11/02/2007

pigeonsare vile

The sound of (light) gunfire took me to the windows overlooking the church square recently. There was the owner of the local grocery shop, crouched in the vicolo behind the house opposite, shooting pigeons as they failed to find footholds on ledges fitted with pigeon repelling wires. He remarked later to a household shopper that we needn't worry as he wouldn't hit the house. I thought 'couldn't hit a house' was an insult in shooting circles but clearly 'wouldn't hit a house' is a sign of skill.

The beastly pigeons make it across the our lady grotto and then drop dead in the garden; still, rather dead than alive I suppose.

There's a robust attitude to law observance in this part of the world. Some time ago there was an amnesty for undeclared arms (various) and on searching the building (ever-suspicious of the strain of individualistic behaviour that sleeps, and often wakes, here through the centuries) I found, 1 bayonet (used), 1 curved sword which I would call a scimitar (used, positively viciously-nicked from top to bottom of the blade), 4 duelling swords of various thicknesses (used but possibly only in sport, but who knows what the house inhabitants might define as sport?), a carabina case which, worryingly, had no carabina inside (where is it?), and an air gun (new, unused, thank goodness the grocer is doing the honours across the square).

So I put them all in a safe place except for the duelling swords which are looking decorative in a stanza del terazzo .

Once the arms had been declared to be in the house there was no requirement to hand them in; just so long as it's known they are there. I didn't declare the Landrover, even though its booklet describes it as ' tried, tested and approved by armies throughout the world'.

2 comments:

milena said...

do we have any volumes on arms and their maintenance? (there's a joke in there somewhere about books and their sleeves, but i'm struggling)

the Librarian said...

Lenna, Or Napoleon.