Mark's activity

Personally I would go for close to the road, as all of the houses that have been broken into around us, the thieves have got in though an unoberserved window. I have always thought that if you make your house less attractive to break into than your neighbours, you are less lightly to have trouble. At the end of the day, if someone wants to break into your house they will, you have just got to point them somewhere else. I have bars on the windows that are the least safe, security lights and an alarm( A lot cheaper in UK). I have toyed with the idea of a big arrow saying "Try these ones instead", but I thought it may cause a little friction with my neighbours.   Mark

I would be interested to see this poll taken in more countries. I wonder what the responce would be in other European countries. I do know that when Berlusconi goes, we are going to lose one of the great comedians as the whole world is laughing at him. Mark

And when you consider the coach that goes from the airport to Termini is about 8 euro person, and they have usually overbooked so there is a long delay. Then you have to walk the length of the station to get the Metro to Tiburtina. Think I will go for a taxi next time as well Mark

RAI sends out the demands to everyone. I know someone who worked at the RAI call centre that dealt with licence equiries. They were often called up by people in a panic over these demands who did not own a TV. An interesting fact was the staff were told not to tell people if they were due a refund or if they could save money, unless they specifically asked about it. The best way to avoid paying is to not open the front door to anyone, thats how they got me.   Mark

When I bought my house I think I only had to produce my passport. A form was filled in and this had to be signed by the head of the department. He accused me of being Romanian and when shown my passport, was convinced it was a forgery. Only when he was shown various other documents and about half his office told him I looked more English than anything else, did he sign. Then it was across the road to the police station to fill in another form and be told I would have a visit to check my address within the next 6 months. When my wife moved her residency a year later, the police were round within 2 weeks. I still have not been checked 3 years on. Mark

One of our neighbours was hit this weekend for the second time in a year. Last time they pulled out a window frame including bars. This time they broke a wooden shutter at the front and used a long pole to scoop up the front door key that was sat on a table in the middle of the room. Both times the dogs in the house opposite, which go crazy whenever I go to and from the car, never made a sound?I have heard the pole method is used a lot around here and I guess it makes sense, as most people will put down their keys as they get in the house.Mark

Here on the outskirts of Rome, most shops and businesses close between 13.00-16.00. It is different in the center, but this is mainly tourist shops anyway. This is all fine if you just want a bit of shopping, but if you are trying to work and need parts from time to time, it's a real pain. Mark

Seems there is nothing like a good(or bad) argument to get things moving again.   Mark

Normal 0 0 1 50 285 2 1 350 11.1282 Normal 0 0 1 50 285 2 1 350 11.1282 0 0 0 0 0 0 I was quite impressed the other day when I saw them collecting all the stuff that people had thrown from their car into the gutter with a JCB.  I was sitting there thinking ‘ Wow, they actually do care about this’ as I watched them pick up a bucket full of bottles, plastic bags, etc.  And then dump it all into the hedgerow at the side of the road.  Mark

Normal 0 0 1 29 167 1 1 205 11.1282 Normal 0 0 1 29 167 1 1 205 11.1282 0 0 0 0 0 0 We have just had this very thing with one of the TV’s at work. The technician told me it was something to do with the power supply inside the TV and a replacement would cost as much as a new TV. Mark