Thanks very much to everyone who helped us identify the flamingo. The consensus was that it was either an immature bird or one which had not been eating enough pink food to become a proper pink colour. One person suggested that it was a rednosed flamingo and another that the beak was a funny shape because it kept running into things. Well it is Christmas.

We would now like some help and advice of a technical nature. In the process of putting the old chain back onto the tandem it needed careful cleaning and inspection. Extra virgin olive oil is nearly as plentiful and just as easily available here as water. The management immersed the chain overnight in olive oil before carefully cleaning and inspecting it. Back on the tandem the chain looks just as good as it would have had the job been done with Finish Line.

Some questions emerge. Firstly are there likely to be any adverse effects from using extra virgin olive oil? Should we continue to use it as a chain lubricant or go back to Finish Line? Can the oil the chain was soaked in still be used for cooking? These are all important questions and there may be others we have not thought of. Olive oil is cheaper and more environmentally friendly than Finish Line and used on bikes it could rejuvenate the Southern Italian economy.

Italy

Now that we are about to leave we dare to comment. We have been living with Italians since we left Bristol. We have not had the opportunity to speak to anyone from the UK.

Their way of life is totally different from ours. Even in mid winter they live outside. We have seen people drinking coffee at pavement cafés at 7pm with temperatures of less than 10 degrees. In the afternoon everything shuts and the whole world is quiet. We first came across this on the ship when the master disciplined the crew for making a noise in the afternoon.

Sexism is rife. Few men will look the stoker in the eye and most make the mistake of deferring to the management. The streets and cafés are full of men with few women to be seen. Bimbos abound on television with women seldom taking a lead role.

In terms of technology of all sorts but especially computing they are way behind the UK. After a while it becomes aggravating that appearance is more important here than function. The bathroom and kitchen will look good but there will always be something seriously functionally wrong with them. They do of course love their mobiles and cars, usually at the same time which can be disconcerting. They drive badly but don’t seem to hit things. This is fortunate because they don’t strap the children in and often have them on their laps in the front. Still, in a Catholic country there are always plenty of kids.

We don’t believe they have any grasp of the concept of global warming and the need for change. They are dirtier and do less recycling than any other part of Europe we have been to while using huge amounts of plastic. There is rubbish everywhere and the average Italian just chucks.his fag packet in the gutter. They often can’t even be bothered to put rubbish in the communal bins, preferring to leave it in a stinking heap beside the bin. The only good thing is that because they are such poor builders and no longer have EC money for roads there are no crane cities.

Having said all that and trying to ignore the sexism, which is not easy, the Italians in the main have been lovely. If we stop in the street someone offers help. Those where we have stayed could not have been nicer and we have not been ripped off. As strangers to the UK there is very little chance we would have been invited in at Christmas. They are a warm people but culturally and educationally far different from Northern Europeans.

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