Gala Placidia's activity

Well, the Immaculate Conception is a religious festivity, just like Epiphany, Easter Monday, the Assumption, All Saints, Christmas Day and St Stephens.... actually, most of Italy's public holidays are religious festivities....

I have to agree with Fillide. And I think that it is necessary to restructure the markets and the economy. And this does not mean to get rid of benefits, particularly for the poor and the needy. This only represents a small slice of the cake. What causes the real damage is speculation, greed and military expenditure. Governments should spend more on health, education, housing and welfare. Do I sound like a "red"? Well, rest assured that I am not one; however, I do think that the "rich getting richer and poor getting poorer" is evil and immoral. I do not care who is in government, providing they do a decent job. And I am all in favour of the "shorting" measures. It was about time...

You will find all sorts of "utensili da giardino" at Leroy Merlin (www.leroymerlin.it).

Those stains are very difficult to remove; however, use some hydrogen peroxide straight from the bottle directly on the stains and allow it to act for half an hour. Then, wash the linen again in hot water. It works on a variety of stains, so you may be lucky....

Welcome and best wishes.

I should add that PVC windows are an expensive item in Italy. Perhaps, buying somewhere else may be cheaper; however, transport could increase the original price and I would always prefer to buy locally, even if it is more expensive, as you can always go back to the manufacturer or fitter if something goes wrong.

I think that a great deal of what happens with the economy has a lot to do with rampant speculation by the markets. There are no more sub-primes, very little scope for making quick money and rating agents and traders opt for making big waves to get some profits. Europe needs to have our own rating agency and Asia would benefit from having one as well. We cannot have everything ruled by the American rating agencies. Where were they before the crisis began? If they are that good and knowledgeable they should have foreseen what was going on. I do not trust their opinion at all.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with Fillide's comments. We have an 18th Century mill on the Lima River in Tuscany. Prior to our purchase, the previous owner (who is a builder) made some renovations, including changing all the existing windows, which were in a very poor condition, for PVC  double-glazed ones that look and feel as if they were made of wood and had been there all the time. These windows provide perfect insulation and the whole house (4 storey high) is warm in winter and cool in summer. We do not use air conditioning at all, only a limited amount of our central gaz heating in winter as it warms out very quickly. PVC has advanced a lot over the years. Yes, it is expensive, but worth the extra cost. You can get doors and windows in Italy made of PVC. Go to the largest "falegnameria" in your area and they will be able to assist. Ours, works mainly with timber and he is also a well known cabinetmaker; however, he is very proud of the windows he installed in our mill.

Great to hear that your problem is solved. It was better to have the locksmith hitting the lock as he knows what he is doing. An expensive visit, perhaps it is cheaper to ring a brain surgeon

It looks beautiful. I wish you good luck with the sale as it is not an easy task at present.