October 2008 Update

Well - what a summer!
Where shall I start? First of all I should thank the film crew who had to put up with us for 3 months... Michaela, Dom, Tom, Matan, Daisy, Simon, Richard, Cat, Ben...well done and thank you all. Thanks too to Channel 4 (despite them mucking about with the timings). The biggest thanks goes to our friends for putting up with the erratic attention they have had over summer and to the other contributors on the show - most of whom were Italian and had no idea what it was all about!

Just to give you an idea of the timescales and work involved in producing a show like this - the crew were here from the start of June to mid September. There was around 70 hours of filming per episode (poor editors) and many, many of the things we did during the summer just couldn't be fitted into the show. We were actually being filmed for the final episode as the first episode was aired. The schedule was very tight and Ricochet (the production company) did a great job to get everything done in time. In real terms the viewers were only a month behind reality... not bad going. We are all still recovering. There were a lot of very early starts and 12 hour days. Which is pretty tough when you have 4 kids and a lot of animals involved with the filming too.

Anyway, onwards, as ever, at Casa del Sole. No time to relax, especially as the TV exposure meant that Richard is working doubly hard. My online shop has been an unprecedented success. So much so that we have had to relocate the base to the UK and get someone else to do the distributing. My Mum and I were spending so much time taking orders, packing and posting that we didn't have time to make the produce! All that has changed though with our new UK member of the team, Judith, who will be handling distribution from sunny Liverpool. It's back to the jam pan for me and I never want to see another bit of bubble wrap in my life!
House sales are slowing down with the UK credit crunch affecting us a lot. However, we are still seeing some investment, especially for those looking for a 'bricks and mortar' safe investment or those looking to avoid inheritance tax (there isn't any in Italy). So it's not all bad over here, and Italy hasn't seen the 'crunch' that the UK and US have experienced because there isn't the credit culture here.

I am almost finished writing my new recipe book. My publisher had put everything on hold because of the financial crisis but when have we ever let a little thing like that stop us? I will be publishing it myself as an e-book within the next 2 weeks. After this I have an outline for a self sufficiency handbook for ordinary people (rather than the beard toting radicals that tend to make you feel guilty). After that it's back to Casa del Sole for 'Tuscan Tales'... having Nigel McCrery here has fired my enthusiasm. Now all I need is another couple of hours in every day.

All the kids are doing well and, thankfully, are back at school. Gregory is being entered for some archery competitions, Marco is riding brilliantly, Vito is getting to grips with writing left handed (which is really not encouraged over here) and little Leo is walking at the grand old age of 10 months... he just wants to keep up with his brothers.

The animals are all well. Those of you who were worried about the fate of Puzzle - please don't. He is safely here at Casa del Sole and isn't going anywhere. I'll be keeping him for as long as I possibly can (hopefully another 3 years) and will then find him a super private home with loving owners. My breeding program will start again in the spring and I should have my long awaited pure Morgan early in 2010 - gosh, doesn't that sound a long way off! Next week we are off to the Verona horse expo which is where everyone who is anyone in horses will be... hopefully we'll make lots of new contacts.

Finally, we have started our olive harvest. With a working holiday worker, Mark, we have made a good start. I won't repeat myself here though- if you are interested in the olives then to see our progress here.

Other news is that we will be at La Dolce Vita at Olympia in London in March next year. We are hosting their 'Property' section but will also be running a stall with our own Tuscan produce - hopefully we will see you there.