If a wet nose was a sign of health and happiness...

If a wet nose was a sign of health and happiness then Wilf would be way up there. So far this morning he's had a conversation with the gardener ( which ended as soon as the grass strimmer came out ), barked at the stone masons who have been delivering more stone for the entrance, and chased lizards to his hearts content.

With stock markets moving up over the last week the Italian press has moved from deep depression into a universally upbeat view that all is well and that the downturn in the economy will be over by the later part of the year. Everything will be back on track in 2010 and Italy will be growing robustly again. A house guest is of the opinion that this stridently black or white , doom or euphoria view of life is deeply routed in the Italian psyche and goes back to the conformity that was imposed at the time of the counter reformation.That seems a little trite to me but it is interesting how the mood can change so rapidly here whereas in the UK there is more of a perception that current woes will linger for a long time.