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In my opinion you are never going to get those bricks looking good without using some acid in the equation somewhere. If you really wanted to, you could use lemon juice or vinegar, but why not buy effectively the same stuff from the builders' merchant, where it will be termed acido muriatico. (You can buy this in the supermarket, but it is much stronger from the builders' merchant). To use the least possible acid (and to create the least fumes) get as much of the lime stuff off the bricks by stiff brushing, even use water if the droppings are soluble until you are left with onlly a 'film' over the bricks. Then a quick acid wash and a rinse, and you'll be there. The Geal products are good - (though I wouldn't personally pay their prices for their acid based cleaning agent if I needed more than one bottle full) - their finishing products are breathable and effective, and many of them are 'invisible' once applied leaving the bricks looking entirely natural. 

I hope this link will take you to the Flickr page for the school of journalists in Urbino. They have been out and about snapping the snow, and some of the shots - particularly of central Urbino - are quite amazing: snow in the streets up to the top of entrance doors etc. Eerily beautiful, but somewhat inconvenient.

The government has now decided that the army will not charge comuni for their services in the emergency. It's a bit complicated, and the army were completely within their rights to make a charge. If the regione had declared a state of emergency then the regione woud have got the bill (rather than the comune). It is only relatively recently that the army gained the right to 'sell' their services - (before they were 'professioanlised' there was no possibility of a partially conscript army being able to put a price on their services.) Sorry about the car sprostoni - does anyone else remember 'Peter the Heater' (which I'm pretty sure was a trade name, rather than just the name my family used). It was a dinner plate sized paraffin heater, about 3" tall, which was placed under the sump and kept the (old non-multigrade) engine oil liquid. I'm pretty sure you can get electrically powered versions these days.

Ah - good reminder from sagraisolar: anyone with a diesel tank for central heating (especially if it is getting low) might suffer from their fuel not getting through because it has gone slushy with the cold. Another ridiculously tiny snag which can stop your boiler working is that the small 'overflow' pipe gets frozen and thus blocked. It's worth checking and clearing (and maybe if possible remove the pipe and put a bucket, inside, under the outflow) if your boiler suddenly goes down for no apparent reason. 

Best make sure that Misha is out of the room when you type in the new password - and don't let the computer 'save' it! What a bit of fun to warm up a chilly day

This debate has been going on for years, and it seems to me a bit 'opportunistic' for US media to get sucked into linking it to the Costa Concordia disaster. Venice is limited in tourist accommodation, but depends upon tourist spending to survive. It isn't as if these cruise ships just do a 'drive past' - the passengers disembark and spend money on the islands in the lagoon. If disembarcation was possible to the south of Giudeca (it isn't as if Venice lacks a wonderful water based peple moving capacity) then this would successfully address many of the aesthetic and 'big waves' concerns. It isn't that this is a logistical problem - the old redundant molino stuff on Giudeca (under the control of the comune) could, without great difficulty or expense, serve this purpose. Probably the graft opportunities of flogging this area off for 'housing' was more tempting, and more shortsighted. In a way, this all reflects the 'UK high street decline' stuff. So - what do you do? Persuade the masses that they can't afford ever to see Venice? Price it out of the market? Try to turn the clock back to when there were (not on the Grand Canal, but in the callé near Arsenale) proper butchers and markets? Nah - that's not possible: too much has been 'invested' (aka borrowed) with the promise of magnificent returns based on tourist revenues. I dunno: it's all about over successful 'branding'. I'd no more want to revisit Venice than I would Taormina or Capri or San Marino. Completely overcrowded tacky horrors living on (unimaginably historic) past glories pandering to the Disney generation. Whether, having made the choice to go this route, their 'governments' now regret chasing the fast buck - who knows. Somehow (given the loony idea of the current - or maybe the previous - mayor of Venice to punt for 'The Olympics') I doubt it. If you want canals, try the rather spoiled Comacchio, or (last time I was there) Chioggia. If you need to look at art in l'Accademia then November is the best time.

If you have the kit then it sounds as if the Vod contract is okay - and it's probably down to liaison between TI and Vod. Do try ringing 190, they seem to be quite helpful once you get through the automated button pushing bit, and I've always found them willing to pursue a difficult query up to a person who can actually assist.   Ring them from your mobile, they prefer this and the call is free certainly if you're in a place with Vod coverage and I think free even if on Tim or something else. Have you tried (when you are somewhere in a place where there is a Vod signal) simply using the Vod station dongle on a laptop? It'd be interesting to see if that works (if it does it will be free) and if it doesn't it means they haven't 'authorised' the SIM.

As Penny says, this is a contract which expects you to have a landline. However, Vodafone give (maybe rent for a small sum, can't remember) you a Vodafone station - a proprietary wireless modem router into which you plug the supplied dongle with SIM, and presupposing you have cell Vod coverage it works without a landline. If you have not received this bit of kit it sounds as if there is something wrong with the contract. Try registering on the Vod site  or speak directly with them by dialling 190 rather then going through 'the shop'.

Or for the dyslexic, moderators evil

Assuming your passport (which is the most important document of your identity) is in your married name, you have got the most useable CF. Believe me, I received a CF many years ago in my maiden name, and it has been a complete nightmare because that isn't the name on my passport. Forget the maiden name stuff, the CF must match the passport to avoid confusing the bureaucracy!