Buondì. The reorganisation is proceeding. It’s nearly completed, in fact, with mailing lists transferred from one supplier to another and things (hopefully) now working correctly. Though yesterday’s EasyReaders.org (ebooks shop) mailing got messed up, potentially annoying nine hundred valued ebook buyers. Sorry guys! What happened (very briefly, don’t worry) was that, on Monday, I finished […]

Buondì. Since Bug left us a week or so ago, I’ve had much more time, and surprisingly – given not having slept through the night for more than two months – more energy, to work. And so, on to the mountain of jobs and projects (a project is defined by containing many jobs) that have […]

Buondì. Good morning from Italy, where we’re all having a lie-in today, as probably are the inhabitants of Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Chile, Colombia, Equatorial Guinea, Guam (USA), Italy, Liechtenstein, Macau (China), Malta, Monaco, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, San Marino, Seychelles, Spain, Switzerland, East Timor, Vatican City, and Venezuela. Enjoy! Commiserations to the rest […]

Buondì. Here’s a brief update about goings on at OIC HQ, for those who are interested in such things. If that doesn’t include you – “I just want the three free exercises a week you promised when I signed up!” – then go here, or here, or here, or here, or here and do something […]

Buondì. It’s dicembre, and the countdown to Natale (Christmas) and Capodanno (New Year) begins! Writing the title of this article, besides going for the very similar but not identifical spelling of the month, I noticed the non-use of a capital letter with Italian months, so thought I’d mention it to you. The same is true […]

Buondì. When you’re learning a new language, there are certain things that come up in lessons, or that teachers point out (or possibly forget to, as they are so obvious they can’t imagine you not knowing), which are easy for some learners to miss. Tenses are a good example. Italian teachers know they’re really not […]

Buondì. I was a terrible spendthrift as a young man, probably for around a year or so, aged 20. Before that I had been careful by necessity, as I was always skint, so had to save up for anything I wanted. I recall trudging to the post office to deposit pennies in a savings account, […]

Buondì. You know those places where you can pick your own fruit/vegetables etc. directly from the field? They’re usually good value, as the farmer is saving the cost of havesting and transport, and doesn’t have to split the margins with a supermarket chain. Picking your own is a fun thing to do with kids, plus […]

Buondì. What does being ‘advanced’ or ‘fluent’ in Italian feel like? I taught English to Italians for over twenty years, including kids from the age of three, but mostly adults, at all levels from complete beginner to ‘advanced’, groups and individuals, ‘general’ and ‘business’, conversation and writing. The beginners were always the happiest, despite the […]

Buondì. I have a bandwidth issue. It’s nothing to do with groups of people playing music, nor their expanding waistlines (though I have one of those.) It’s more of a metaphor, actually, (read about real bandwidth issues here) my brain as an increasingly slow and unreliable internet connection. You’ll know that feeling when you try […]