As might be expected, Brexit was one of our main topics of conversation after "Where is the best pizzeria?", "Where is Leo hiding now?" and "Have they emptied the bin/taken away the rubbish?" (more on recycling later). My Gran's favourite topic of conversation as always was Andy Murray, followed by Brexit.
I've heard about people falling out with other family members, friends and colleagues over Brexit, but in our family we all agree on two things:
1) The referendum was a bad idea from the start.
2) Brexit doesn't mean Brexit.
As time goes on and no clarity emerges, there is a possibility that Brexit can still be avoided, at least we hope so. After all, there is a legal argument that the government is not constitutionally entitled to trigger article 50 without approval from parliament.
So far, nothing has really changed in our family, except for the fact that the pound has lost value against the euro, so holidays in Italy and Germany are now more expensive for our UK based members.
Even the waiter serving us "coppe gelato" in the village of Montinelle couldn't resist a political observation: "Britain has never been the same since Margaret Thatcher left". Eyebrows were raised, coughing sounds were made and giggles were stifled, but I'm not sure the waiter noticed.
The truth is nobody really knows what will happen. It's all a giant mess (or an Eaton Mess) and it will take years to sort out.
It's even worse than sorting out the rubbish in Manerba del Garda. After one week most of us (except for me, as I did a crash course on recycling on the first day) still didn't know where to throw the serviettes or the tea bags away!
Rubbish collection is a serious and complicated business. Each day of the week, between 8pm and 4am, your rubbish needs to be left outside your house or taken to the nearest street corner. Monday is organic waste (biodegradable bags in brown bin) and other rubbish (black bags no bin), Tuesday is paper (in paper bags or cardboard boxes only, no bin), Wednesday is organic waste again, Thursday is glass and metal (blue bin only, no bags), Fridays is plastic (transparent bags no bin).
Confused?
Or you could do as my uncle suggested: dump everything into the bins on the beach, which is kind of how I feel about the Brexit ballot papers.
Meanwhile we are all back in our respective countries of Italy, Germany and the UK, except for my brother who's currently on a business trip in India.
Looking forward to the next European reunion...
