A QUIRKY BREATH OF MEDITERRANEAN CHARM - APRIL 5 - 1.09PM - 2019

How to Live Better and Longer - Lincoln College - 12.00 noon

Now that was kinda fun. Hugely unexpected and certainly, as far as I can recall, the Festival’s first live dual translation. And of course that all added to the ‘theatre’ of the event (everyone who was a native Italian speaker was able to laugh a good 10 seconds earlier than the rest of us, who had to wait for the translated punchline). However, what made this particular talk so fascinatingly niche was its subject matter - olive oil (or rather, Extra Virgin Olive Oil). Fittingly, the talk was all about living better and living longer and from what I could tell, most of those sitting around me had done just that. In their seventies and eighties, they just oozed Mediterranean well-being. Professor Nicola Trapani gave the presentation and he looked especially dapper (doubtless teaching the theory and practice of wine making at the Istituto Technico Agrario of Marsala, the Libera Universita of Trapani and the University of Palermo had been a good lifestyle choice). Although at times quite technical, I actually enjoyed the talk. But then listening to anything in Italian, regardless of whether you understand it or not is always going to be a pleasant and charming way to pass 60 minutes. And right now, I feel very bellissimo.