Chapter 12 – The Glastonbury Festival
The festival is fantastic. A hundred thousand people are smiling. Techno dancers, smooth, young men in well-ironed jeans, students and Indies mix with entire families; mum, dad and the kids enjoying the views. There are enormous dance floors inside the festival and a market. There is even a circus area.
“Worth (=vale) fifty pounds brothers?” smiles Gon.
The boys nod (=annuiscono)enthusiastically.
“Well, I got you in and saved you all that money. Could you spare (=prestarmi) me ten pounds?”
Fabio gives Gon ten pounds.
“Ten pounds each, little brothers,” says the hippie mournfully (=lamentosamente).
Maurizio opens his money belt and pays ten pounds to the Hippie.
For most of the festival Gon is in the beer tent (=tenda) talking to various old hippies. The beer makes Gon mellow (=tranquillo) , but he is always careful about his money.
Glastonbury is an amazing and unique experience. They meet new agers who advocate radical life styles. They meet hippies who explain the legend of Arthur. They meet a group of ‘Diggers’ who want England to become an anarchist commune. They meet hundreds of people. The people are different and their ideas are new but one thing does not change. Fabio cannot meet girls.
The festival is fantastic. A hundred thousand people are smiling. Techno dancers, smooth, young men in well-ironed jeans, students and Indies mix with entire families; mum, dad and the kids enjoying the views. There are enormous dance floors inside the festival and a market. There is even a circus area.
“Worth (=vale) fifty pounds brothers?” smiles Gon.
The boys nod (=annuiscono)enthusiastically.
“Well, I got you in and saved you all that money. Could you spare (=prestarmi) me ten pounds?”
Fabio gives Gon ten pounds.
“Ten pounds each, little brothers,” says the hippie mournfully (=lamentosamente).
Maurizio opens his money belt and pays ten pounds to the Hippie.
For most of the festival Gon is in the beer tent (=tenda) talking to various old hippies. The beer makes Gon mellow (=tranquillo) , but he is always careful about his money.
Glastonbury is an amazing and unique experience. They meet new agers who advocate radical life styles. They meet hippies who explain the legend of Arthur. They meet a group of ‘Diggers’ who want England to become an anarchist commune. They meet hundreds of people. The people are different and their ideas are new but one thing does not change. Fabio cannot meet girls.
Chapter 13 – A question of technique.
Fabio speaks to huge numbers of girls: teenage girls, girls in their twenties, mums, daughters, hippie girls with flowers in their hair, indy girls in well ironed T-shirts. Fabio talks to any girl he can. Sometimes the girls smile, a few of them laugh, but no girls want to talk to Fabio. Nobody even asks Fabio’s name. Two girls, young, blonde and beautiful pass by.
“Hey, baby,” Fabio smiles. “You make my mouth cry.”
“You make my mouth water,” Maurizio corrects him.
The girls are puzzled and walk away. Maurizio stops and sighs,
“Fabio, it is a question of technique. Change your technique. Make the girls talk to you.”
Fabio shakes his head philosophically,
“But girls won’t talk to me if I don’t talk to them.”
“You won’t get anywhere with girls by being humble (=umile).”
Fabio points to a group of young women watching a sword swallower (=mangiatore di spade) .
“Pick them up.”
“What does ‘pick them up’ mean?” asks Maurizio.
“Abbordale, rimorchiale, don Giovanni”
“Right, I will.”
There are three girls in the group. They are young, pretty and surrounded by boys. The boys are all trying to talk to the girls.
Maurizio gives Fabio a pair of sunglasses and makes him sit on the grass with a copy of The Economist magazine. Fabio speaks much better English now, of course, but he doesn’t understand The Economist.
“That doesn’t matter (=non ha importanza),” says Maurizio. “Keep reading the business section and don’t look up. Whatever I say, or whatever (=qualunque) the girls say, do not talk.”
Maurizio produces a pen which he puts behind his ear. He pulls a very serious face.
Maurizio approaches (=si avvicina) Suzie, the tallest, blondest and best looking of the girls .
He looks serious, nervous and worried.
“I am sorry to bother you young ladies,” he says in a high unnatural voice, “But could you stand over there? You are disturbing Fabio.”
“Who the hell (= Chi diavolo) is Fabio?” asks one of the girls aggressively.
Maurizio smiles and points to Fabio. The three girls turn. They see Fabio and they gaze curiously at him.
He ignores them and keeps reading The Economist.
“I know he is unreasonable, but really my boss is a very nice young man,” Maurizio smiles. He is one of Italy’s youngest multi-millionaires and that makes him a little, only a tiny, small, little bit, arrogant, unfortunately.”
“I don’t believe your boss is a multi-millionaire,” says the dark-haired girl. ”I don’t believe he’s your boss either (=neppure) .”
Fabio speaks to huge numbers of girls: teenage girls, girls in their twenties, mums, daughters, hippie girls with flowers in their hair, indy girls in well ironed T-shirts. Fabio talks to any girl he can. Sometimes the girls smile, a few of them laugh, but no girls want to talk to Fabio. Nobody even asks Fabio’s name. Two girls, young, blonde and beautiful pass by.
“Hey, baby,” Fabio smiles. “You make my mouth cry.”
“You make my mouth water,” Maurizio corrects him.
The girls are puzzled and walk away. Maurizio stops and sighs,
“Fabio, it is a question of technique. Change your technique. Make the girls talk to you.”
Fabio shakes his head philosophically,
“But girls won’t talk to me if I don’t talk to them.”
“You won’t get anywhere with girls by being humble (=umile).”
Fabio points to a group of young women watching a sword swallower (=mangiatore di spade) .
“Pick them up.”
“What does ‘pick them up’ mean?” asks Maurizio.
“Abbordale, rimorchiale, don Giovanni”
“Right, I will.”
There are three girls in the group. They are young, pretty and surrounded by boys. The boys are all trying to talk to the girls.
Maurizio gives Fabio a pair of sunglasses and makes him sit on the grass with a copy of The Economist magazine. Fabio speaks much better English now, of course, but he doesn’t understand The Economist.
“That doesn’t matter (=non ha importanza),” says Maurizio. “Keep reading the business section and don’t look up. Whatever I say, or whatever (=qualunque) the girls say, do not talk.”
Maurizio produces a pen which he puts behind his ear. He pulls a very serious face.
Maurizio approaches (=si avvicina) Suzie, the tallest, blondest and best looking of the girls .
He looks serious, nervous and worried.
“I am sorry to bother you young ladies,” he says in a high unnatural voice, “But could you stand over there? You are disturbing Fabio.”
“Who the hell (= Chi diavolo) is Fabio?” asks one of the girls aggressively.
Maurizio smiles and points to Fabio. The three girls turn. They see Fabio and they gaze curiously at him.
He ignores them and keeps reading The Economist.
“I know he is unreasonable, but really my boss is a very nice young man,” Maurizio smiles. He is one of Italy’s youngest multi-millionaires and that makes him a little, only a tiny, small, little bit, arrogant, unfortunately.”
“I don’t believe your boss is a multi-millionaire,” says the dark-haired girl. ”I don’t believe he’s your boss either (=neppure) .”