2025 in Pisticci…a stressful day…..

I was thinking of calling this post **** Brexit.

Today I was at the Questura in Matera with passport and various other documents to get a new ID card organised.

I’d like to congratulate my friend who drove me and was a great moral support. Also driving straight through Matera to the Questura without one wrong turning is quite an accomplishment. ( the accident on the road there only held us up for 10 minutes. )

I didn’t have to wait long in the office to hand over all my documents. It was relatively noisy and the staff were behind glass so it was difficult to hear what was happening..

I think there was ,first, a problem with my passport which was passed around amid a lot of discussion. But eventually everything got going and a whole lot of stamping went on. Meanwhile I kept telling myself that I hadn’t done anything wrong….as far as I know I’ve obeyed all the laws which have regularly changed over the last 20 years.

Then it was time to have my fingerprints taken on a machine on the counter. No matter what I did my fingerprints wouldn’t appear. After about 10 minutes a translater told me that I would need to go into the main office and have my fingerprints done there.

So off we went and waited there for about half an hour until a very nice man called my name and off I went to the fingerprinting etc room. He said that all the world passed through that room. He had some knowledge of about 10 different languages.

That was the best part of the whole experience. I had my height measured, my face photographed and possibly measured and only then did I get my fingerprints taken. I could see them appearing on the computer screen. It was all very friendly and chatty.

Oh, and I will now get a message on my phone in possibly 45 days when I can go and collect my new card.

I had been planning to visit Scotland before Christmas, but I’m not booking any thing until I have that card in my hand.

I’m so glad that’s done!

This afternoon I paid my Internet and electric bill which are now arriving in the same week.

Then I spent quite a while looking for paintings of Pisticci which I could use as reference for some small paintings which would work as Christmas gifts.