Wilf gets on with life while the local murder trial dominates the press here.

Both boyz seem to be surviving the absence of the family surprisingly well . With the exception of an unsupervised bout of digging down by the pool in search of a mole (which necessitated a bath for both of them) they have been relatively well behaved and seem content to spend much of their time at the garden gate waiting stoically for the missing elements of the family to return. They are also clearly becoming bored with a diet of kibbles and rice ( as far as my canine culinary skills extend - in fact as far as my culinary skills extend ) and miss having hot vegetables cooked for them so a wild and emotional reunion with the culinary side of the family can be expected tomorrow.

Here in Umbria the local murder trial continues to dominate the headlines in the morning press with the court once again in session. Last year a young British student at Perugia university was found with her throat cut. Initially an illegal immigrant was held responsible, and subsequently charged, but then the investigation widened to include the murdered girls American housemate and her boyfriend. This morning the investigating judge has released a ruling showing that the American student was indeed at the house at the time of the murder despite her protestations to the contrary. The sad story hits all the buttons in the popular imagination - murder, sex, drugs, immigrants,satanic rites, violence etc. The trial and police investigation have been going on for more than a year and have attracted a huge amount of coverage. With the formal court sessions due to run for another 9 months I can't help but wonder how long a trial like this would take in the US or UK ?