The sun returns.

After yet more thunderstorms this morning dawned bright and clear and hot. The good weather has brought the local farmers out with their combine harvesters desperate to make up for lost time. Looking out from the side of the pool I can see at least half a dozen machines cutting swathes through the fields of wheat and throwing up clouds of chaff.

The boyz are sitting contentedly in the shade looking at a ball floating in the swimming pool.They can happily spend half an hour following the course of the ball as it floats backwards and forwards from one side of the pool to the other.

Here in Italy attention is focused on the G8 meeting that is set to get underway in L'Aquila later this week. Faced with a raft of problems ( many to do with the Prime Ministers personal life ) the government in Rome seems to have been too distracted to set an agenda for the session. There is a feeling that the Italians ( and everyone else) will be pleased when the whole thing is finished. Although unemployment in Italy is rising rapidly and output collapsing the official line from the government is that everything is getting better and that Italy will emerge from this 'American' crisis in better shape than anywhere else in Europe. This forecast of course doesn't stand analysis.In the absence of any domestic demand the country is hugely dependent on exports and these are in freefall.The local bar owner let slip that his takings last month were down 40% from the level they were at last year - locals are cutting back on all unnecessary expenditures and there are no foreign tourists to take up the slack. Having said all that the attitude here is let's worry about all of this later.