Nothing strange there, you say, but the oddity comes in the fact that all three sites I saw were on smallish roads in, to be kind, large rural areas. I have since tried to locate Pellegrino Vending on the net and drawn a blank, except for references to San Pellegrino water, and I assume that the company advertising is an operator local to the Puglia region.

Why then, oh why, did they agree to their posters being sited/wasted in quiet positions where they would only be seen by a handful of tractor drivers and Italian tourists? There are more industrial areas considerably to the north - BrIndisi and Bari, for example - so why were they not up there? Perhaps it was a case of being talked into one of those ‘mixed bag' of poster sites that so many outdoor advertising companies seem keen on. Beware!

Here's something else from the same holiday (what do you mean the sad so-and-so only notices vending-related things while he's away?). Well, we are all aware of the importance of the quality of the coffee after a meal in a decent restaurant. Here's a new twist.

I was absolutely gobsmacked, following a very good meal of tasty, typical, local food, in a very presentable restaurant, to be served an excellent espresso in a thin, tiny plastic cup. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I've always associated Italy with some of the best espresso offerings around (certainly my visits to Venditalia have done nothing to change the view) and while the coffee itself was great, I actually burned my fingers through the cup!

Perhaps we in UK vending are so spoiled by all the cup technology we enjoy nowadays - paper, modern plastics, top quality printing, range of sizes, recyclability, compostability and definitely no burned fingers! - that we have become blasé. So let's appreciate and promote what we have to offer today in vending.

I have to share this. While I was spell-checking one of the pieces for this issue of VI, the computer hit upon ‘Rt Hon' (as in MPs). Unable to understand it - being American, no doubt - my source of infinite wisdom offered ‘rat' as the correct spelling/word. Hmmm...

It's really great that more and more people are visiting the VI website nowadays. We have the site monitored regularly, and it is very gratifying to see the figures increasing month on month.

While I am the last one to encourage laurel-resting, it is good to see that the efforts made during this year are bearing fruit. As the longest-serving journal in the industry which has been part (and supporter) of vending for some 41 years, it is incumbent upon us to continue to develop the title and its website to provide the industry with the information sources and promotional opportunities it deserves.