Forty-six years in the life of a municipal flat in Varese, nu 4, snow over the city, Christmas and a different New Year

Varese at 9 am January 2nd 2014

The continuing story of the flat Simone and Rosa lived in for nearly 50 years and the city of Varese*

And today we woke to snow, which for me was perfect.

We had done Christmas with the family, but by Boxing Day the lads were all off reconnecting with their other lives.

Which meant we decided to spend the rest of the week into the New Year in Italy.

Now we have regularly been here for Easter and during the summer but never December.
Rosa and Simone do not bother with a Christmas tree although plenty do instead the front room is dominated by a nativity scene, which over the last twenty years has grown to include vast numbers of people as well as the family along with a windmill water feature and much else.

Rosa's nativity

From Boxing Day onwards the flat was full of family and at most meals there was never less than eight sitting around the table.

And of course New Year’s Eve was special.  Eleven of us sat down to eat, and it was fish starting with shell fish running through various other types of big ones and ending with fried octopus.

Given that this a serious round of food it was all interrupted by several games of bingo, complete with novelty prises.  In my case this was a large pair of pink ears.

I have to say it was a tad odd celebrating the stroke of midnight a full hour ahead of Manchester, Leicester and Eltham, but we are an hour ahead and at least as the Italian party on the TV hit its noisy culmination we shared the moment with our Ben and Anni seeing it in in Warsaw.

New Years Eve

All of which sounds a little boastful which it is not meant to be, just a recognition that for some of us at least family is not just the people who live close by and if the period means anything it is about sharing it.

And just after the stroke of midnight the callers were at the door and the whole block of flats swapped people, wished everyone well and then returned to their own.

It was one of those memorable nights made all the more special by the snow and there is promise of more to come, starting with the evening and continuing for days to come.

Pictures; from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*The story of a one municipal flat in Varese, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/The%20story%20of%20a%20one%20municpal%20flat%20in%20Varese