chris18's activity

Hi Alan,Thats certainly worth knowing, and i'm sure you'll be using your booking in the not too distant future.I've benefitted tremendously from your knowledge and sound advice on this forum over the last couple of years Alan, as I suspect have a lot of people.  I hope all goes well with your op, and that you are soon back on the road to Italy! Thankyou.

Liz,  I think there's been a lot of questions over the years on this forum regarding the permanent use of a UK registered car in Italy.  There is no requirement to take the car back to the UK for its MOT unless you decide to take it back to use it in the UK, at which point it would be subject to the normal UK MOT rules like any other vehicle. As far as I am aware there is no requirement for an MOT in Italy.There is no road tax in Italy so that only leaves insurance considerations.  You would need to notify your UK insurer that you intend to leave your UK registered vehicle permanently in Italy.  There may be some implications re the premium. If the premiums rose significantly you could approach an Italian insurer, but I am not sure whether you would get insurance cover if you are not resident?.  There may be others on this forum who have dealt with this before. As to the citizenship/residency rules it might be wise to take professional advice fom and English speaking lawyer based in Sardinia. 

Lewis, as i'm sure you're probably aware, there's always a 'wobble' before the vote and thats what we're going through now - so it may appear that the Out campaign are building big momentum but it will subside.  Staying in the EU for all its imperfections (and ours too lets not forget those!) is a better prospect than leaving, and over the next 16 weeks that message will become clear and potent and British voters will be aware of this and vote accordingly.  Pandora's box is now open.  When the EU agreed to a limited renegotiation it opened that box, there will be others who will now follow us.  Reform and Democracy cannot be supressed and other EU member states will look to use the limted reforms David Cameron has negotiated as a starting point for their own negotiations. As for extreme views from other parts of Europe, all I would say is that from time to time economic and political circumstances combine to create circumstances whereby exterme views become more widespread.  Those circumstances change again, and with it the tide of extreme views subside.

Selfish, short termist, - when?

The vast majority of the British people are sensible, and above all, pragmatic.  For sure, there's some complaint and some disquiet over the EU and way it conducts our business, but that's not confined to the shores of the UK, on the contrary it is EU wide.  Like all unions the EU needs to improve, and its people,        (if they take their opportunities to vote wherever possible in EU elections) will ensure that that change continues albeit at a snails pace.  But there is so much that this common market which has become a single market has achieved.  Insofar as our loss of sovereignty is concerned, all EU member states have pooled a degree of their sovereignty.  I know the French, Germans, Poles all have issues with this but they all know its the least worst of all of the alternatives available.  Sovereignty itself is such a variable concept to so many people - when was our sovereignty diminished - when we agreed to the free movement of people across the EU or when we accepted the opportunity to sell our goods and services across the EU without restriction? We can't have it both ways, especially when from time to time we disagree with the decisions of the Court of Justice of the EU.  One thing is for sure, our vote is likely to trigger a greater desire for reform among EU member states - there are plenty watching and waiting to see how our reform deal plays out for us. In the meantime I think sensible pragmatism will win out and thats why we'll vote to remain and by a bigger majority than most commentators currently expect.  

There will be a substantial turnout and the vote will be conclusive to remain in the EU.

Thanks Modi.  I had a feeling it'd be somewhere in the €350/400 range and upwards to get a decent one - i've seen the state of the land after the winter and spring and something heavy duty is required.  Its my aim to landscape as soon as possible, which will leave us with a number of diffent surfaces, some gravel, grass, stone - the usual mix.  But until that ambition is realised it needs a looking after!  I'll ask locally about an Agricolo - now that you mention it there are lots of locals with strimmers and quite a few landscaping/gardening contractors around so they must all be taking their nachines for repair or serviciing locally.

Thanks Modi.  Any idea as to cost for the sort of machine you mention?

Thanks again LargeLewis.  Youre absolutely right about the terrain, terraces part created by nature, part by man - typical terrain in the hills above Bagni di Lucca with the land lying at 20-30 degree angle .  We've got some land at the side and back of the house, mostly on the side.  My intention is to get a man with a JCB in and landscape it and build a pool but that could be a couple of years away, and even when it is done I think a brushcutter strimmer could be useful on other parts of the land, so i've reluctantly come to the conclusion that I need one now.  I take your point about Brico.  Its definitley a specialist purchase and not a Brico one I think.

Thanks Modi and LL.  Sounds like I need to have a good look when I next come over.  I'll check out the place Gala mentioned in Borgo a Mozzano, and there's a place just outside Lucca which has a lot of lawnmowers and similar in the window - big stuff, so they might have what i'm looking for.  I've not actually measured the land we'd need to cut but its pretty decent in size.  I used to have it cut for me but its the kind of job i'd get some pleasure from doing myself. And, if I buy the right machine, long term its a reasonable investment.