Our terrace is a constant source of joy, let me be upfront about that before I move to its failings, just one of which is that the space is so finite. In an actual garden, there’s always room to cram in one more plant. On a terrace, not so much, which inevitably creates trouble when there are excess plants which, at this time of the year, is the result of potting on and thinning out. Some we leave by the garbage and usually they are gone in a matter of hours, which is nice. Others we give away. Yet others, we cram in. None of which detracts one bit from the even greater joy of seeds.

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As you drive on the A1 out of Rome (and especially when returning to the city, there is a hugely impressive mountain to the west of the motorway. It rises up, floating on the plain and dominating the landscape. This is Mount Soratte, which Wikipedia tells me is an isolated limestone ridge, about 5.5 km long and boasting six separate peaks. It has been a draw for artists ever since Camille Corot changed landscape painting with his dazzling portraits of the mountain.

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Many countries have academies in Rome, the most famous of them probably being the American Academy in Rome. Artists of various stripes enjoy a stipend and a variably good life, generally working on something to do with the city, and the various academies open their artists' studios to visitors from time to time. These are usually great fun, for art and for socialising. Last night was my first time at the Spanish Academy in Rome.

Wow!

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Barely a day goes by now that my podcasting email doesn’t receive two or three not very enticing emails. One today offered “Lucrative Ventures”. Another wants to convert YouTube content into podcasts in a “network of health and wellness programs”. The third tells me, to paraphrase, that my restaurant menu sucks, which is odd as I don’t have a restaurant.

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Being old with a bit of a magpie brain does have occasional compensations, like when some whippersnapper johnny-come-lately gushes Why don’t we just eat grass?.

So can we cut the animal out of the loop and mechanically turn grass into milk?
Yes! Both Imagindairy and Perfect Day are creating...

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