Lorraine's activity

And well done Leeds for getting back into the Champions League!!

 After struggling on my own for way too long I eventually bought the Michel Thomas CD's which I downloaded onto my MP3 player and listened to them constantly. I then signed up for the OU Andante course which is really good if you want to pay £400+ but is well worth it. I passed the exam but unfortunately because I'm not in Italy much a lot of it has settled into the depths of my brain but no doubt I will pick it up again next time we are out there. You gotta use it or you lose it!! Be patient Cilla and eventually it will all fall into place. You could always put post-its on everything in the house in Italian to help you remember words too. Good luck!

 I agree with the bedwarmer! Glad I'm not using it though!

 Don't touch them with a barge pole!! They used to be  Forces Travel and Leisure. Biggest con of the decade as far as I am concerned. They said they were the forces website but very few police I spoke to had heard of it - even my niece who is in the police force. Paid £400 for two year and never got a sniff from anyone and when one guy complained they said they'd been taken over and offered us another two year free - still not a sniff! Another downside was you had no control over the advert either - you had to contact them if you wanted to make any amendments. Holiday-rentals are good as are holidaylettings. Thinking of trying Owners direct this year myself. Lorraine

 We use Holiday Homes Abroad and they are good. We just had our insurance reduced by over £100 so I rang to see if they had cancelled the Public Liability for some reason but they said it was because Italy had reduced the earthquake cover or something. Pretty ironic really 'cos it was only a couple of week before the earthquake in L'aquila. They don't cover you if you are resident at present but I am hoping that will change in the future as I have been happy with their rates which includes Public Liability.

  That's how I lost my car here in England .  Had the keys removed from the kitchen by a long pole with a hook on and they drove off with my car. I wouldn't mind but I was upstairs at the time and it was found three days later and written off. All keys are now put in a drawer out of sight.

Does it have a name and how far north in Tuscany?

For what it's worth there has been a lot in the papers recently about companies who buy gold and jewellery whereby you send your property in an envelope and they send a cheque in return - the main bone of contention is the small amount of monies paid as opposed to the actual value.I would either try and find a private buyer or a reputable jeweller who deals in second hand jewellery.Personally I would love a platinum ring with large diamond but unfortunately probably couldn't afford it. Lorraine

I received a letter from the publishers of Italy with an offer from Italia magazing offering 5 issues for £5. Italy was always better than Italia but it's better than nothing at all. First issue will arrive 15 October hopefully, so we'll see whether it is good enough to put in a permanent order. My last experience of Italia wasn't that brilliant but it may have  improved??

Excellent  Annec!