The Capers of Lipari

It is now imperative to write a jig with the above name, it would fit right into the canon of Irish tunes. It is suggested by our tour guide of the day who on hearing of our planned trip to the Aeolian or Lipari Islands informed us that the main export of Lipari, the largest island, is capers. We will report on their succulence and in the meantime start humming. The main purport of the excursion is to view the active volcanoes on the islands of Volcano and Stromboli. Mrs Poodle is also very keen to be immersed in hot mud and then scrubbed down in thermal springs. Mr Poodle looks on with indulgence and trepidation, mainly concerned about the fragrance of sulfur clinging to him for some time. It might leave more room for seating on planes and trains though.

The tour alluded to above was to Mt Etna. It was worth the visit but a little disappointing due to the extreme cold near the summit and the biting wind. It would have been possible to climb to the top crater but we were not thermally equipped. 1,000 meters down it was 4 degrees celsius with high windchill. But from this spot one could see the 2001 and 2002 craters along with the literally hundreds of others below some of which had reeked havoc, I use that spelling advisedly, over the centuries. The active volcano has both given and taken in terms of giving employment to a thriving tourist industry, and ski amenity, and destroying towns and villages with loss of life. All was quiet up there today.

Tomorrow, Friday, we think of the gig of The Fields in the Albert Hall. They open for the Jules Holland Band and are responsible for one of the best and most original albums of 2005. They comprise Mark Flanagan on guitars, Jimmy Bergin ditto and Barnes Goulding on drums. Find out more on markflanagan.com