In the last two weeks, I have discovered two personal letters of note.

The first was written by my six year old daughter Polly, who has just completed Prep. She is growing more confident with her reading and writing by the day, which manifested itself  in this Christmas letter to Jesus:

It reads:

“Dear Gisis. I hope you are Having a nis BirTHday party. I fil sory wen it is ista you will diy in chross. Sum wun will cill you and you will diy. HAPPy XMAS! Love Polly.”

My favourite parts of this letter are:

• spelling of Gisis
• double dip on the dying on the cross news, in case it didn’t sink in;
• the joviality of the ‘Happy Xmas!’

Less jovial was an emailed letter I received from Sicily. It relates to an article I wrote nine years ago about Graham Island, otherwise known as Ferdinandea, otherwise known as Giulia. It is a smudge of basalt just off the coast of Italy, that sunk beneath the sea in 1831. It is so strategically handy that Britain, France, Spain and Sicily have all laid claims. My article was basically just a humorous retelling of the facts contained in this spectacular piece in The Independent, ‘The Island That Time Remembered’.

Anyway, nine years later, the Sicilians have discovered my article. The title, ‘An Island That is Just There for the Taking’, chosen by a sub editor at The Age (back when Fairfax had sub editors)  seems to have Sicily thinking that I believe their island is just there for the taking! There’s even an implication that I, Tony Wilson of Northcote, might be coming to take it.

This blog post is really just to reassure the good people of Sicily that I want no truck with invasion. Yes to a visit. Yes to enjoying the Godfather I and II (and to being a bit lukewarm on III). Yes to cassata siciliana. But just to repeat, no invasion.

Especially while Ferdinandea sleeps with the fishes.