½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

NO!And I'm continually surprised by the strength of feeling against this man among many ½ûÂþÌìÌÃs. Our plummer spotting my 'collage' of Berlusconi newspaper clippings on our Kitchen wall insisted on shaking my hand for a very long time!!!( didnt offer to knock any money off my preventivo BTW)What short memories we  Europeans,we know what happens when we make any race or culture the scapegoat for our economic woes and here we go again with BNP, Lega Nord etc etc

I have used the fila product on our new old looking tiles we used for windowsillls as they were already getting marked.Cost 20 euros for about 5 windowsills. I cannot see it at all and it certainly doesnt give that naff wet look appearance.If you want a breathable floor then you cannot apply any sealer to the tiles.If you already have a massive slab of cement under the tiles then you can put anything on them as you don't have a breathable floor !

I agree that ½ûÂþÌìÌÃs differ ( as do Brits) in their tastes and habits according to the areas they live in, ages, background etc.Most ½ûÂþÌìÌÃs love to show off their own produce and cooking skills and providing that you don't try and trump the host I would say that any food/wine present would be acceptable.A british traditional pudding would be my choice followed by a couple of bottles of local wine from a good cantina and certainly costing over 5 euros each!

I cannot understand why anyone would be foolish enough to light a fire in the heat of summer especailly in areas surrounded by woods and 'abandoned land '  like our place. Its a huge risk to the people living nearby and wildlife as well as to firefighters. Nevertheless during the hot weather in  May / June numerous fires could be seen around us in Abruzzo some running along the whole length of a field and left to burn for several days.If you have strimings you could pile them into a neat heap, water them and cover with plastic / old carpet etc. If possible in the shade. Then in the autumn it should have rotten down well enough to be composted. Or burnt if you must.Unfortunately its not possible to make a firebreak around our 3000sq metre of woodland as one side is bordered by the road and the other sides are on slopes to steep to access.I do find that even in August the undergrowth is lush and green. All in all it seems less likely to combust than all the grasslands around us 'abandoned' and now not cut or cultivated. I'm not sure what can be done about this? 

No escalator but I have tried a thick olive branch in the water butt! They do seem to have go the message but after finding asnake in it (alive) I'm going to cover ours to stop the little critters getting in.On a similar note can I urge you all to make sure you leave flat shallow dishes of fresh water around during the hot dry summer months, not only wildlife but also feral cats will be grateful to find somewhere to get a drink!If the bowls deep put a large stone in it for small creatures to climb onto in case they drown!  

I can't see whats not to like about Gecos! I find reptiles fascinating to the extent that I get extracted from work by watching lizars!I love the way they are so territorial especailly in the Olive trees.I believe one 'attacked' me once as it didnt like me sitting against the tree.It jumped from the tree right onto my head!

This could be a dormouse, we had quite a few sharing our house until our chimney was repaired.I cannot understand what you say about Squirrels as we regularly get these very dark Red Squirrels in our garden; they are almost black with a white bib.

I intended visiting Richard last September but time just run out. I'm so sorry now that we didn't meet as I found his posts fascinating and I hugely admired what he was trying to do in Italy.I hope at least his last years in Abruzzo brought him pleasure and not only pain! I know he was battling with various builders and other workmen but I do hope once he'd got up on the beautiful mountains with the flowers and birds he loved he felt all his worries disolve away .

Good luck!Our restoration project has made me cry,scream beat my fists against the wall (all the time wishing it was the electritians head) BUT has bought me great joy and satisfaction.I look upon restoration as 'healing' a house and am daft enough to always say goodbye to my house whenever I come back to England.Its all in that peom by Kipling really - 'IF'...do you know it?If you can keep your head when all around you......

I hope it gets sorted Russ I'm dying to post some of my pics on all of the butterflies, snakes, lizards etc I saw recently!