Annec's activity

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Hi there Got a bit of field which needs cutting about twice a year.  The cost and hassle of getting someone locally to do this means that we are considering getting a 2nd hand quad bike and flail mower and doing it ourselves.

Mon, 05/27/2013 - 06:19

Many of you will already know this via the Facebook site "Preserve and Promote a Peaceful Marche" https://www.facebook.com/groups/504764649541531/For those that don't an

Mon, 01/21/2013 - 12:31

My Burgon and Ball spade and fork have arrived in Italy having been sent by Capital Gardens http://www.capitalgardens.co.uk/ who were happy to ship them out for about £20.

Fri, 12/14/2012 - 14:49

I've just received several emails from andrea@istos.it telling me my membership of several groups on this site has been accepted. Has a mod woken up or am I being spammed/phished/f**ked???

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:55

Came across this:http://www.wildboaradventures.co.uk/Pages/DonaldJonesWW2Escapestory.aspxFor those who need a fix of the Abruzzo high places when

Wed, 11/14/2012 - 09:23

having just looked at some fab photos of Rifugio Franchetti in Abruzzo, I'm formulating a plan to visit some/all of the refuges in my area of S Marche/Abruzzo. There are several problems with this:1. I'm about as fit as Bernard Manning was2.

Tue, 09/25/2012 - 07:38

Thanks to whoever it was who recommended this book. A beautiful and elegiac account of old ways of life in the Ligurian mountains. Without being at all sentimental

Fri, 09/07/2012 - 18:51

Trying to set myself up with XE currency exchange.

Thu, 08/23/2012 - 14:19

I advertise with a well-known website specialising in owner-led rentals all over the world. I’ll call it X I had an email on 7th July from a prospective customer (Y) asking for dates which were already booked.

Thu, 08/02/2012 - 09:55

I need to get some wood in when I'm over in September.

Mon, 07/30/2012 - 12:13

Comments posted

Answer to: Fascism
Wed, 01/02/2013 - 12:39
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 14:28

I always take plants over in my hand luggage.  It's amazing how much you can fit in a small backpack if you remove them from their plastic pots.  I scour ebay/amazon for v young versions so they are ztill quite small, plus take seedlings from my UK garden.  They will look a bit puny at first, but as I've said, they grow at twice the speed of the Uk. I was surprised to discover that there is no restriction on plant movements within the EU - probably the root of the ash problem...

Answer to: Nuts
Fri, 12/28/2012 - 07:52

They say that birds have different dialects in different parts of the country.  It's definitely true of tastes.  IN the (UK) countryside birds would fall upon the peanuts and we were forever refilling.... having moved into town the same types of birds absolutely won't touch the peanuts, but go mad for sunflower seeds.  I reckon it's because the townies are more pampered and not as hard core as their country cousins.

Answer to: Linda Vernon
Wed, 12/19/2012 - 16:00

So sorry. I certainly remember Fairy and her rather wonderful avatar

Answer to: Linda Vernon
Wed, 12/19/2012 - 16:00

So sorry. I certainly remember Fairy and her rather wonderful avatar

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 05:31

Isn't that a skinny-latte-mocha-pizza-cino? I swear I heard someone ordering one only last weeksurprise

Mon, 12/03/2012 - 09:37

Penny does love her Zappa!  And so do I, if truth be told.  But they are feckin' useless for jobs which a good strong fork can undertake quite easily.  I have weeded out couch grass with a Zappa and it took for ever and wasn't that brilliant anyway.  The same job (further down the bed after a trip to Brico) with an Italian fork was much easier.  I would definitely invest in a spade and fork from Burgon and Ball.  Pricey, but worth it in my view. If you plant lavender in say March it should get plenty of water before the hot summer arrives and plenty of time to get its feet into the soil.  And lavenders are pretty tough anyway. They are about E3 in the market round us for a good sized plant, but if you are intending on planting a lot that may be too expensive.   I haven't looked THAT hard, but small and therefore cheap plants for mass planting seem hard to come by - unless someone can tell me otherwise?  So you might want to consider taking a whole lot of mini-lavenders out with you if you are driving.  Everything seems to grow at twice the speed in Italy anyway.

Answer to: Fascism
Sun, 12/02/2012 - 08:24

I recommend the book "Italy's Sorrow" by James Holland as a very good descrption of the whole tragedy, given mostly by personal testimony drawn from  all sides of the conflict.  Not an easy read.

Answer to: Fascism
Sat, 12/01/2012 - 13:13

Yes. He sells the local wines which are cheap!  Rumour has it that he was also a local bank manager imprisoned for misappropiation of client funds! Equally i have heard of a son of a fascist who opened a restaurant locally.  Noone would use it and he was in effect run out of town. It's hard for a Brit to grasp the 'unfinished business' still left over from those times.  I guess itmay take another couple of genertions before the bitterness fades.

Answer to: Fascism
Fri, 11/30/2012 - 17:28

yup, our local wine merchant proudly announces "Sono Fascista"