Oh, don’t get me started! My accountant goes all red in the face when you mention these Consorzi. Here in South Umbria we have the Consorzio del Tevere Nera which was set up in 1934 by Mussolini’s administration with the aim of clearing up and developing the Terni Basin. In theory, the Consorzio is responsible for 3 wide areas of activity: irrigation, various infrastructures and hydraulic matters. The irrigation is for the plains around the Nera river between Narni and Terni and those on the left and right banks of the Tiber between Baschi and Attigliano. So all the water you see being sprayed over the land in that area is paid for by me! It is also responsible for maintaining all the small provincial and communal roads that connect its Comprensorio with the main roads. Time (the clearing up happened 77 years ago and we still seem to be paying for it) and water has passed under the bridge. Those in the know estimate that the iniquitous tax has brought in €3 million of which 700.000 is used to undertake essential works and 2.300.000 is used for “administrative” purposes, i.e. 22% for “works” and 78% to keep the show on the road! There have been many attempts to get the Consorzio dissolved but it seems that those who were ‘against’ got elected onto a Lista Civica and then used this to get voted onto the Board where they now are enjoying the very privileges they were protesting against. The present Chair of the Board is one such!!! Every year we get a tax bill (not enormous it must be said, about €20 – of which €15 go into administrative costs and less than €5 for “works” which just confirms what I said above!) and this year the Chairman felt it necessary to justify himself and the work of the Consorzio by informing us that they had cleared the weeds along the roads for which they are responsible and, at the same time, to let us unwilling taxpayers know that, of the 4.400 complaints sent to the tax office, none had been accepted. In fact, any that had gone further up the food chain to the Perugia Court of Appeal had been dismissed with the losers to pay all court costs. The Comune of Terni is trying to get the Consorzio and the tax abolished since, in their opinion, the works they do should no longer be their responsibility but the Region’s under the “tax equity” law for ALL Umbrians. We wait with bated breath… FYI, my parents live just outside Rome near Ostia in a “reclaimed area” which was drained in the 1880’s because the swamp bred malaria-carrying mosquitoes. There have been draining pumps which have been working ever since, except for when the Germans left Rome during the war and broke them up in a “childish reaction at being vanquished” (according to my Mum!) These were then repaired and they are still chunking away happily, keeping the area dry and relatively mosquito-free. My parents don’t pay anything more than their local taxes for the privilege.
Regardless of personal problems, for any Italian marrying abroad the marriage is valid whether or not it is registered with the Consulate. However, if your husband is still registered as unmarried he is in an illegal position and, were he to decide, for reasons of his own, to marry again on the basis of his unmarried status with the Consulate, he would be guilty of bigamy and this could result in legal proceedings. This is true of a lot of countries. Since you are not technically Italian I doubt if you could go ahead and register your marriage in the Consulate but I agree with Gala, sort out your problems first. From personal experience of consular staff, I doubt very much if they would be party to any illegal actions - the last thing they would want is to be accessories to a crime however small; so I think their strong relationships with your husband should count for very little. I think they would be much more concerned with making sure he hadn't contracted a marriage of convenience which he is now regretting. All administration matters for Italian citizens are the responsibilty of the Consulates and not the Embassy, so they will only refer you back to the Consulate. However, if it is the local Consulate you are worried about, go to the one in Liondon (38, Eaton Place) and talk to someone there: stato civile statocivile.londra@esteri.it +44 (0)20 7235 9371
I agree with Allan about detailed driving instructions and how even they can be misleading. We were visiting friends for the first time in Cornwall last week and the non-driver wife (NDW) sent us EXTREMELY detailed instructions of how to get to their house: “Follow the road along the creek, past the bungalows on your right, then a roundhouse, then some pink villas, past a redbrick bungalow and there is our long hedge”. Well, everything was right but…no sign of a roundhouse. We arrived safely nonetheless and queried the roundhouse.Oh, yes, there is one said the NDW and, on our way back from the restaurant, showed us – the only problem was you could only see it if you turned round and looked over your shoulder, really NOT to be recommended on those appallingly narrow Cornish roads!
I think you've got centipedes (millepiedi in Italian). Harmless unless you suffer from bee-sting allergies and then you'll need to seek medical advice if bitten (although I understand this is quite a rare phenomenon). They are just a little disconcerting though but I think that, once the house is full of people again, they will depart for pastures new - they dislike hustle and bustle and like dark damp areas so just open the curtains and fling open the windows.
Actually, Berlusconi has always been Libya's friend! Don' you remember how he kissed Gaddafi's hand when the man came to Italy? Follow the oil has ALWAYS been the West's policy, until the locals mess everything up by trying to throw off the chains of tyranny...
Back in 2006 we had all the windows in our house in Umbria, which we were renovating, redone with double-glazing and aluminium shutters with an imitation wood covering. The reasoning behind this was that we are not getting any younger and we had no desire to spend every spring redoing the paintwork. At the time 9 various size double- shutters cost us €3800 including placement and we have never looked back. Everyone, including my civil engineer brother-in-law, feels they need to touch them to check they are really NOT wood! The company was PLASTIFER di Vittori Pietro & C. snc– 06030 Montecchio di Giano dell’Umbria (PG) P.I.02497790549 Tel. and Fax (0742) 99109 - E-mail : plastifer@libero.it and they did a good job. Perhaps not cheap but, 6 years on, they still look brand new. The double-glazing means that even our south-facing windows don't radiate heat even in full summer - as we have now! I have a picture of one but don't know how to post it!
My mother used to leave things to soak a couple of hours in vinegar and cold water, but not 2-to-1, much less: about half a litre of vinegar to 5 of water. The problem is that, if you have already washed them at a temperature higher than 30°, you will have fixed the stain with the heat (a bit like with blood stains) and I doubt that you will manage to save the current lot. I suggest you automatically do the pre-soaking with vinegar with all the linen and towels, regardless of whether you see stains or not, and then wash at no more than 30°. Allow to dry in full sun - this always works wonders. If there are no visible stains after this and you would want to wash at a higher temperature, then do so. I wouldn't bother though. If this doesn't work, I suggest you supply your guests with yellow bedlinen and towels for the future!
Comments posted
Oh, don’t get me started! My accountant goes all red in the face when you mention these Consorzi. Here in South Umbria we have the Consorzio del Tevere Nera which was set up in 1934 by Mussolini’s administration with the aim of clearing up and developing the Terni Basin. In theory, the Consorzio is responsible for 3 wide areas of activity: irrigation, various infrastructures and hydraulic matters. The irrigation is for the plains around the Nera river between Narni and Terni and those on the left and right banks of the Tiber between Baschi and Attigliano. So all the water you see being sprayed over the land in that area is paid for by me! It is also responsible for maintaining all the small provincial and communal roads that connect its Comprensorio with the main roads. Time (the clearing up happened 77 years ago and we still seem to be paying for it) and water has passed under the bridge. Those in the know estimate that the iniquitous tax has brought in €3 million of which 700.000 is used to undertake essential works and 2.300.000 is used for “administrative” purposes, i.e. 22% for “works” and 78% to keep the show on the road! There have been many attempts to get the Consorzio dissolved but it seems that those who were ‘against’ got elected onto a Lista Civica and then used this to get voted onto the Board where they now are enjoying the very privileges they were protesting against. The present Chair of the Board is one such!!! Every year we get a tax bill (not enormous it must be said, about €20 – of which €15 go into administrative costs and less than €5 for “works” which just confirms what I said above!) and this year the Chairman felt it necessary to justify himself and the work of the Consorzio by informing us that they had cleared the weeds along the roads for which they are responsible and, at the same time, to let us unwilling taxpayers know that, of the 4.400 complaints sent to the tax office, none had been accepted. In fact, any that had gone further up the food chain to the Perugia Court of Appeal had been dismissed with the losers to pay all court costs. The Comune of Terni is trying to get the Consorzio and the tax abolished since, in their opinion, the works they do should no longer be their responsibility but the Region’s under the “tax equity” law for ALL Umbrians. We wait with bated breath… FYI, my parents live just outside Rome near Ostia in a “reclaimed area” which was drained in the 1880’s because the swamp bred malaria-carrying mosquitoes. There have been draining pumps which have been working ever since, except for when the Germans left Rome during the war and broke them up in a “childish reaction at being vanquished” (according to my Mum!) These were then repaired and they are still chunking away happily, keeping the area dry and relatively mosquito-free. My parents don’t pay anything more than their local taxes for the privilege.
For us, the Comune did it automatically. A very nice young man did all the necessary calculations.
I have sent you a private message Mangosteen
Regardless of personal problems, for any Italian marrying abroad the marriage is valid whether or not it is registered with the Consulate. However, if your husband is still registered as unmarried he is in an illegal position and, were he to decide, for reasons of his own, to marry again on the basis of his unmarried status with the Consulate, he would be guilty of bigamy and this could result in legal proceedings. This is true of a lot of countries. Since you are not technically Italian I doubt if you could go ahead and register your marriage in the Consulate but I agree with Gala, sort out your problems first. From personal experience of consular staff, I doubt very much if they would be party to any illegal actions - the last thing they would want is to be accessories to a crime however small; so I think their strong relationships with your husband should count for very little. I think they would be much more concerned with making sure he hadn't contracted a marriage of convenience which he is now regretting. All administration matters for Italian citizens are the responsibilty of the Consulates and not the Embassy, so they will only refer you back to the Consulate. However, if it is the local Consulate you are worried about, go to the one in Liondon (38, Eaton Place) and talk to someone there: stato civile statocivile.londra@esteri.it +44 (0)20 7235 9371
I agree with Allan about detailed driving instructions and how even they can be misleading. We were visiting friends for the first time in Cornwall last week and the non-driver wife (NDW) sent us EXTREMELY detailed instructions of how to get to their house: “Follow the road along the creek, past the bungalows on your right, then a roundhouse, then some pink villas, past a redbrick bungalow and there is our long hedge”. Well, everything was right but…no sign of a roundhouse. We arrived safely nonetheless and queried the roundhouse.Oh, yes, there is one said the NDW and, on our way back from the restaurant, showed us – the only problem was you could only see it if you turned round and looked over your shoulder, really NOT to be recommended on those appallingly narrow Cornish roads!
I think you've got centipedes (millepiedi in Italian). Harmless unless you suffer from bee-sting allergies and then you'll need to seek medical advice if bitten (although I understand this is quite a rare phenomenon). They are just a little disconcerting though but I think that, once the house is full of people again, they will depart for pastures new - they dislike hustle and bustle and like dark damp areas so just open the curtains and fling open the windows.
...definitely faster today. I've abandoned the "watching the grass grow" attitude while waiting for it to load
Actually, Berlusconi has always been Libya's friend!
Don' you remember how he kissed Gaddafi's hand when the man came to Italy? Follow the oil has ALWAYS been the West's policy, until the locals mess everything up by trying to throw off the chains of tyranny...
Back in 2006 we had all the windows in our house in Umbria, which we were renovating, redone with double-glazing and aluminium shutters with an imitation wood covering. The reasoning behind this was that we are not getting any younger and we had no desire to spend every spring redoing the paintwork. At the time 9 various size double- shutters cost us €3800 including placement and we have never looked back. Everyone, including my civil engineer brother-in-law, feels they need to touch them to check they are really NOT wood! The company was PLASTIFER di Vittori Pietro & C. snc– 06030 Montecchio di Giano dell’Umbria (PG) P.I.02497790549 Tel. and Fax (0742) 99109 - E-mail : plastifer@libero.it and they did a good job. Perhaps not cheap but, 6 years on, they still look brand new. The double-glazing means that even our south-facing windows don't radiate heat even in full summer - as we have now! I have a picture of one but don't know how to post it!
My mother used to leave things to soak a couple of hours in vinegar and cold water, but not 2-to-1, much less: about half a litre of vinegar to 5 of water. The problem is that, if you have already washed them at a temperature higher than 30°, you will have fixed the stain with the heat (a bit like with blood stains) and I doubt that you will manage to save the current lot. I suggest you automatically do the pre-soaking with vinegar with all the linen and towels, regardless of whether you see stains or not, and then wash at no more than 30°. Allow to dry in full sun - this always works wonders. If there are no visible stains after this and you would want to wash at a higher temperature, then do so. I wouldn't bother though. If this doesn't work, I suggest you supply your guests with yellow bedlinen and towels for the future!