Back at the park the Sardinains translate some of their completed booklets to me and then we picnic on cheeses, bread, chilli and beer. There are 3 cheeses Olivier has brought; a hard cheese similar slightly to peccorino, a soft cheese which is subtle and more like the consistency of brie. Nobody knows what the cheeses are called but Olivier tells us the hard cheese is from a neighbouring town.
It’s much quieter than last night with a few people strolling through. An artist-writer, Domenico, I met last night tells me there was about 400 people at the opening last night. We have a conversation about London that I think we maybe had last night and there’s more pizza brought by one of the Michelas. I think I have OD’d on cheese and crave vegetables, salad and fruit.
There is another snack at 12 on the rugs courtesy of the Sardinians with olives and crisps and a vat of homemade vino bianco which is quite sweet and also refreshing. 2 big dishes of pasta are brought by Luigi and Andrea; one gnocchi dish and another which is like a thick soup. Both are delicious. After dinner we are entertained by first Eduardo and Andrea with singing, guitar and harmonica, then Simone and the other Frenchman’s rendition of some pop/rock classics such as an upbeat Wish You Were Here and some very French songs. Eduardo tries to teach me Harmonica but it’s embarrassing ‘practising’ alongside a French acoustic performance. I can’t sing either so I click my fingers while others clap and Andrea and friend bring percussion with spoons and bottles. Somebody familiar to the group has caused a scene who has a problem with the drink and he is asked to leave. He has thrown a wine bottle into the bush and shouted something probably offensive. It’s interesting watching people’s interactions, conversations and relationships unfold, not knowing most of what is being said. The uplit big green leaves swaying against the black night sky are transfixing, mesmerising. When talking pidgin English-Italian with Eduardo earlier, I had described the videos by Silvio Giordano as mesmerising and he had asked “System of a Down”? From their last album title track. It’s intriguing how some words are picked up through this kind of pop/media reference without necessarily the meaning. I wonder whether the English songs being sung have been learnt through sound and pronunciation only and if so how different / difficult that is compared to having knowledge of the meaning inferred.
