White Almonds and Me … Destiny Calls
As a child one of my favourite memories was family Christmases
with my Grandmother and in particular the sweet table lovingly laid out with
doilies, the usual mixture of Quality Street, Turkish Delight, Orange and Lemon
Slices and Newberry Jelly Fruits all surrounded by a homemade Christmas Cake ….
But I was always obsessed by the sugared almonds. “Just suck the sweet until
the sugar dissolves and then you will reach the exotic almond”.
I took many dance classes as a child until I was 16 years old, including character dancing which is a form of folk dance. My favourite dance was The Hungarian Branch dance which involved dancing with the branches of almonds trees with white almond blossom, of course growing up in London real almond tree's would be hard to find so my dance teacher found artificial branches.
I took many dance classes as a child until I was 16 years old, including character dancing which is a form of folk dance. My favourite dance was The Hungarian Branch dance which involved dancing with the branches of almonds trees with white almond blossom, of course growing up in London real almond tree's would be hard to find so my dance teacher found artificial branches.
And there it began …. The White Almond.
So years later at 18 years old I was invited to my first Greek
wedding and at the end of the day I was given by the Bride and Groom one single
heart shaped sugared White Almond with the tiniest piece of red ribbon “Put
these under your pillow tonight and you will dream of the man you are destined to
spend your life with” …. I still have that sugared almond and the piece of ribbon.
I learned that colour matters, White for Weddings and Holy
Communions, Green for Engagements, Pink or Blue for Christenings or Birth
Announcements, Red for Good Luck and Silver or Gold for Anniversaries.
At my own wedding I gave my guests five white almonds, which
represented Health, Wealth, Happiness, Long Life and Fertility.
I discovered that Almonds play a big role in Sicilian life,
whether they are baked into biscotti, in our famous marzipan fruits or used at Easter
Time … but I will save that story for another time.
About me … I spent fifteen years in the banking industry
before making a move into the world of weddings and events, dealing with
clients from top class London hotels and luxury fashion houses to guest lists
for supermodels and royalty, always believing in a high level of client
satisfaction. Then last year I became a victim of bullying in the workplace and
I was forced to make the decision to leave a job that I loved. Little did I
know then that it was to be the best decision I ever made … and so I ran away
to our home in Sicily.
Myself my husband and our rescue dog Daisy drove home to
Sicily for a Sicilian Summer and then the concept of White Almond – Private
Sicily was born.
Through our love of Sicily we created a Concierge Service
covering Taormina, Mount Etna and South East Sicily. We only use the finest local
contacts to create a special itinerary for our client’s and our philosophy is
to treat each client as friends. In our experience visiting Sicily is an elite
club you join, once you have been and fallen in love with her.
Why are we called White Almond??? On our first trip South to
the beautiful Valley of The Temples in Agrigento our private guide encouraged
my husband to pick a furry unripened almond from the hundreds of almond trees
that surround the historic plateau … I hasten to add that husband versus unripe
almond did not agree with each other creating yet another almond story to add
to my life.
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| The actual almonds involved in the crime |
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| Valley of the Temples, Agrigento surrounded by Almond Trees |
Destiny called !!!!!!!!!
