I Segreti di Londra - Corrado Augias
Thanks to Man of Roma, who quoted a section from Italian journalist, writer and TV presenter Corrado Augias‘ book describing the English, I bought a copy of Augias’ book ‘I Segreti di Londra’ yesterday.
While I’ve yet to really dig in to this book; I’ve made it to page 26 so far; what I’ve read has been fascinating, primarily because the work describes certain places in London, and the English, as seen through the eyes of the author.
It is very interesting to see how my fellow countrymen are viewed by an Italian, and, in a way, I feel that it is only fair that I should be reading this tome, in view of the fact that much of the stuff I write about on this blog concerns an Englishman’s perception of Italians and life in Italy.
The book may also help me to understand further how Italians view their own country and culture, and this, in turn, should help me to balance my perception of Italy and its people.
Interestingly enough, for me anyway, the prologue to ‘I Segreti di Londra’ discusses how the English view the Italians. What emerges from this brief analysis is that although historically the English looked down their noses at the unruly Italians, many English people found Italy irresistible.
Some of the more adventurous visitors (John Bright) from the green and pleasant land actually discovered that Italians are really quite nice people if you take the time to get to know them.
I also know a few English people who have been in Italy for a number of years who would agree with Bright’s ‘discovery’, and one of those people is myself.
Anyway, although I’ve really only started, I’ve found everything fascinating so far, even if it is a little odd to see myself, so to speak, under the microscope. Odd, but instructive.
The last book I read on this subject was Beppe Severgnini’s “L’inglese”, but although it was amusing, I found its assessment of the English character to be a wee bit superficial and dated, although I should point out that the book was a send up of the English and not some attempt at psychological analysis. Augias’ book, on the other hand, is more up to date and seems to be attempting to get ‘up close and personal’ with the way we English are, and why.
After I’ve read some more, I’ll post here to see if the book meets my expectations, and manages to help me understand what I am, and why. Whatever, I do believe I will continue to enjoy my guided tour of London courtesy of Corrado Augias, who, incidentally is an ex-politician and MEP.
The book ‘I Segreti di Londra’ was a best seller in Italy, but I’ve yet to check whether it has been translated into English. If I discover that it has, and I continue to find it enthralling, I shall pop it in my shops.
Miracle Players - English Language Theatre in Rome
If you live in Rome, or are planning to move there for a year or so, are a native English speaker and an actor/actress, then maybe you should take a look at the Miracle Players site.
Here is an except from their About the Group page:
The Miracle Players is a non-profit organization whose main objective is to promote the culture of antiquity in historical locations (with a smile!). The group was formed in May 1999 and has already established a reputation for producing original, funny and quality theatre. The key members are all English-speaking actors, resident in Rome, from America, Australia, England, Iran, Italy and Scotland.
The theatre troupe has already developed a following amongst the English-speaking theatre public in Rome and various associations including the British Council, various private and public schools, the Tourist Board of Rome, Rome City Hall, the Lazio Regional Administration and the Italian Ministry of Culture.
We believe our achievements and success are due to the harmonious blending of the diversity of the members themselves, their shared professionalism and their love for creating and performing.
It looks as though only ‘real’ actors are able to join, but I’m not all that sure about this. I may fire them off a mail and see how they reply. Or you could simply contact them:
Ass. Cult. Miracle Players
Piazza Confienza 3
00185 Rome, Italy
+39 06 70393427
By the way, I came across this organisation while checking out the Webring site. It looks as though the Webring system may provide me with plenty of things to write about. You will find a search link to Webring at the foot of this site,
The Dark Side of the UK, and the Free Press
The Times in England was one of the papers to have written an article stating that Italy is in a bit of a mess at the moment.
In some ways, this article was a little bit of the pot calling the kettle black, as the old saying goes. Indeed, if you take a look at The Policeman’s Blog, you may discover that life for some in the UK is certainly not a bed of roses.
For an insight into all that is not too wonderful back in the land of my fathers, I suggest reading these two recent posts over at the aforementioned blog:
Niether post paints a particularly pretty picture of the state of the UK now does it?
I found the ‘A Rare Insight’ post quite worrying, and it also shows that Italy is not the only country where the establishment has become rather out of touch with the lives of its populace. Actually, one of my past posts covers similar issues. You can read it here.
These articles are also a good example of how blogs can be more informative than the traditional press, which seems to be rather out of touch, and, it has to be said, is restricted to what it can say by certain vested interests. Although you may like to note that the writer of the Policeman’s Blog, who was a UK copper, is now policing in Canada. He left the UK for fear of losing his job - as a result of telling the hard edged truth.
Even if the cost of telling it like it is can be high, many blogs have, in general, become the true voice of the people, and are one of the few forms of truly independant press which exist today. At least for the moment.
One of the dangers of commercialising a blog is that the ‘editorial freedom’ can become limited. As an example of this, I was considering becoming an affiliate of Ebay, but then I noticed that Ebay does not want to be affiliated with sites of a political nature. This effectively counted Blog from Italy out.
I won’t be becoming an Ebay affiliate, because I want to continue to talk about issues that relate to politics and politicians.
One day it may happen that the rustle of cash leads to some form of compromise on my part with regard to what I waffle on about. I do hope this day is a long way off, or it never comes.
To end, a question: Do you, dear readers, think that blogs are gaining more respect than traditional news sources?
Answers on a comment please.
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