Italian letters
1986
‘Palio was rained off. There was a guinea-pig guessing game in the church. Very appealing’
05/03
The Feilers turn up around April 2nd, and the Tilsons at Easter. They are looking for another house, and a place for their friend Len Deighton and a few others – but don’t say anything about that, as Mr. Deighton is secretive.
06/06
Weather here has been marvellous, but has now suddenly turned into mid-winter for a couple of days. It seems that the character of the Tuscan weather is more dramatic than that in the UK, in that we have a miraculous morning, furious clouds and winds in the afternoon, and just as one has given up hope, a serene evening with completely cloudless skies. The sun sets in Turnerian fashion, right behind Volterra at this time of year. Very very John Miller.
P– C– the American bum painter (and his friend M–) have turned up again, briefly, but both are finding life difficult in New York and Milan respectively. They have now departed, but the village still has too many layabouts in it.
Looking forward to moving my new studio up here (when we get the new flat) as it will save 600,000 lire a year in rent, and enable me to work at odd times, which are difficult (or “is difficult”) at the moment, since the walk is a deterrent – especially in the middle of the night.
(date unknown)
The dreaded Jonathan Miller has descended on Florence, in order to direct “Tosca” in modern dress, and upset everyone. He has set the opera in the Fascist period, which is tactful. The City Council debate the “outrage” tomorrow. (“Too many foreigners in the opera world” someone remarked!)
I believe that Toyah Wilcox and husband have been staying with John [Miller] and Michael [Truscott] again at Sancreed [House]. Angela Noakes, who has an apartment in Mensano (near here), was recently working on a film with Madonna and horrible husband, in Hong Kong. She said it was a nightmare! There do seem to be a lot of these creatures around now.
[Madeleine] wrote to I– R– in the World Service newsroom at Bush House, and I gather that she may come out here on a visit. We have heard nothing from the H– S– so I take it we shan’t be seeing them here, or anywhere else. I think we finally offended them for good. Doreen [Simon’s godmother] has been out with Lord Strabolgi to Venice, but not this far. She mentioned a place near Siena and we went and looked at it out of curiosity. It was a pensione on its own vast estate and appeared to be about £200 a night!
26/07
Palio [village celebrations pictured above] here was rained off and had to be run again. Weather has been very variable, although hot and humid enough. Our horse, which had a sagging back like something in a veterinary textbook on equine malformations, lost, came in fifth out of six. There was a captive hot-air balloon for flights, and a guinea-pig guessing game in the church cloisters (renovated now). One had to guess which hole the guinea-pig would run into, in a kind of miniature wooden colosseum. A handsome dark brown and cream guinea-pig I must say. Very appealing…
That Newlyn film, “A breath of fresh air” has won several awards, including one in New York. Just shows there is no opposition these days. I still think it was terrible.
“Nabucco’ [in the open air in front of the cathedral at San Gimignano] had excellent tunes, average singing, dull production, as it is very difficult to stage, needing a lot of room and a genius at crowd scenes, with a lot of “business” to make it visually interesting. The audience seemed to be almost entirely German – Italy being invaded by them now. A couple in front kept talking and moving heads. Infuriated, I leant forward and thrust my head between theirs – cupping my ear as if to say – “Well, let’s all hear!” That finished them completely. (A recommended ploy. It can’t fail.)
10/11
Ploughing under way. Landscapes golden brown. Have organised new studio (next to kitchen) with two tables on trestle-legs and have begun work again. Just ruined two earlier reliefs – a good start. Very friendly letter and press cuttings from Feiler – watch out! Another cutting from “Artscribe” saying that “Neo-Geometric” art is replacing “Neo-Expressionist” so perhaps there is hope yet. Large new warehouse-like modern gallery opened south of river in Florence – looks interesting but closed when we found it. Has 100 Japanese artists on show. Don’t get that! Cultural exchange?
23/12
…Michael Parkin has written, asking me to let him have a few works to show at the Chicago Art Fair in May, so that is encouraging. Now the problem is, to get them to the UK, but perhaps I can synchronise that delivery with my trip to Bristol, to make an inventory of our effects…
Went to Lake Trasimeno last Saturday to the best fish restaurant we have ever visited – very expensive but superb, and with delightful views across the lake. Hardly any tourists at this time of year, of course. Came back by way of La Foce, home of that rather boring but informative writer, Iris Origo, who is married to an Italian nobleman. Lovely house and stables, and a castle (without a roof), belonging to them and clinging to a hilltop nearby. We got lost, petrol getting low, and light fading – wandered around woodland tracks, over mountain tops to incredible mediaeval farmsteads, but in the end managed to find the road home, and arrived back with about 1 litre of fuel left in the tank. Fantasic day, everything clear as a primitive painting.
