Clare Stimpson

Spaghetti in My Hair Clare Stimpson

When Clare Stimpson turns-up in Modena, a beautiful city in Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, to teach English, little does she know that she will fall in love with the country and its people, and stay there for the next four years. Clare was inspired by her mother, whose stories of her hitchhiking adventures in Sicily in 1949, fired her imagination. In the mid 1970's she decides to leave her teaching job in London and taste the 'dolce vita' for herself. 'Spaghetti in my Hair' tells the story of the Italian characters that Clare met. It explores some of the magical cities of Emilia-Romagna and other stunning regions of Italy. The book touches on Italian family life, the food and habits of the nation and the unstable, political atmosphere of the time. Returning to England but feeling nostalgic for the Italian experience, Clare returns to teach E. F. L. in the sublime coastal resort of San Remo on the Ligurian Riviera. This eventually leads her back to Modena, a place she has grown to know and love. Interwoven throughout the book are stories of adventures and mishaps experienced by Clare and her friends and family. The central part of the story tells the tale of an epic journey across Italy in a small red V. W. called Doris when Clare and three other girls experience many hilarious adventures whilst driving south as far as Gargano in the region of Puglia. The final part of the story goes back in time to 1949 when Clare's intrepid mother and her friend, hitchhiked to Sicily - a no-man's land in those days. She recounts the tales that her mother passed down to her, including a memorable stay in jail, when the two English girls were mistaken for accomplices of the notorious bandit, Giuliano Salvatore. Spaghetti recipes included - add a large glass of wine or two!