Corking Machine

Wine Bottle Corking Machine

I promise you that I do not offer to help people move house with any ulterior motive. It is done out of goodwill and it gives me a chance to be with the person just before he/she leaves. Though it is true that on the last 2-3 occasions when I did so, I ended up moving a little part of those houses into mine - inadvertantly, I promise.

This morning, I went to help MB. Though help is a big word since there wasn't much to do. They will have professional movers come in next week and only a few things needed to be packed for storage in the south of Italy where DC's family lives. I helped her pack a few CDs, looked at pictures of her new house in Norwich, and even had fun helping her... fill bottles with wine and, for the first time in my life, cork them. With a special machine.

A filled and corked bottle

They apparently got into this when they were living in France. They would buy wine in 5-litre plastic bottles from local producers (usually in France or in Italy) and fill up empty wine bottles with it. Then cork the bottles themselves. This way, they get to drink the wine slowly and elegantly at the dinner table. And this vin de table would be as cheap as but much better than the ones you find in the supermarket. You see, I learnt something new today (though Hub told me later that they used to do this too chez lui when he was a child).

Anyway, she invited me to lunch and had a little box for the kids as I was leaving : a few little car models that DC collected in his years working at Citroen, an extra table book they had on some Ferrari car, a nice photo album, a Puma T-shirt, a bottle of vodka (for the papa) and a new limited edition Felipe Massa mobile phone they had 4 years ago and never got to use. It's the same model as the one I am currently using, but with Felipe Massa printed on it. This will be for me as my phone is so old I had to scotchtape the keypad to stop the keys from falling out. In case you wonder, I can afford a nice new phone, of course. But I'd rather keep the money for something else. The mobile phone is a necessary evil to me. I either email or meet a person, I rarely call him/her. I never feel that I am in the right condition to talk to someone on the phone. The surroundings and circumstances never seem to be as they should be. If you have 3 crazy kids you'll understand.

They will come over for dinner next week before they move away for good. I am hoping to get a signature from DC - the stylist behind the Citroen Picasso, the Ferrari California and 458 Italia! It would be something to keep and admire from time to time.

I'm 6 months into my 3rd year in Modena. So many people I know, so many friends have since left. And come June, a few more of my friends would be leaving. This is so sad. When will it be our turn to leave?

Hub was saying that maybe we should move into DC's more modern house in Montale. I told him that he must be mad, if you have been to my house, you would know that I am a maximalist, not a minimalist. Moving all my rubbish will be a nightmare. Plus I do not want any neighbours. I really love the idea that when you drive past my house at night, you wouldn't normally see it. It's totally dark out here. If there is one thing I like here in Modena besides real balsamic vinegar, it's my house.