d_story.html
Perhaps if the lockdowns are eased we'll drive back to Scotland for a few days ?
Sophie waits impatiently while I get ready to drive down to the strawberry farm. The farmers wife struggles on . Her takings are down 80%. She's having to do everything herself as the group of cheerful Senegalese pickers haven't been granted visas.
Sophie is very disappointed in the strawberry purchase. She had been hoping for a trip to the sausage farm.
We are out of olive oil. Time to order some cases from Umbria. The Puglia harvest is being devastated by a disease that kills the trees. 2000 year old olive groves wiped out. Some folks think half of Europes olive oil production will disappear.
Can you get any more Texan than this ? : https://www.southernthing.com/the-author-of-hank-the-cowdog-is-hosting-virtual-readings-from-his-ranch-in-texas-2645736734.html
For those who can't access the WaPo story here's another link to the gif showing what a cough does on an airplane : https://twitter.com/dansinker/status/1255220187948814343
18 comments:
Yikes, I wish I hadn't seen that gif. It's really very frustrating being in a place like Japan where there is literally no way out except on a plane (oh, wait, I forgot about cruise ships!). We were supposed to be visiting Portugal this week and, every time I write to someone that we will reschedule as soon as it is possible, it makes me wonder when that will be. Well, at least in the meantime, we have Hank the Cowdog and virtual Texas! Sophie really does do impatience very well.
Cross fingers that the olive oil order goes more smoothly than the wine. My neighbour Jim (the one with the black lab called Angus) usually spends summer at his second home in Puglia and a few months ago was telling me about the devastation of the ancient olive trees. So sad.
In Scotland, or Aberdeen at least, we 've just enjoyed one of the most extended spells of dry and sunny weather since I moved here over two decades ago. Not sure I could guarantee it will stay the same if you visit later in the year!
Cheers, Gail.
Sophie is rocking a Rod Stewart look in that kitchen shot.
Bought some strawberries roadside on an errand. OMG they are good. Bought more on the way back.
The olive oil blight is scary. Already olives were under siege by a fruit fly.
A story about "quarantine" for olive trees: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/world/europe/fear-of-ruin-as-disease-takes-hold-of-italys-olive-trees.html?searchResultPosition=1
I'd not heard about the olive groves. What a loss. I had seen that clip about the planes. You probably saw that "Jet Blue" is the first US airline requiring all to wear masks now. But we are rescheduling patients in my office for September, so hopefully there will be some kind of "new normal protocol" by then. My trip to Tennessee in July is still on the books. I need something to look forward to.
Hari OM
Interestingly, as a frequent flyer, I have long known planes to be incubators of infections and have always been sure to have my face covered except when eating - and even that can expose one sufficiently to lurgies. As proven last year on my return from OZ and going down for four weeks with 'something'. Driving overland to get to the Great Down Underparts, however, is not in my future, so air travel it will still have to be... (or never again - and that would break my spirit entirely...) YAM xx
New Zealand makes good olive oil - maybe there will be a market for ours in Italy? It is a shame for the producers there, and it must be hard when money is already tight.
It will take a long time for travel to get back to where it was we think. How the world has changed in a few months.
Sophie, Inca wants to know where the nearest sausage farm is to you! She'll try to persuade me to take her there for a holiday - do they do B&B?
I saw something about the disease affecting Olive trees last weekend on BBC 2 - a programme called "Simon Reeve's Mediterranean". He visited an olive farm in the deep south of Italy, and spoke to the owner, who had been told he had to destroy most of his trees. The poor man was in tears. It's affecting Spain and Greece too, and is expected to decimate most of Europe's olive oil producers.
I vote for the drive to Scotland. Was hoping to make it to St. Kilda this year. Maybe next?
I had some friends who flew to South Africa a few years back. When they returned they told me that on one leg of the flight to SA, the plane was fumigated with the passengers sitting in the plane waiting for take off. Most alarming to them ...I could only imagine. Sprayed like bugs. They never found out specifics, so that is all I know about it.
It happens quite frequently, usually where there's been an outbreak of some alien insect. Angus always tries to hold his breath and not inhale. Guess there will be a lot more aerosol spraying in future.
Portugal is probably best left until 2021 although the impact this will have on a tourism sector that accounts for more than 20% of GDP will be dire for them. I'm not sure our though of coming to Japan in 2021 for the Olympics is going to be a starter.
Good to know Aberdeen is sunny !
Our strawberry lady is finishing the gariguettes and starting picking the Clary. Always a sign that April is about to segue into May.
Here's hoping Tennessee is up and running again for the summer.
Never knew that New Zealand was olive oil country. Had assumed both islands were too rainy in the winter.
What will happen to European eating habits of olive oil; becomes scarce doesn't bear thinking about. The obvious solution is North Africa but not sure there's enough water available for scaling up irrigation.
Next year for sure although how some of the wee seasonal businesses will survive I'm less sure about..
Wearing a mask on a long flight deserves a medal ! I get fidgety wearing one after 20 minutes.
Post a Comment