Special order of the day 20 Oct 1954

[sono piccolo ma crescero]

?Grouse?? Tetraone

Grouse is the family name (Tetraonidi) of black grouse (Fagiano di monte o gallo forcello), Capercaillie (Urogallo o gallo cedrone) and so on. You cannot hunt cappercaillie in Italy; on the contrary you can hunt black grouse whose curved feathers are proudly shown on Tyrolese hats.

P.S. I am not a hunter

[serlilian]

Maybe Larry and I should continue our conversation in private?
But I hope that someone else would join us when we'll meet in Triest.
My friends are interested in everything regarding war, uniforms, guns, badges, but also in meeting people who lived that period. And we are also interested about what you remember of your living in Triest.

You say the Italians catch pigeons alive?

ahahhhah I was joking about the different way of saying. In English you say "To kill two pidgeons with one stone" while we say "To catch two pidgeons with one broad bean".

And all those poor little robin red-breasts they shoot down in Puglia and eat? But our saying of - two birds with one stone - does not mention the breed of bird. Although I have eaten - as per the old song - four and twenty blackbirds, baked in a pie. And very tasty too. Also wood pigeons and pheasant and partridge. All of them very tasty. I'm waiting now for the hunting season to start in August - the glorious 14th - and looking forward to being able to get a couple of grouse. Now those really are tasty. ??Grouse?? Tetraone, credo in talian.

Poor little birds. I'm against hunting... but I like to eat wild animals.

I look forward to meeting some of your friends from the militaria forum. We should have a lot to talk about. Especially about the 'poor times the youth went through after the war'. And especially the fact that the war actually passed by Trieste and that the city escaped most of the bombing and fighting that other towns in Italy suffered. What did they expect? Italy was an enemy country and an ally of Germany. Trieste was fortunate that the Allies occupied it for 5 years thus helping it to get back on its feet whilst the other Italian towns (and youth) had to look after themselves. But the Triestine people are noted for always complaining about everything and anything and wanting other people to do things for them. Sorry, but that is the way most people think about Trieste.
Larry.

The situation in Triest was particular. If the Allies didn't occupy it, probably we would have became the seventh Republic of Yugoslavia.
Yes, I think too that Triestine people aren't able to manage their difficulty by themselves. But the situation is quite difficult to examine in a few words.

I look forward to meeting you!

[Larry]

Having re-read what I posted yesterday evening I realise I was a trifle harsh in my comments about Trieste. You see, I have a problem. I lived for quite a long while in South Wales (where there used to be a quite large number of Italians who had come over from Italy after the first world war to work in the coalmines). The Welsh people love an argument and I also served in various Welsh Infantry regiments during the war so, as an Anglo-Scot I had to learn to hold my own in some of the arguments. This meant I had to learn to stand outside the argument and see both sides of the question. This applied in my posting yesterday. But I could have been a little more diplomatic. Never mind. What was said cannot be taken back. So now, Serlilian, you can warn your friends that I may not be completely sympathetic when we meet. And as much as I love Trieste and its people, I still have to speak from the viewpoint of an Anglo-Scot, ex-enemy of Italy, ex-Ally of Jugoslavia, ex-enemy of the Jugoslav partisans, insomma, ex, ex, ex, ex. But I do know also, that
the Triestines also love a good argument. We could have an interesting evening!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Larry
P.S. In private if you wish. I love talking to ladies in private!!!!!

[serlilian]

No problem, Larry.
I hope we'll have an interesting conversation and a good beer together. (maybe more then one! )