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One stormy night, eight
years ago, Carol Searle set off in her dingy from Sydney’s
Scotland Island, en route to a friend’s soiree in Randwick.
Little did she know it was an evening which would change her
life. First, the boat sank, and as she squelched into
her car, dishevelled and shivering, only the thought of having
to swim all the way back persuaded her of the merits of making
jolly small-talk over a glass of fruit punch while catching
pneumonia. In defiance of the social customs of the day, she
duly arrived as the first guests were leaving.
Her
waterlogged condition ensured that the alarmed host placed her
in a prime position by the fire. Sitting there was Neil Moore
(www.neilmoore.it), a handsome young Australian artist. For
somebody suffering the early stages of pneumonia, things were
looking up.
Amongst the rising steam, their
conversation soon turned to Neil’s recent forays into the
medieval splendor of Umbria, just below Tuscany in central
Italy. He was living amidst the crumbling ruins of a 12th
century castle in a tiny hilltop village, looking down over
the rolling valleys of olive groves, vineyards, wild lilac and
oak forests. The population of the village was seven (soon to
be nine).
Neil (a former illustrator for the Sydney
Morning Herald and National Times) was back in Sydney briefly,
to launch a new book, which he had written and illustrated.
Being a rather forthright person, by the end of the evening,
he had asked Carol to come back to Italy with him and share
his castle. Being a thoughtful person, by the end of the night
Carol had accepted!
Neil went back ahead to prepare for
her arrival (moving the motorbike out of the lounge room and
buying a washing machine). Meanwhile, Carol shocked her
friends, alarmed her mother, put her house on Scotland Island
up for sale, wound up her fashion business, took a few hasty
Italian lessons, packed and set off for Italy with her eight
years old daughter, Amber.
As Neil drew, painted and
etched, forming a loyal following throughout Europe, Carol
struggled with the vagaries of the Italian language. The
following year (probably out of revenge) she turned the tables
and started teaching them English. They also had two babies,
whom they christened Claudio, then later Leandro. Big sister,
Amber, is now chatting in Italian like a native.
The
business developed into the Speakeasy School of English, at
Montefalco and then extended into the very successful ' Living
Italy' program where Carol's network of Italian students teach
Australian travellers to speak, cook, drink the wine and taste
Italian life in general. |