Various

Needless to say the big news around Roman ecclesiastical circles is Fr Reggie Foster's dismissal as Latin teacher at the Gregorian University. Amy as the news here and here, with the latest update coming from Orbis Catholicus with the announcement of Fr Foster's new Latin Academy.
For what it's worth, I'm not inclined to give much credence to the conspiracy theories which lay the blame on some kind of anti-Latin Jesuit cabal. A far simpler explanation is Fr Reggie's notoriously acerbic approach when dealing with bureaucrats and the fact that the Gregorian was forfeiting quite a large amount of money. By my modest estimate, Reggie would host approximately 100 unregistered students each year. The official fees for Reggie's course would amount to €240 per annum. The continued accommodation of so many unregistered students therefore would represent 'missing revenue' of about €24,000 per annum to the Gregorian.
I'm actually quite a fan of Reggie, and wish him well with his new Institute. The reputation and atmosphere of the Gregorian is much the poorer for his loss.
Germans
For some reason there since been an inordinate number of pipesmoking German men about Rome at the moment.