The Mandarin and The Kumquat are all about re loving, upcycling and reusing everything. Southern Italy probably invented recycling, many household items are remodeled and nothing is ever thrown away. Wire coat hangers for example are cut into pieces and shaped into S shaped hangers for curing salami, old skirts are fashioned into aprons. Historically hair from brushes was saved and sold, goodness knows what they did with it and used olive oil was given to the soap man in retu

It’s the start of April and l am on the beach, my biggest dilemma......deciding whether l should shed my jeans and expose my super pasty winter legs to the sun. It’s 9 o'clock and already quite warm. The sand is spotless after a winter with no visitors, the sun is making the sea sparkle like a thousand diamonds and a small fishing boat has just flashed past. A stunning day with the coastline of Calabria in sight and the still snow covered mountains of The Pollino National Par