Serge's activity

Hi ValentinaI did not give up the search!  I did not find an Italian recording of the show because I do not think there is one!  What I did find is that the show will be in Rome: Teatro Sistina in October 2009. There are supposed to be other performances in Milan, Naples, Turin, Florence and other cities. Of course all the songs will be in Italian.  We (our family) will aim to catch one of the shows!  I hope an official cd will be released after the tour.  It will be interesting to see how they translate the names of the some the characters eg Rumpleteazer.  I am keeping an eye on the show's website! 

I had the pleasure, during the last couple of days, of listening to the Italian version of the song "Memory"  from the musical Cats sung by Paul Potts (from his CD album "Passione").  I am enchanted by the Italian version which is called "Piano".  I know they did the Italian version of the show in Milan last year.  I have searched IBS.it, Ebay.it and blogosfere.it for either a DVD or CD album of the Italian version of the show and so far no luck.  Any idea where else to look in Italy?  Thank you!Serge

Here is the link to the London based Italian Chamer of Commerce:http://www.italchamind.co.uk/They have a members' directory!For what is worth both of you and your wife should not do anything without seeing lawyers for independent legal advice and accountants (for UK capital gains or inheritance tax advice).  For example is it to be a donation, a purchase, a simple transfer between husband and wife or part of a divorce settlement.  None of my business, but the UK tax man and the Italian authorities may want to know!As I said to Alan H on the other thread I am not a lawyer or tax accountant my comments are purely based personal experience. Both of you should ignore any other advice except that given to you both by independent legal and tax advisers who will have professional liability insurance if things go wrong! Good luck!Serge 

There are inheritance tax implications in the UK.  I suspect you will also need to pay house purchase tax in Italy (not sure of percentage 3% or 10%).  You could establish a Trust or you could transfer the freehold to the children and retain the user rights until your death! House purchase tax on the latter may different!  Whatever you do you should see your tax accountant, italian and English lawyers (there may be implications for your other dependents)!  There is no other way out!I am not a lawyer or a tax accountant my advice is based on my personal experience!  Any advice from other people should not be considered, if you do and act on them make sure they have professional liability insurance otherwise you cannot get back to them if things go wrong! Hence my disclaimer to you for the above!The Italian London Chamber of Commerce has a members directory:http://www.italchamind.co.uk/ Good luck! Serge 

"Aujourd'hui le casse-croûte est aussi bien un sandwich BLT à trois étages qu'un croissant farci au Cantal et au jambon de pays ou qu'une tarte aux asperges vertes et au saumon fumé et à l'aneth.http://www.casse-croute.fr/Not quite a a Tramezzino: the casse-croute is nicer!The "tarte aux asperges vertes" is delicious as a Quiche.  Asparagus is still in season in Italy.  I buy a kilo in the local market for €4. They are also nice in "Frittata" or on their own with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil or with a pan-fried salmon steak with hollandaise sauce.  I find "asparagi" are best eaten "al dente". When I put more than 12 to 16 spears in the boiling water they stew! They can be steamed or flash-fried with oyster sauce, having cut them diagonally! A nice lunch for anybody whatever the business!  A nice bottle of "Aragosta" white wine completes the meal!Bon appetit, Buon appetito!Serge

I wish I had known that, because every lass, young lady, mademoiselle, (mamzelle: creole for mademoiselle) and ragazza I have taken out to lunch or dinner always wanted a posh meal!  Perhaps they thought I had a deep pocket! I would have saved a lot of money had I not taken them to Harvey Nics 5th Floor sestaurant, The Blue Elephant Thai restaurant or La Portes des Indes restaurant, all in London.  Anyway, being a gourmand I did enjoy the food if not always the company!!!!

Our commune does not have a complaints procedure like the UK, but I have found that the "Sindaco" Mayor has some public sessions available each week.  Nothing like getting to the "chief honcho" himself/herself.  This individual is even more attentive and vulnerable near election time.  I have used this route to good effect to get major things done!I have also found that a "coping strategy" for most situations is a must to relieve stress.  Part of my "coping strategy" for living in any bureaucratic community, particularly Italy, is to cultivate contacts.  It is not often what you know or what you are entitled to that matters, it is who you know.  Social networking helped me settled in the UK and is helping me now in Italy.Italy has been described as a bureaucratic country.  True, its is a bit like the UK 30 years ago!  Bureaucracy in an organisation is synonymous with discipline, not many of us like it!  Anyboby who has read the UK Civil Service Accounting Manual, I came across it doing some charity work for Save the Children Fund in Uganda, will have found the mother of all bureaucratic documents!  Yet it worked, because staff were fully trained in its application.  All UK government and quasi government organisations have rules in the form of standing orders and accounting procedures.  Even my social club has one a book of rules!  The opposite of bureucracy is "laissez faire", which means fraud etc.  I suspect in Italy there is lack of training and add this to a culture that says that the client is here for the benefit of the professional, the government official, the doctor or anybody in authority and not the other way round then the result is obvious, frustration for the customer.  The professional/client relationship is epitomised by the fact that  one has to call a professional by what she/he does eg achitect so and so, engineer so and so. There is nothing wrong with that.  As immigrants, we need to understand how this impact on us as customers!  We cannot fight it we need to anticipate it and make it work for us.  I have seen Italians get round the bureaucracy with flattery and patronage (back to my second paragragh). In the UK I have always wondered why there is a need for a complaints department: now going under the name of customers services. I suspect a lot of the problem that customers and clients find in the UK comes from the fact that the rules have not been applied properly.  Anyway when in Rome!

Normal 0 Normal 0 I used to have the same problem when I lived in a country cottage in the UK.  They used to come in the back garden of the cottage over the field gate.  This was the only way in, as the edge  surrounding the back garden was thick and quite high.  Every year the edge was coppiced.  This way the fawns could not get through and the edge would be too tall for the deers.   The trouble was I never found a solution for the gate!  The advantage of  this kind of managed edge was the array of wild life it harbours!   It takes years to achieve this!  In Italy, my property at the front abuts a thick wood with deers, wild boars, porcupines, hares etc.  I have put up a low metal fence (1.5 metre). The metal wire netting is nailed to the round treated pine wooden posts which I have driven into the ground (without concrete).  The wire netting is buried about 50 cm underground to prevent boars and porcupines from entering.  A metre in front of the wire netting I planted a a laurel edge (I am told laurel is bitter and is not attractive to deers).  About 1 metre in front of the laurel edge I have planted olive trees of the 'siepe' variety.  They grow quite tall and do not need pruning.  In between the olive trees and the laurel I have planted daffodils.  There are at present some 3000 naturalised bulbs, they start to flower from February onwards and go on until May.  At present I am looking at my bulb catalogue for late spring and summer flowering bulbs.  For September I am looking at saffron crocuses: there is a place in Val D'orcia that sells them.  This system  has kept the animals out, but I can still enjoy them when I go walking in the woods!  The spaces beween the fence, the laurel edge and the olive tree edge were put in to facilitate  the management of each.  The bulbs create interest all year round! Ps sorry about the gremlins at the start of this post! 

For new flats you also need a sound proofing cerfificate for floors and windows.  The soundproofing specialist would work the requirements depending on the size of the windows typically 34 decibels may be too low, 36 to 39 decibels may be required which means thicker glasses and perhaps thicker window frames.   The commune, I am told requires the specifications for floor soundproofing before building work can start. I am still evaluating the impact of this new law!