Well it’s finally here - we leave Radicondoli tomorrow… 

We have been here more or less, since mid April. Had great fun at the May Day celebrations and the Festa di San Giovanni;

enjoyed various parties and dinners with friends from here, as well as from Ireland. What is it about eating outside that makes even the simplest food taste delicious? We’ve had wonderful friends and family to stay, including Jackie Stanley, my tutor from NCAD, her daughter Jane Bruce, and son-in-law Chris Milton, and Sheila Pomeroy (all great painters).

The weather has now turned very hot, the air is dead, the fields are dry and brittle-looking, and trips to the sea are a welcome relief. I’m feeling a bit like one of the lizards on the terrace, I find it is too hot to get my act together and complete the task I set myself in cool April, and the final two drawings that I had planned to make are still blank sheets of paper. But on the plus side, of the finished eight drawings I am pleased with seven!

Also on the plus side, yesterday I heard that my work, “Seven days in August”, has been selected for the Printmakers Council’s show, “Pushing Boundaries” at Farmleigh (October - December), and the Dunamaise Arts Centre (January - February)

But the adventure continues. On our final drive home through France, we stop in Paris on Sunday to hang an exhibition of my etchings and drypoints in a great restaurant called Page 35. So on Monday at 6pm, we will put on the warpaint and THE posh frock for the Vernissage. Som, the owner, was so excited when we were discussing the show, that he has promised to cook “sexy fish and chips” in my honour! I can’t wait!