myabruzzohome's activity

Yes and even if you do live along a council run road you may still have no repairs for 3 years and have to somehow drive around huge holes almost wrecking your car as we have in Manoppello (PE) where it appears the coffers of our municipio have been emptied to provide a top notch road up to the Volto Santo - a catholic shrine - leaving the rest of us high and dry! Or rather high but not very dry particularly when the neighbours well over flows and makes the lane into a river.

As I say smile sweetly act like you cannot understand and they'll probably give up -make it into a big fight and sure as hell youll lose. There is one than one way to skin a cat ! Perhaps not the most appropriate idiom for this thread!!!

While I do try to stop rabbits and rats invading our garden and eating all the veg its quite easy to do humanely.There have been huge problems with rabbits recently as some of the 'old boys' around here decided to put out poison which not only killed foxes but also birds of prey. Now we have rabbits ! If I hear anyone tell me that the old ways are the best I will scream.Unfortunately some people seem to feel so intimidated by their local hunters that they get pressurised to accept a situation that they feel very unhappy about.I personally see no reason why its would be unacceptable to tell hunters that they were not welcome. Playing loud music - (Opera or rap works best ) will not go down well , parking your car in a way that prevents them getting their cars in to your land all work but when they ask you to stop or move the car you must smile sweetly as if you dont understand them .Or tell them in English its broken down. A drum kit may also be a worthwhile purchase particullarly if you felt the need to practise on a Sunday morning - out in the garden!Be very wary of getting into slanging matches.You will only make yourself upset and may well trigger an assult particullary if they've been on the Grappa.

If only Italy had charity shops !!! That would be a great saving.I think it costs lots more for families with children as they seem to have to keep buying expensive books and paying for other school related things but if its just 2 people reasonably fit with land then 200 euros a week should do but of course that means very little to put by in savings or to pay a big vets bill..Maybe animals would be a luxury you couldnt afford on this amount ?

flyingvee that sums it up for me too !  But I think we need to try by gentle persuasion to get people to love snakes ! Basically whoever 'designed ' this world knew a hell of a lot more than us and made sure that where there are pests there will be animals to control them , so everything was in balance .Then we arrived . 

you are assuming that there is a any justice in italy !  I may be a miserable g.t but if it exsists I want to know where.Seems to me if you work for the Comune or Police or regional government you just use the job as an opportuning to line your own pocket and b.....r the environmentWhat about Naples?What about unregulated developement of concrete monstrousities all along Italy's coast ?What about The Camorra ?What about Bussi ?What about Del Turco? I could go on.

One of Chris Stewarts books describes a natural pool being built in Spain- loads hotter than Italy where he was and it eventually worked.I have been a hater of the blue pools for many years - particularly for rural areas so I wish you well with the project although if its anything like my attemps to be find green or ecological building materials in Abruzzo you'll need it!!!

Why would you not take this seriously? Much as I love Abruzzo and feel a great connection with it I also feel angry at the shortsightedness of it's politicians and planners.We all know that as oil starts to run out there will be even more pressure to despoil beautiful regions like Abruzzo in the search for it.Can we do anything? Probably not much as the vested interests will be too powerful,but it would be something to consider when thinking about whre to buy a house.You wouldn't really want to be next to a massive oil rig would you? 

Please consider the benifits of snakes!'Another benefit to snakes is their eating habits. Their consumption of rodents and insects can serve as a natural form of pest control, eliminating the need for commonly used chemicals and poisons that can harm plant and animal life in an ecosystem. A single black snake can consume dozens of rats in a single year.'You may not be used to getting up close and personal with snakes in the UK but they really are essential to the natural food chain so try to overcome your instinct to kill them!

We looked at a German company called 'wamsler' I think - they do a woodburning range for cooking and heating radiators for about £2,000 new.You could get your pipes put inside the walls if you can bear the mess!