May
7

Italy’s Trashy Trouble Worsens

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The out of control rubbish situation down in Naples, which has been smouldering away since 1994, has finally landed Italy in a spot of trouble.

I first wrote about this troublesome issue in my Naples and Rubbish post back in May 2007, then I mentioned it once more in January this year in my Naples is Burning again post.  Just for good measure, I suggested something that Prodi might do to deal with the mess in a post entitled Want to Sort Out the Neopolitan Trash Problem Mr Prodi?, in which I suggested that the Italian army should be sent in to attack the problem.

Indeed, I was pretty surprised to learn the next day that Prodi had sent in the troops! Dutifully, I wrote yet another post - Was I Writing Rubbish? to announce the coincidence.

Well, this issue has not yet gone away, instead it has piled up into a whole heap of trouble for Italy. The European Union has finally tired of Italy’s procrastination over the trash topic and taken the Living Museum to court. All this despite Berlusconian promises to get on down there and sort this embarassing issue out.

Will this buring matter finally be resolved? Well, the ball’s now in the European court, so to speak.

  

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May
7

Spreading a little Cheer with Beer!

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I got a little present yesterday. A quite unexpected, but very nice thought from one of the students from the recently finished Human Resources Master.

Being a philosophical kind of guy, he obviously thought that an Englishman such as myself would probably appreciate a good bottle of beer. He was right! What a nice thought.

The Abbaye de Bonne-Espérance beer, which I’m sipping now, is very good, and I like the name too. Sounds as though he is making some reference to the English course of mine he recently attended - I hope! And knowing this guy, the choice of name would not be a surprise.

To your good health and many thanks Mr La Greca! All the best for the future too.

Job satisfaction at its best!

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May
7

Anti-Spam Counter Measure

Filed Under This blog | 1 Comment 

Over the last few days Blog from Italy found itself slowing sinking under the weight of an ever increasing number of messages from people with funny Greek sounding names, who were peddling porn and a series of drugs I had never heard of. In other words, lots of spam.

Last night, to save this blog from the spam plight, I installed a spam counter measure plugin, which adds an extra field to the commenting system.

I know these things are annoying, but then so is loads of dumb spam. I have also avoided the ubiquitous captcha thingies, because I often have problems understanding what the blazes the letters and words are.

The anti-spam system I’ve put on this blog requires only a small amount of extra reading, and then one or two key presses. Very easy for us humans, but, so far, devilishly difficult for those nasty little spam spreading bots that buzz around the world wide web.

The new system seems to be doing its job, I’m pleased to say.

If you would like to know the name of the plugin I’m using, leave me a message, and I’ll reply via your email address. Although I may be reluctant to reply to anyone with a Greek sounding name, as I’m sure you’ll understand.

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May
6

I’m a Lime - What Tree Are You?

Filed Under Funny | Leave a Comment 

Not happy with your star sign? Don’t like the meaning of your Christian name? Feeling a bit wooden?

Then maybe you’d like to know what tree you are! And, by now I’m sure you are pining to know. Groan.

If so, go to the About:Holisitc Healing site to find out! And let me know if you like, especially if you agree with your tree.

It’s a Celtic thing apparently.

Thanks to my other half for this. Well, she sent me the list of trees in Italian, and I rooted around the internet and dug up a site in English on the same subject.

Nope, this post is not about Italy - I’m branching out.

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May
6

ID Cards for Children

Filed Under Information | Leave a Comment 

If, like me, you have an ‘Italian’ child, ie a child that was born in Italy, then it is possible that this child is included on the mother’s passport, assuming that the child is under 18.

What happens though, if the father wants to take the child out of Italy, without the mother?

Well, there is a solution. You can apply for a children’s ID card, and this can then be used to travel within those European countries which have signed the Schengen Agreement. Italian ID cards are also accepted as travel documents in some other countries, such as Egypt for example.

I’ve managed to track down details of the application procedure on the Vice Consulate of Italy, Bedford site. You will need to scroll down to the Italian ID Card section at the end of the page for more information and all the forms you will need.

I do know of a couple who did not bother putting their young one on the mother’s passport, but instead just applied for a children’s ID card. What I do not know is for how long these ID cards are valid.

One other thing you may like to note is that non-Italian citizens, like me, who have an Italian ID card, cannot use their version of the ID card to travel outside of Italy. We still need our passports.

I also believe that the UK and Ireland are not part of the Schengen Agreement, so a full passport is needed to enter these countries.

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May
6

Marvellous May

Filed Under Italy | Leave a Comment 

May in Milan is a wonderful month. It’s when the balmy weather starts to kick in, just before the steaminess of late June, and the just about unbearable heat of July.

The temperature hovers around 24 or 25°C in May, and those from northern European nations will find that coats are just not necessary.

Jeans can become too hot and sweaty in this period, and I just find the things too heavy from June onwards.

However the best thing about this period is the late evenings/nights, because they are balmy enough to encourage you to sit outside chatting over a cool beer.

May is a great time to come to Italy too. It’s not high season, so prices are reasonable. The kids are still at school, so the holiday resorts have yet to become chaotic.

Yep, May is probably one of the best months to come and do a spot of sight seeing, or just for a quick weekend city break.

Go on, do yourself a favour, come to Italy in May. 

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May
5

Too Much Tweet!

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I discovered the joys of Twitter not too long ago, and I thought it might be a fun thing to use it to blast out a barrage of news from Italy updates every evening or so.

Wrong! I blasted so hard with my ‘tweets’, as they are called, that someone told me that all the ammunition I’d been firing off had started to become overwhelming.

Sorry about that. I shall tweet less frequently, or set up a special ‘News from Italy’ Twitter account, so I can twitter away to those don’t mind being broadsided every evening.

What a twit! Still, I quite enjoyed it, says he chirpily.

Thanks to that someone who pointed out the error of my tweets!

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May
5

An Unexpected Tax Rebate, Possibly?

Filed Under Italian politics | Leave a Comment 

The former Italian governments’ putting Italian tax payers declared incomes on-line has aroused the wrath of the Codacons Italian consumers’ association.

The Codacons’ body has brought charges against the government claiming some 20 billion Euros in damages. This means that each of the 38 million or so taxpayers in Italy may receive a rebate of around €520!

Only I’m not going to rush out and spend the cash too soon. At the rate at which the Italian legal system moves, even if the case is won, the €520 will probably be added to my pension.

Ah, Italy. What a delightfully wacky place.

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