Question Time

I think my last breath will have a question mark after it. I question everything, it's my daily staple. I wake up, yawn, and there it is, waiting for acknowledgment. With this in mind, I was particularly pleased when Roberto, my Italian teacher, initiated the well a game of ‘if I was on a desert island...’ Now this is something that I'm well versed in, I can reel off my ‘Top 5 Items’ on demand and can usually predict my fellow players ‘must have list’.

However, on this occasion I was out-gamed by the only male student in the room. Whilst, I was smuggly weighing up the likelihood of beer and TV (with Sky Sports) finding their way onto his list, he opted for his Italian nonna - verbal proof that the stereotype really does ring true. Italians and men in particular can't live without their mamas and nonnas. Whilst, I find myself constantly questioning some of the British Stereotypes that the Italians love to plant on me (contrary to popular belief, I don't have trifle for tea), it appears that your average Italian stallion really can't live without his ol' nan.

Now this turn-about of events left me with a big, fat question mark. Not because I don't adore my granny, and couldn't understand why my class mate would want her there, but because this outward display of familial emotion isn't something the Anglo American world is accustomed to, especially when it comes to elderly relatives. Yes, we make cups of tea when we visit and ask granny if she'd like a chocolate digestive on the side (two to show we really care) but when it comes down to it, a veil of ignorance is easy to hide behind.

Fair enough, we can pat ourselves on the pack and say that we're very good at minding our Ps and Qs, which don't get me wrong is all very lovely (I'm pleased to say that my granny often tells me that a ‘nice young man’ offered her a seat on the bus). Yet, in reality, no-one is bagsying the seat next to the old dear at Christmas dinner. Let's face it, when it comes down to family business, the Italians deserve that extra piece of torta della nonna every time. The truth is that the rest of us know more about our favourite celebrity’s gran than our own which leads me to another question: ‘who's losing their marbles, us or them?’