Tasty

A second working day in Florence. Reflecting on it, it's definitely worth travelling for two days of work. It's less worth it if you are just doing one 10 minute presentation during a conference when you are not so interested in what is going on elsewhere in the event. Funny that. Anyway, I need to apply this rationale much more to how I choose to travel in the future, as my time gets ever more filled up with stuff.

A co-directors' meeting in the morning, and then a working lunch. Walking back to town in the afternoon with JDz, I ran into someone in the Badia whom I knew slightly (I recognised her but couldn't immediately put a name to her - that's hardly unusual). It was clear from how she was addressing me that she thought that I must be at least 10 years older than I am, and so consequently what a blessing it was that I was still (academically) active. Err. No. I'm still some way short of the UK state pensionable age.... She seemed shocked and persisted in this line of questioning and eventually it got a bit awkward. It occurs to me that she probably thought that I was 10 years older than I am from having known me in the period 2003-2006 when I was Chair of a national association of which she and I are members. She probably thought I was in my mid 50s then, rather than my early - to - mid 40s. It was even funnier given that the previous day at the conference, several people I had not seen for 15 years came up to me and said I looked just the same as when they last met me. Did I look 73 in 2009? It's the only explanation.

In the evening, I popped round to JDz's flat and we had some lovely relaxed time together catching up and talking lots of things through. I caught this small shop opening right on to the street as I headed up the road to meet her.