The word around the Roman Forum is that Italy is on the verge of a Renaissance. After three years of recession, modest growth is expected this year. Regular readers may recall Giovanni and Guiseppe, two Italian plumbers who tried their luck in England about three years back. Thanks to improved employment prospects, they have returned…
Roman Circus
"He is not the Messiah, he is a very naughty boy". Thus spake Mandy Cohen, mother of Brian, to the ignorant mob besieging her home, rejecting their mindless veneration of her son. Her statement would have been appropriate at many points in history - the world has had no shortage of false messiahs. The human condition…
A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum
As a kid, did you ever dream of an extra tap in the kitchen that dispensed endless lashings of Coca Cola and Strawberry Milkshake? Or what about being let loose for an afternoon inside a locked, and deserted, sweet shop? Well, the not-so-juvenile tax practitioners of Bungabungaland woke up on November 21 to a dream come true. A…
The Greecy pole
When it was suggested last week by a sympathetic BBC interviewer that the Italian government's decision not to fund Rome's bid for the 2020 Olympic Games had cost Italy the chance of taking its place on the world stage, the interviewee retorted sharply "Italy has been on the world stage for 2000 years". Meanwhile, the Greeks keep…
