Poor Madonna only seems to be in the news when things are going wrong. First, looking ludicrous, strapped to a cross or whatever. Then a big, messy divorce. And most recently, a failed bid to take another Malawian child.
So it seems about time to note a very good thing connected to her. I am not thinking only about the £340,000 she donated to her grandmother's hometown in Italy, Pacento in Abruzzo, but also of the fact that Pacento is one of the few towns in the region which has not been devastated by the Aquila earthquake.
Whether Madonna knows this is another matter. "I am happy to lend a hand to the town my ancestors are from", is all she said about the matter. Meanwhile, the local mayor is full of enthusiasm: "I had no doubts about her intelligence and sensibility". He promises, which is just as well under the circumstances, to pass the money on to "our neighbours who have lost everything".
