Four Four Two

UPDATE: Free Beer! After having a chat with Alessandro, the landlord, today, he agreed to offer readers of this blog the first two pints of beer ordered for the price of one. Not bad, eh?

There is a catch. Isn’t there always? This catch, not a big one, is that this offer is only open to the first 30 people who turn up clutching a copy of this blog post. And, no, nobody’s paying me for this, I just thought it might be a fun thing to do. Help get a worthwhile place off the ground.

By heck, it’s hot in Milan at the moment. How about a nice cool beer?

Inside the 442 Pub in Milan, Italy

What is Four Four Two? Well, it’s a new pub which has recently opened around these parts. It can be found at Via Procaccini, 61, and is on the corner of the appropriately named, for an English style pub, Via Londonio! You can find it on my Platial map. And I like this place. In fact, I’ve just got back from there after having downed two pints of Beamish. The simple fact that this place sells Beamish already puts it high up on my list of places to prop the bar up at. I know that this may sound odd, but Beamish and other English, Irish, Scottish style drinks are quite hard to come by in Milan. There are also John Smiths and Bulldog beers. And there is Strongbow cider – which is not at all easy to get hold of in Italy. The people that run the place are cool too.

This evening there was a group of Englishmen and various other non-Italians. There were also quite a few Italians, which was good.

The 442 Crew - Maurizio (left) and Alessandro

This place is good because it is not your average sophisticated Italian evening joint, but a more down to earth place a like the English pubs I was used to. They even have a regular pub quiz. No darts though, as far as I could see! But, there is football and rugby on the TVs, which may appeal. Not to me, I’m not really a football or rugby fan, but we all have our little problems. They also do food, burgers, and, surprisingly for Italy, have a wide selection of cheeses from the UK, but no chips – planning regulations, I reckon.

Italian bars, the evening ones that is, which rarely have dart boards, are OK, but tend to be a little too flash for my tastes. This place is, as I have said, a little more like a normal English pub – so you don’t have to worry about dressing up in your finest Armani gear to get in. You can also pay as you drink. I know this may sound banal, but in many places here in Milan you order and then pay at end of the evening. This is OK, but after a few of the local Long Islands and Negrones, it can become difficult to remember just what you poured down your gullet. So, when it comes to settle-the-bill time, endless confusion is the inevitable result if you are from Ireland, England, Wales or Scotland. This system is not generally a problem for Italians because they are highly adept at making a single drink last just about all night. So, in the Four Four Two, you can have a hassle free pint or three and not have to worry about getting your head around the mathematics of sorting out the bill at the end of the evening. On the right you can see the crew, from left to right Maurizio, Verdiana, and the Landlord, Alessandro. Nice bunch of people and they all speak English, so ordering a pint will be no problem.

Maurizio of the 442 Pub - is a Rugby Fan

This is a pic of Maurizio is showing off a good old rugby ball. The sporting theme in this place is all over the walls and just about everywhere.

Alessandro - the 442 Pub Landlord, and Soccer Nut!

If you do make it there, you will probably meet the guy down below, Alessandro, who runs the place and is a big fan of footy, rugby and a lot of things English. In fact, he has been to the UK over 40 times and has worked there too. The pub is named after his favourite football move – 4 4 2 and there is a UK football magazine which goes by the same name, incidentally. Football types will know just what the 4 4 2 move is, I’m sure. Personally, I have no idea.

So, remember the name – Four Four Two, it’s worth checking out IMHO, especially if you are yearning for a nice piece of cheddar and you might even find me hanging around at the bar.Just look for a non-Italian looking face and more stomach than is good for a person.

Windows Vista

Some time ago I posted this about the then new Windows Vista operating system.   So this article made me chuckle.   Sometimes, you’ve got to trust those gut feelings.

Italian university degrees

If you know anything about the Italian university system you will know that up until relatively recently a degree course lasted five years.  Italians start university when they are about 19 0r 20.  However, the five year degree courses often took (take, they still exist) more than five years to complete.  Seven years is quite common and ten years is not uncommon.  The time it takes to complete degree courses in Italy is linked to how fast you can pass exams, and it is not all that easy to pass the exams first time.  Fail a few exams and it becomes nigh on impossible to finish the course in 5 years.

Now, a new ‘laurea breve’ or ‘short degree’ has been introduced, the degree course lasts only three years  and I have been seeing quite a number of students doing masters who are under 25.  Yes, they have done the 3 year course.  Some still believe that the five year courses are more prestigous, and, on paper, they are.  But, the fact remains that Italian degrees are highly thoretical and this means that further training is needed to turn a raw graduate into a high potential employee.  This is why post degree master courses are popular, because they give their participants a more practical angle on the world of work.  These courses also include a two or three month ‘stage’ – ‘internship’ which allows participants to get their feet in the doors of some good potential employers.  Indeed, the masters are used as a cherry-picking exercise by some of the course lecturers, who often work for top firms in Milan and Italy.  High potential individuals are often offered an internship well before they finish the master courses.  And now, it is those those sub-25 year olds with the 3 year degrees who are finding work more easily, despite the ‘prestige’ of the 5 year degrees, which, remember, often mean that the graduate is almost 30 by the time he or she finishes university here.

I’ve noticed that the 5 year degree course graduates are often worried that their younger 3 year degree course colleagues will find it easier to find a decent job.  Their worries are justified in my opinion.   It’s not too difficult to understand why those with three year degrees are often considered to be better potential employees, especially by the multi-nationals, though not by Italian companies, due to the fact that youth is still very much associated with inexperience.  Younger people are often more enthusiastic, more flexible, and more energetic and it is much easier to instil corporate culture in them.   Older 5 year types who have often spent 7 years+ at university can be a little bit too demanding in their job requirements, and are starting to think about settling down and starting families.  This obviously means that in today’s flexible job climate, these people are not as flexible as they could be, and that they want higher pay.

I predict that the 5 year degree course will soon become extinct here, especially seeing as there is a wee bit more flexibility in the job market as a result the introduction of Article 18 – the Biagi law, which means that it is possible for enterprises to assess whether individuals will make good employees, before offering them a full time work contract.   The Italian government also has an interest here, in that people who start work when they are 25 will start paying taxes and contributing to pension schemes earlier.  This means less of a strain on government coffers and may go some way towards ensuring that state pension funds do not run out.

Italian graduates need to start work earlier, as it make sense for the country and for them.

The battle

We have a sort of disco on our doorstep and its thumping bass manages to keep us awake many nights. It’s worse during the summer because we leave the bedroom window open.

Fortunately, the Italian law concerning noise levels has recently changed in our favour, and a few people have won cases against noisy establishments. We may end up in court, but I’d like to avoid this if possible.

This evening the music coming from the place we love to hate is what sounds very much like sultry jazz. Very pleasant, very relaxing, highly acceptable. I’m therefore hoping that this troublesome place is about to change its image a little and re-badge itself as a tranquil jazz joint. We’ll see.

If such a transformation really does take place, I can see myself becoming a customer. While I’m not the world’s greatest jazz fan, I would find it quite hard to resist popping in every so often.

And jazz may jazz the place up a bit, and calm us down.

Bye bye bass, hello muted trumpet and sexy sax. I hope.

Miffed, I am.

I got the ‘we want to do more speaking’ comment from my students today.

Yet they make no attempt to try using English while working in pairs or groups as they do one of the activities I have set them. This is despite my repeatedly telling them that they need to speak in English.

It’s no good, they just don’t get it. They don’t realize that by simply trying to use English at all times, they will become more fluent, and overcome their lack of self-confidence problems.

Yes, I know there is the Italian fear of making a ‘brutta figura’, but we are all adults, we can be mature about this. Make mistakes and you learn. Clam up for fear of making yourself look stupid, and you will not learn. I’m sorry, but you really don’t have time to play such games. Make an effort, as some have and do, and the English course can make the difference between being offered a 3 month zero pay internship, or being offered a paying position with a company that can offer real future prospects.

The choice is yours. I cannot work miracles.

English, like it or not, is perceived as being an essential skill for those who want to go places.

No English, no party.

Is Italy too hot in August?

A couple of people have ended up on my Blog as a result of searching for information about the heat in Italy in August. The answer is: Well, it depends…. The big cities can be hell in summer – they do not cool down at all at night either. On the other hand, if you stay near the lakes or head up above 1000 meters or so, you will find that things cool off very nicely and you can actually sleep at night. And it does depend on where you are from.  If, for example, you come from Australia, then you may find the July and August heat quite bearable, whereas if you come from the UK or Norway, you may find the heat oppressive.  I have not mentioned numbers, because they are not that important.  For example an Australian may find 40°C fine, whereas an Englishman, like me, would fine the same temperature a little too hot for comfort.

The heat in the northern part of Italy is humid, whereas in the south the heat is drier, and thus slightly more bearable. Slightly.

And watch out if you do find yourself out in the sun, especially if you are not so young any more or if you come from a country with a cool climate. Drink plenty of water. If your pee starts to go very dark yellow, you are not drinking enough liquid. Not the prettiest of advice, I know, but apparently the SAS (you know, that UK elite fighting force) give their members the same tip. If it is good enough for them, it’s good enough for me and you.

If you come in May, late September and October then you should not have to worry too much about dehydration as these are possibly the best months to come here especially if you want to range far and wide. April can be OK, but it may rain. March is not too bad, but it can be cold. From November to February, unless you are into skiing, or the cold does not worry you, the weather here in northern Italy can be rather similar to a UK winter, that is, grey and overcast.  However, down south the climate can be good and mild and it is not unheard of for Sicilians to go for a dip in the Med in Feb.  Although you may find it difficult to find a hotel that is open in this period due to it being well out of season.

June, July, and August. Three words: hot, hot, hot. Head for the hills.