Can anyone help with some advice about one of our dogs.One of them keeps getting a swelling on one of his front paws. It has happened 4-5 times in the last year.
I have just planted some Kiwis. I know about male/ female plants and have planted a male between two females. I was building a support when my neighbour (the farmer from whom we bought our land) decided to help, as ever!
Small Town Italy is narrow-minded and insular and if you are a woman on your own a pretty dificult place to be 'yourself' in. Anyone who thinks differently is ( in my opinion)1. A man2. Incredibly unaware.I would reply thatSmall Town England (and anywhere else in the world) is narrow-minded and insular and if you are a woman (or a man - not wishing to be sexist as women can be narrow minded and insular too) on your own a pretty difficult place to be 'yourself' in. Anyone who thinks that this is universal is ( in my opinion)1 Someone who puts being "themself" above the need to be polite and respectful of local traditions and values.2. Incredibly unaware of people in general3. ImpatientWe didn't have to persevere much as we were very friendly from the outset and met every stare with a smile and a Buon Giorno. Somehow these narrow minded, insular little bigots responded well and we have been flooded with invitations to share a meal, have a chat and generally mix with them. It didn't take much effort and we have found their very natural suspicions about outsiders to be easy to allay and not at all a problem.
Sparkys' posts are always informative, full of detail and useful. Can I suggest that his positive approach is the main reason that he has learned to live with the more negative aspects of life here and takes full advantage and benefit from the positive.My wife says that in the UK we used to do a list of 10 things we needed to do in any day and we'd be unhappy and/or stressed if we didn't do 9 of them. Here we are lucky to achieve 2 but have learned to cope with that as the pace of life is so different. The bureaucracy can get you down, if you let it, but the people more than make up for it and I wouldn't swop a day here for a day back in the UK.What we have learnt is that if you moan you get no help at all, if you are positive and ask locals for help then shortcuts appear and life is much easier. Actually living with the Italians, rather than at the side of them, has served us well and we are getting along very nicely. Long may it continue.Thankyou Gala for your wonderful phrase,"Ubi bene, ibi patria" we will now, somehow, get that included into our build (and ask our Italian teacher why we haven't learnt it before).
Serge, my apologies if you were upset by my words, I had no intention to upset you and would also miss your posts. The one on herbs I have retained for future use for example. What I was really trying to say is that the main problem is the exchange rate (as you said initially) so the real fault lies with GB politicians. Whilst Italy may be inefficient in many areas the way of life here is to be preserved at all costs and not changed to suit foreign people who don't like it when they get here. The English seem to be the worst for trying to create their own little enclaves wherever they go and the Australians don't call us "whingeing Poms" for nothing.
Any and all Civil Event Planning will have, as one of its first stages, the preservation of "key" people who will run the area after a disaster has struck. As the streets being full of evacuating people would prevent such action that would be a very strong motivation for the allegations. The problem is the politicians seeing themselves as "key" people in any way at all as all they do is get in the way and seek to make electoral gains from whatever disaster has happened. Who was it who said "any person seeking power should have the door firmly shut in their face" (or something like that.) I'm afriad that histroy is liitered with events where public officials look after themselves first then the people they are charged with protecting second.By the way Al, who was it who allowed these architects and everyone else you mention, to get away with it. Many people involved in building work try to cut corners and costs, corrupt and inefficient local politicians allowing them to get away with it are the real crooks.
We have bought two lhd cars from Damon Oorloff at http://www.lhdautos.com/. He as absolutely brilliant, delivered the cars with no charge and nothing was too much trouble. We also insure through Stuart Collins who, interestingly, do not insist on the car being MOTd but on it being "roadworthy."
RamYou are quite correct and I apologise for my lack of accuracy. Yes Berlusconi did send a token force into Iraq but the main reasons the Americans went in was because the Brits gave unequivocal and vocal support, history will judge whether they would have done it without us but I doubt it. I watch both italian and English news and can't remember the last time I saw an Italian body bag though and its difficult now to remember a day when there hasn't been a British casualty. I got a bit carried away at the memory of that vile creature Blair trying to suppress that annoying grin when the American Senate rose to applaud him and I take your point withour reservation.As for the rest I just wonder how the British would react to a lot of foreigners going to Britain and then complaining about the price of everything, you have the very obvious choice open to any migrant or tourist anywhere. Italy still seems to attract a huge number of tourists so they must be doing something right.Again, for fresh food, Britain can't touch Italy on prices or quality. It costs me €10 per month here (plus standing charges) to telephone as much as I want anywhere in Europe, less than €20 per month for wireless broadband, if you want clothes which are Primark standard, then Emmezeta/ Conforama is not much more expensive and all of it would be much cheaper if the exchange rate improved.The last time I visited the UK we went to Reading to visit friends. Very few English accents were audible, buying a sandwich for lunch was a nightmare with mostly processed rubbish on offer, awful fast food restaurants polluted the air with their smell, going into town in the evening had that tension which only northern Europeans seemed to manage to cause and I enjoyed it as much as having ears syringed. I won't be returning any time soon.
Would we still be having this conversation if the pound was still at €1.45. The main problem is surely the exchange rate as, if we went back 18 months it would be like taking 1/3 off the price of everything. Blame idiot Gordon, Tony, the banks or anyone else you can think of before blaming Italy, and with the balance of payments deficit at an all time high we can expect to be the paupers of Europe when travelling abroad for some time yet I suspect.What confirms this to me is mixing with other nationalities such as Irish, Danes, who find it incredibly cheap here. You can't really do price comparisons on things like Nescafe, the Italians here don't drink it so its imported in for a very small market.Where we live we can have a four course meal at a very good fish restaurant, including wine, water, coffees and very good service, for €30 each, I could not get this in England. All the fish is caught that day and the accompanying vegetables locally grown (not under a plastic Spanish sheet). Fruit and vegetable prices are excellent and we find that we are spending far less to live here than we did in the UK as there we bought mostly fresh (foriegn) produce and no ready meals. Add to that the fact that nearly all the produce here is grown nearby, tastes wonderful and would cost three times as much on a market in England and I feel very happy to be here. The local wine is pretty damn good as well.I know that electricity and insurance are very high but I knew this when I came out so cannot really complain and have planned alternative energy sources into our build.Any comparison to the way we live here in Italy and eating at MacDonalds, Wetherspoons or any of the other fast food places defies belief and its like comparing fillet beef with scrag-end. Thank God as well that Italy retains its "fragmented distribution system" as far as food is concerned, I like to buy my food from local producers who I know and whose quality I can rely on rather than the mass produced crap we "enjoyed" in England. The Tesco approach to food distribution, all food to central disribution points and then out to shops, may sound good but it has increased prices on fresh food and reduced quality, so long may Italys fragmented approach continue. Our rather poorer neighbours could not afford to live any other way. Imagine the fishing boats all loading into freezer lorries, going to a central point and then being driven back to us three days later, no thanks.Complaining about Italian politicians seems rather rich to me as well, no Italian PM has taken its soldiers into an illegal war in Iraq just to cosy up to the Americans and I don't see Italian body bags being loaded into planes in Afghanistan. I am more than happy to leave that kind of politics behind.Personally I find that the glass is very much half-full in Italy and a year down the line I wouldn't swap a second here for a visit to MacDonalds or Tescos.
We have persisted with the vet and this time got a better response. She says that there may been a small wound and the problem has been caused our dog persistently licking it. He now has antibiotic cream and tablets and the swelling is reducing. He does lick himself a lot more than any other dog we've had so she may be right and we've also trimmed his coat rather more closely due to the heat, which may make it easier for him to lick the actial skin. We will see how it develops but thanks again all for your help and concern. It's worse than having kids isn't it.
We believe, from the locals, that Lamezia and Reggio have put up their landing charges by 25%, possibly as part of the funding required to enlarge both airports. This happened last year as well and when they left the charges alone for Ryan Air, the flights were re-instated. We will see what happens.Far be it for me to support Michael Ryan but he does take the fight to the airports and Governments when the need arises. I remember the post 9.11 security knee jerks about which he was the first to publicly argue and bring some changes as the airport authorities were using it to increase charges and our Governments stance was sheer electioneering.I do believe, in this instance, it has more to do with exclusivity than anything else so will be interested to see what develops.
We drove down with 2 dogs last year. We didn't want the hassle of a load of border crossing so opted for just 2. We drove down through France towrads Lyon, then to the Mont Blanc tunnel at Chamonix and then into Italy. It was pain free and took us about 11 hours each day (we did it in 2 days with plenty of stops for the hounds). We were not stopped at the tunnel, the dogs were in plain sight, nor at the Italian border. We didn't get asked to show our passports nor the dogs at any stage.We drove another way through Switzerland last time and would not do it again at any price. I have never seen a country so bad for people using the middle lane at slow speeds and causing slow traffic. I thought England was bad. The borders were slow to get through and it took us much longer in the end. Switzerland is part of the pet passport scheme though, if you choose this way see page 7 of the below link which lists non EU countries where the scheme applieshttp://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/factsheet/factsheet4-090312.htm.pdfIt is more expensive to go the way we suggest, there is no argument, but I am happy to pay for the clearer roads and the fewer border crossings. If you go this way after October, keep an eye out for the snow alerts however, as the road does close occasionally. If that happens you have the option of going further south and using the Frejus tunnel or the coastal road. At the moment this is no problem for you but I would wait until September , whichever way you go.
Comments posted
Small Town Italy is narrow-minded and insular and if you are a woman on your own a pretty dificult place to be 'yourself' in. Anyone who thinks differently is ( in my opinion)1. A man2. Incredibly unaware.I would reply thatSmall Town England (and anywhere else in the world) is narrow-minded and insular and if you are a woman (or a man - not wishing to be sexist as women can be narrow minded and insular too) on your own a pretty difficult place to be 'yourself' in. Anyone who thinks that this is universal is ( in my opinion)1 Someone who puts being "themself" above the need to be polite and respectful of local traditions and values.2. Incredibly unaware of people in general3. ImpatientWe didn't have to persevere much as we were very friendly from the outset and met every stare with a smile and a Buon Giorno. Somehow these narrow minded, insular little bigots responded well and we have been flooded with invitations to share a meal, have a chat and generally mix with them. It didn't take much effort and we have found their very natural suspicions about outsiders to be easy to allay and not at all a problem.
Sparkys' posts are always informative, full of detail and useful. Can I suggest that his positive approach is the main reason that he has learned to live with the more negative aspects of life here and takes full advantage and benefit from the positive.My wife says that in the UK we used to do a list of 10 things we needed to do in any day and we'd be unhappy and/or stressed if we didn't do 9 of them. Here we are lucky to achieve 2 but have learned to cope with that as the pace of life is so different. The bureaucracy can get you down, if you let it, but the people more than make up for it and I wouldn't swop a day here for a day back in the UK.What we have learnt is that if you moan you get no help at all, if you are positive and ask locals for help then shortcuts appear and life is much easier. Actually living with the Italians, rather than at the side of them, has served us well and we are getting along very nicely. Long may it continue.Thankyou Gala for your wonderful phrase,"Ubi bene, ibi patria" we will now, somehow, get that included into our build (and ask our Italian teacher why we haven't learnt it before).
Serge, my apologies if you were upset by my words, I had no intention to upset you and would also miss your posts. The one on herbs I have retained for future use for example. What I was really trying to say is that the main problem is the exchange rate (as you said initially) so the real fault lies with GB politicians. Whilst Italy may be inefficient in many areas the way of life here is to be preserved at all costs and not changed to suit foreign people who don't like it when they get here. The English seem to be the worst for trying to create their own little enclaves wherever they go and the Australians don't call us "whingeing Poms" for nothing.
Any and all Civil Event Planning will have, as one of its first stages, the preservation of "key" people who will run the area after a disaster has struck. As the streets being full of evacuating people would prevent such action that would be a very strong motivation for the allegations. The problem is the politicians seeing themselves as "key" people in any way at all as all they do is get in the way and seek to make electoral gains from whatever disaster has happened. Who was it who said "any person seeking power should have the door firmly shut in their face" (or something like that.) I'm afriad that histroy is liitered with events where public officials look after themselves first then the people they are charged with protecting second.By the way Al, who was it who allowed these architects and everyone else you mention, to get away with it. Many people involved in building work try to cut corners and costs, corrupt and inefficient local politicians allowing them to get away with it are the real crooks.
We have bought two lhd cars from Damon Oorloff at http://www.lhdautos.com/. He as absolutely brilliant, delivered the cars with no charge and nothing was too much trouble. We also insure through Stuart Collins who, interestingly, do not insist on the car being MOTd but on it being "roadworthy."
RamYou are quite correct and I apologise for my lack of accuracy. Yes Berlusconi did send a token force into Iraq but the main reasons the Americans went in was because the Brits gave unequivocal and vocal support, history will judge whether they would have done it without us but I doubt it. I watch both italian and English news and can't remember the last time I saw an Italian body bag though and its difficult now to remember a day when there hasn't been a British casualty. I got a bit carried away at the memory of that vile creature Blair trying to suppress that annoying grin when the American Senate rose to applaud him and I take your point withour reservation.As for the rest I just wonder how the British would react to a lot of foreigners going to Britain and then complaining about the price of everything, you have the very obvious choice open to any migrant or tourist anywhere. Italy still seems to attract a huge number of tourists so they must be doing something right.Again, for fresh food, Britain can't touch Italy on prices or quality. It costs me €10 per month here (plus standing charges) to telephone as much as I want anywhere in Europe, less than €20 per month for wireless broadband, if you want clothes which are Primark standard, then Emmezeta/ Conforama is not much more expensive and all of it would be much cheaper if the exchange rate improved.The last time I visited the UK we went to Reading to visit friends. Very few English accents were audible, buying a sandwich for lunch was a nightmare with mostly processed rubbish on offer, awful fast food restaurants polluted the air with their smell, going into town in the evening had that tension which only northern Europeans seemed to manage to cause and I enjoyed it as much as having ears syringed. I won't be returning any time soon.
Would we still be having this conversation if the pound was still at €1.45. The main problem is surely the exchange rate as, if we went back 18 months it would be like taking 1/3 off the price of everything. Blame idiot Gordon, Tony, the banks or anyone else you can think of before blaming Italy, and with the balance of payments deficit at an all time high we can expect to be the paupers of Europe when travelling abroad for some time yet I suspect.What confirms this to me is mixing with other nationalities such as Irish, Danes, who find it incredibly cheap here. You can't really do price comparisons on things like Nescafe, the Italians here don't drink it so its imported in for a very small market.Where we live we can have a four course meal at a very good fish restaurant, including wine, water, coffees and very good service, for €30 each, I could not get this in England. All the fish is caught that day and the accompanying vegetables locally grown (not under a plastic Spanish sheet). Fruit and vegetable prices are excellent and we find that we are spending far less to live here than we did in the UK as there we bought mostly fresh (foriegn) produce and no ready meals. Add to that the fact that nearly all the produce here is grown nearby, tastes wonderful and would cost three times as much on a market in England and I feel very happy to be here. The local wine is pretty damn good as well.I know that electricity and insurance are very high but I knew this when I came out so cannot really complain and have planned alternative energy sources into our build.Any comparison to the way we live here in Italy and eating at MacDonalds, Wetherspoons or any of the other fast food places defies belief and its like comparing fillet beef with scrag-end. Thank God as well that Italy retains its "fragmented distribution system" as far as food is concerned, I like to buy my food from local producers who I know and whose quality I can rely on rather than the mass produced crap we "enjoyed" in England. The Tesco approach to food distribution, all food to central disribution points and then out to shops, may sound good but it has increased prices on fresh food and reduced quality, so long may Italys fragmented approach continue. Our rather poorer neighbours could not afford to live any other way. Imagine the fishing boats all loading into freezer lorries, going to a central point and then being driven back to us three days later, no thanks.Complaining about Italian politicians seems rather rich to me as well, no Italian PM has taken its soldiers into an illegal war in Iraq just to cosy up to the Americans and I don't see Italian body bags being loaded into planes in Afghanistan. I am more than happy to leave that kind of politics behind.Personally I find that the glass is very much half-full in Italy and a year down the line I wouldn't swap a second here for a visit to MacDonalds or Tescos.
We have persisted with the vet and this time got a better response. She says that there may been a small wound and the problem has been caused our dog persistently licking it. He now has antibiotic cream and tablets and the swelling is reducing. He does lick himself a lot more than any other dog we've had so she may be right and we've also trimmed his coat rather more closely due to the heat, which may make it easier for him to lick the actial skin. We will see how it develops but thanks again all for your help and concern. It's worse than having kids isn't it.
We believe, from the locals, that Lamezia and Reggio have put up their landing charges by 25%, possibly as part of the funding required to enlarge both airports. This happened last year as well and when they left the charges alone for Ryan Air, the flights were re-instated. We will see what happens.Far be it for me to support Michael Ryan but he does take the fight to the airports and Governments when the need arises. I remember the post 9.11 security knee jerks about which he was the first to publicly argue and bring some changes as the airport authorities were using it to increase charges and our Governments stance was sheer electioneering.I do believe, in this instance, it has more to do with exclusivity than anything else so will be interested to see what develops.
We drove down with 2 dogs last year. We didn't want the hassle of a load of border crossing so opted for just 2. We drove down through France towrads Lyon, then to the Mont Blanc tunnel at Chamonix and then into Italy. It was pain free and took us about 11 hours each day (we did it in 2 days with plenty of stops for the hounds). We were not stopped at the tunnel, the dogs were in plain sight, nor at the Italian border. We didn't get asked to show our passports nor the dogs at any stage.We drove another way through Switzerland last time and would not do it again at any price. I have never seen a country so bad for people using the middle lane at slow speeds and causing slow traffic. I thought England was bad. The borders were slow to get through and it took us much longer in the end. Switzerland is part of the pet passport scheme though, if you choose this way see page 7 of the below link which lists non EU countries where the scheme applieshttp://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/factsheet/factsheet4-090312.htm.pdfIt is more expensive to go the way we suggest, there is no argument, but I am happy to pay for the clearer roads and the fewer border crossings. If you go this way after October, keep an eye out for the snow alerts however, as the road does close occasionally. If that happens you have the option of going further south and using the Frejus tunnel or the coastal road. At the moment this is no problem for you but I would wait until September , whichever way you go.