Andrew Kay: Living on the edge

Life on the edge – do any of us really know what it means? Okay, I will concede that some choose to lead their lives in the path of danger. They choose to participate in dangerous sports, hurling themselves off things or up things or down things and in doing so, putting themselves at risk. It’s their choice I guess, but not one that I think should impact on the rest of us.

Perhaps if those who choose to take part in these things that can incur, when things go wrong, massive expense, were obliged to pay into a national rescue insurance programme, they would think more carefully about setting sail with no sense of seamanship or the like.

I digress. What I really want to talk about is living life on the edge, the edge of a volcano. I have just returned from a second trip to the beautiful island of Sicily and the town of Acireale, where I was a guest of the Nivarata. The Nivarata is a festival that celebrates the glory of granita. Granita is the local speciality – well, one of them anyway – along with numerous pastries, biscuits and, of course, the sensational cannoli. I could live on cannoli, but that really would be living life on the edge, as it consists of deep-fried pasta tubes stuffed with sweetened ricotta and dipped in chocolate and pistachios. Yum!

Sicily is a beautiful place filled with amazing sights, but it has a very poor economy and young people leave the island in their droves to seek a better life, financially, elsewhere – whether it be on the mainland or across the world. It is a very sad state of affairs to be sure as this is one of the most gloriously beautiful places I have ever been lucky enough to visit.

Acireale is a pretty coastal town with so much going for it that it is hard to understand why it does not have a huge tourism industry – but it does not. It’s mad, because there is much to see, right on the doorstep and within a short distance, too.

I flew into Catania airport and the drive to my hotel took a mere 20 minutes. Savoia Residence is a charming three-star hotel run by a delightful young woman called Martina. She made great cakes for breakfast and superb coffee too and the central location was perfect. Much as I appreciate the flash comforts of a modern chain hotel, the homely delights of Savoia far exceeded them.

The place has many great cafés and bars, and we ate the most delicious food, mainly traditional dishes that used the very freshest seasonal produce. I ate cherries every day for breakfast (after the cake) and at €2.50 a kilo, I didn’t feel as if I was being even remotely extravagant.

“They all smiled at my shorts and T-shirt combo as to them summer has yet to arrive”

The Nivarata Granita festival was a delight too, although a bit of warning that I was expected to make a speech to the huge audience in front of Giuseppe Castiglione, Italian Minister for Agriculture, would have been nice and I might
have dressed more appropriately. However, they all smiled at my shorts and T-shirt combo as to them summer has yet to arrive.

Above all though, I loved the warm smiling reception that we received from everyone, bar staff, waiters, workers, nuns (yes, my new best friend Soire Concetta) and even in a bank where, despite not offering a currency exchange, they obliged and sorted out my cash problem.

All of this they do whilst living on the edge.

No, I don’t mean the edge of financial depression, although in many ways they do. No, they live on the edge of Etna, a huge, grumbling volcano that is very definitely active. What must it be like to live so close to a potential geological disaster? Whilst we were there it had a few minor episodes that the locals simply shrugged their shoulders at. I thought that the top was veiled in low cloud but, in fact, it was shrouded in smoke.

The last major event was in 2004 and caused massive damage and disruption, yet despite this, the people of Sicily walk around with big smiles on their faces and a general air of optimism.

If only we had the same attitude, a glass half-full approach to life. I’d like that, smiling and not snarling.

I must put that into practice in my own life.

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