I actually do run into Dominic Cooper... probably.

Friday 11^th November, of course, is Remembrance Day. Italy does not honour this tradition and thus I have no poppy, which because I am out of England makes me feel especially guilty.

(I am so, so behind with my blogs. Apologies).

I spend a while reading the poetry that has been posted all over Facebook. I really think some of the most beautiful poems of the English language came out of the trenches; my favourite is Rupert Brooke – ‘If I should die, think only this of me:/ That there is a corner of some foreign field/ that is forever England.’

It brings a lump to my throat every time.

After rendering myself sufficiently melancholy I have a wander down to Via Merulana, where I purchase a badge pin and a piece of red cardboard –this year’s poppy will have to be a DIY job.

Later, the twins are fascinated and we make poppies together – I try to explain, in the simplest way possible, that the poppies are worn to remember the dead men from the war. I think they understand. They say they do anyway, which is a good sign.

Before the poppy making, however, I am walking back to the hotel via Viale Manzoni when I am alarmed to see a man walking down the hill towards me who bears a striking resemblance to Dominic Cooper.

(It has since come to my attention that some of you cretins are UNAWARE of the hallowed beauty of Dominic Cooper, and this saddens me. So I will just remind you of The History Boys, The Duchess, and the 2008 TV adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, as well as Mamma Mia! and The Devil’s Double, neither of which I have seen. Especially as Earl Grey in The Duchess, Cooper is a fully fledged BEAUT. He has even edged out Gerard as my Brit actor-obsession of the moment).

So. This man is walking towards me with a gym bag and he looks so much like Dominic Cooper that I stare and stare and stare. He sees me staring. He smiles slightly, and walks past. I consider texting Wench – ‘I’ve just seen a man who looks like Dominic Cooper, NOM, nice bit of Earl Grey in the afternoon’ – but resist, because really, this is hardly news.

Later on Facebook Chat, however: ‘Wench, I almost texted you today to tell you a saw a man who looked like Dominic Cooper... but when I realised it was just an Italian letch I decided it wasn’t really worth it.’

Melissa then does a small amount of Google research, in the process of which she discovers that Doms Cooper was in fact HERE in Rome last week for the premier of My Week With Marilyn, which was showing at the Film Festival. We thus surmise that he is STILL HERE, and that it was in fact him walking down the road, and BLOODY HELL did I literally just walk past Dominic Cooper on his way back from the gym?

Well. This makes my week.

Twitter tells me that yes, Wench’s facts are correct, he was in Rome recently. I don’t delve too far into the Twitter archives though, out of fear that it wasn’t him at all and in fact really was just an Italian letch.

It would be a sad thing to destroy this feeling of having just walked past Dominic Cooper with the truth, so I choose to believe it.

Here, for aesthetic purposes, is a picture of Earl Grey.