Making the effort to climb out of Portofino bay in your unsuitable footwear brings you to a castle and a schloss (or whatever the Italian word is for schloss).
As Portofino was becoming famous, the Italianate Consul set up here, and Baron and Baroness Mumm also established themselves in a slightly less draughty building just a stiletto’s totter up from the bay.
The story goes that towards the end of WW2, the Germans were retreating and destroying everything behind them.
“Ve must blitzen zer town” said the OberUberAjunktant in a horrible parody of Allo Allo accents.
“Och indeed must you really?” said Baroness Mumm, also known as Wee Jeanie the ex-Glaswegian. “Surely you could simply leave the town without pressing the big red button, och aye the noo?” (my cod Scottish accent is even worse than my German one).
“Zumkrok,” said the OberUberAjunktant, spontaneously making up a new German swearword. “You are right and I vill ask my men to leave vizout pressing zer blitzenbutton.”
And so it was. You can read the real story, or at least a less painful rendition of it, here. It definitely qualifies for today’s #kindnessandingenuity nomination.