alan h's activity

I'm not sure if you can buy 90% alchohol here, would a good vodka do the same job? No, [I bring the pure alcohol back from Italy],       and no. [but it would be better than nothing - I'd also try a strong gin]

 "how acceptable do most people feel the bastardisation of any language really is"     Its a facy of life unfortunately.   [Me - I've never recovered from finding out that people don't use 'octopodes' anymore]

 as I understand it........ when viewing new posts on a thread iI you click on 'new' it takes you to the first new post in that thread [i.e at the bottom of the page] If you click on the title of the thread- it takes you to the beginning, and you can read 'down' the page   Hope that reads clearer to you than it is to me - but I know what I meant to say

This walking guide book could be useful   http://www.cicerone.co.uk/product/detail.cfm/book/535/title/italy-s-sibillini-national-park   and this website may also have info   http://www.walkingworld.com/home/index.asp?id=45      

Try using the search facility here.   My first attempt  [search on 'travelling  dogs'] found;-   http://www.italymag.co.uk/community/search/node/travelling%20dogs   so try a few appropriate word combinations.  

Petrol in Luxembourg is the cheapest you'll see on your route home.  Don't bother trying to find it cheaper off of the motorway there - the government makes sure that the price is the same everywhere   For petrol prices in Europe, see;-  http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/fuel/

 Its like a road fund licence for driving on Swiss motorways [and you can't really avoid using them crossing Switzerland. Tou can buy it on line at http://rail.stc.co.uk/userdata_vignette.php?passid=5&frame=1&system=GB&affiliateid=45, and at the border, and at some service stations just before the border Its valid for a calendar year plus the December before and the January afterwards.  You stick it on your windscreen, and they check at most border crossings   [you can often get them on e-bay - from tightwads who manage to peel the vignette off after they've finished travelling.   Apart from the vignette, there are no extra costs fpor using motorways and tunnels uin switzerlans

 This site has the Swiss motorway webcams - so you can see what its like   http://www.autobahnen.ch/index.php?lg=001&page=017     Beam Deflectors? - I assume you mean for when you are in the UK.  Whether they arre a legal requirement, I'm not sure.  However, I'd play safe and assume they are [its good manners to other drivers anyway] I'd suggest you stick a triangle of black insulating tape on each headlight to cut out that part of the dipped beam that shoots to the right.  Fix them on at Calais - or wherever you cross the Channel  They won't do much good [even professional ones are pretty useless] but the police will see them and think you've done something

It appears to be a page a day calendar, with lots of extras. I found this blurb on it;' "…………., this calendar enables readers to quickly pick up helpful and interesting Italian words and expressions by studying the simple phrases alongside English translations. An audio CD of basic phrases is also included with the calendar. The calendar also includes cultural theme pages related to the language. The calendar is ideal for beginners as well as those who want to refresh their skills.Music in Italy spans a broad spectrum of genres, from the dramatic operas of Giuseppe Verdi to Ennio Morricone's spaghetti western soundtracks. Biographies of artists such as these are featured in the Living Language Italian 2010 Day-to-Day Calendar theme pages, along with facts on musical venues around Italy that have played a starring role in Italian musical history."

  http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780740782701/Living-Language-Italian-2010-Dtd