In 1770 the very first tourist hotel opened in Chamonix Mont Blanc France. Prior to this Chamonix Mont Blanc was a uncivilized and rugged rural town where the people hunted animals and farmed their wheat.

Farms back then were used to stock animals over the summer months. The cows milk was kept by changing it into different types of cheese and kept in the village for use over the long winters. Throughout the winter the farms were locked, and all valuables were locked in a hut.

Who invented the chalet vacation is unknown, however it was likely some spirited folk who acknowledged a idea that was new and exciting. With Erna Low it all started whilst she was a unhappy graduate and could not visit her family back home in Austria as frequently as she liked. So in 1931 she took a risk and took out a advertisement in the broadsheets to ask clients on a skiing trip. The cost was £15 and they traveled to and from the town, were provided with meals and lodging in the sole chalet, and had skiing hire and tuition. The trip was difficult work, there were no lifts, no quick release fixations, merely heavy leather shoes, it was so successful that she carried on taking skiers on holiday, seeing to it that she sourced great chalets and guides.

These Skiing holidays in the formative years were a far cry from the standards we enjoy nowadays. In the early days hot water was in short supply, the bathrooms would be shared with all of the punters, and there wasn’t a chef; the guests needed to help out. It was a complete lottery as to who might be in the accommodation for the trip, you might be pleasantly surprised to encounter brand new acquaintances, or have an uncomfortable week amongst strangers.

skiing holidays were later marketed on their other pluses. A chalet chef, who served you cooked breakfast and dinner and provided you a cake, private bathrooms hot water for bathing. And with Chamonix travel options so plentiful these days it makes your ski holiday so easy.

Contracts have been exchanged to dispose of the office and residential building in Soho, London, the National Magazine House. The value was just over £30m with a 6.4% discount compared to the December valuation.

Depending on the rent review in the autumn, the building could sell for a further two million. It is currently leased to the National Magazine Company for ten more years.

Contracts have also been exchanged to sell retail and office spaces in Brighton that are currently leased to the Royal Bank of Scotland for £3.5m on a twelve year contract at a yield of almost six percent.

Funds raised by two recent sales reduce the loans of the trust to a value ratio of forty percent, bringing in cash holdings of over £80 million.

Once the completion is carried through, the sale will characterize a rise in price of twenty-five percent over its December valuation of little under £3m.

The trust has also achieved a forty percent rise in Cineworld’s rent of Galaxy in Luton to the new price of £450,000 per year.

The trust has also reported that the BBC signed the rental of Reynards Business Park in Brentford, London for £700,000 per year for a further four years which is an increase of 10% on the previous lease.

The current flurry of deals gives the trust a portfolio of sixty-two properties worth over £300m, a yearly rental income of £25m and a yield of seven percent that is soon set to increase to 7.4.

The recent economic climate has seen a rise in office rental space, as more companies relocate and opt to rent rather than buy office space. Such times have also seen a rise in the need for and use of companies offering workplace analysis and office refurbishment and fitout services for those companies wishing to relocate.

The telephone is the most vital communication tool and the lifeline of most organizations. Valuable time is often lost in trying to locate the individual that placed an emergency call. Seconds can make the difference in saving lives or apprehending harassing callers. In this era of heightened security concerns, many organizations are reevaluating emergency systems and procedures.

When we are in public places or at work we take for granted a high level of safety and security. However, many organizations are ill equipped to respond to 911 emergency. Would you know where to direct emergency personnel if they showed up at your reception desk after a 911 call? Most businesses would be unable to track down the extension that made the call without a complete office search. This precious time, even in a small office, could mean the difference between life and death.

Many educational institutions are vulnerable to students making prank telephone calls to emergency services. Often emergency response units are dispatched to false alarms. This results in countless hours of lost time, money and a diversion of valuable resources from actual emergencies.

The critical information that can pinpoint the source of an emergency call is generally available right from your telephone system logs. Many companies are now offering software that acts as a watchdog for your system. If a malicious or emergency 911 call is dialed, you can immediately broadcast network messages, dial a security phone or alert emergency response personnel. Information about the calling party (i.e. extension, date, time) can be sent directly to telephones, pagers, instant messagers, personal devices and computer desktops.

Homeland security concerns are causing many states to adopt emergency standards. Security measures are being implemented in educational institutions, government agencies, hotels, retail outlets and countless other organizations.

Places of business or gatherings are often the target of harassing or nuisance telephone calls. It is often difficult for law enforcement to prosecute the offender without a record of the communication. Call trace features are integral to many voice switching systems. In the event of a malicious call, the called party can activate the call trace by pressing a pre-programmed key on their set. A record of the call trace request, including date and time of the event will be recorded in a call detail log.

Many businesses are now employing call control features that were infrequently activated in the past. Most telephone systems can be configured for restricted dialing, set and line restrictions for maximum control of every telephone call. These features often reduce and control employee telephone costs, ensure accountability and provide a record of each call.

Configuring the options available in your telephone system combined with realtime monitoring tools can greatly increase emergency preparedness and security.

This ability has been available for years through applications known as call accounting using real time call detail recording (CDR). For the most part, call accounting applications have remained stagnant, locked down and single user for many years. New emergency and security awareness has given rise to a whole new generation of Communication Management Solutions (CMS).

There are a number of browser based call accounting systems that can now be monitored from around the corner or around the world.

Rito Salomone is the president of Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI). He has 17 years experience in the field of communication management solutions.

For more information you can review: http://www.telecost.com or contact the author at +1 905 576-4575.

You have permission to publish this article electronically
or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are
included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be
appreciated. fayolap@yahoo.com

House Cleaning Services - Choosing the right house cleaning service for your home.
By Fayola Peters

Today our time is eaten up by work, commuting, study, and so on and so on. We don’t have much time left over to clean our own homes anymore. So we hire house cleaning services to help clean our homes.

If you are one of the thousands of people looking for house cleaning services there are four (4) steps that you can take to help you to choose the right house cleaning service for you.

1.Decide and write down what house cleaning you want done in your home by the house cleaning service you will eventually hire.
You can write down which rooms you want cleaned, what items or furniture you want cleaned, like laundry, floors, carpets, ceilings, dishes. You can even decide on whether you want the house cleaning service you hire to make beds.

2.Next to your list write down the price you would be willing and can afford to pay for the house cleaning services you listed for step one (1).
State the price that you would be willing to pay per month.

There are many house cleaning services out there, to help you find one that’s right for you and matches closely with what you have listed in step one and two you can…

3.Make a list of potential house cleaning services to hire by:

-asking for recommendations from friends and/or neighbors who use house cleaning services.

-using the classifieds and the telephone directory

-using the internet (to find places online where you can find a prescreened maid service or find prescreened cleaning contractors go to http://www.housecleaning-tips.com/cleaning-services.html

4.Most house cleaning services offer free consultations. Using the list you made for step three (3), contact the prospective house cleaning services and set up appointments. During these appointments you can find out what house cleaning services they offer, what they charge, as well as get an idea of there personality and professionalism.

If you follow the steps listed above, I’m sure that you can make an informed decision and choose the right house cleaning service for you.

About the Author

Fayola Peters is the webmaster of Housecleaning-Tips.com. Check out the house cleaning services page at her website at http://www.housecleaning-tips.com/cleaning-services.html and find a prescreened maid service or cleaning contractors in your area.

No matter how pleasant a garden is, it is not being enjoyed to its full extent if there is no where for visitors to sit and admire the beauty of the garden. Luckily, few gardeners are willing to sacrifice design for comfort and with the wide choice of garden furniture available today, it is rare to find gardens bereft of furniture. Garden furniture will if anything look great with just about any style of garden.

Indeed, many gardens will provide several different items of furniture so that people have the flexibility to enjoy the garden from a variety of positions. So how does the gardener decide which of these many types of furniture you should be added and to which parts of the garden ? Firstly, they should decide how the garden will be used - formally or informally. Some people entertain a great deal and would use their patios or decks as an extra room for entertaining, while others just want to enjoy the peace and quiet of their gardens. Alternatively the garden may double up as an play area for excitable children.

In order to entertain properly, guest should not be crowded and so plenty of seating is required. If you entertain frequently, you should consider garden benches and deck chairs for more flexibility. Also should you be lucky enough with the climate to serve meals to your guests without leaving your beautiful gardens, then consider a large garden table and chairs so that you have plenty of room. Additionally you will probably need a decent parasol to your garden table so that you can entertain with protection from the sun (or rain).

Protection from the sun is something the gardener should be conscious of and what better way to relax in your garden, than to add a hammock to a shady area in the garden. Remember, that you do not necessarily need to obliging trees as you can fasten the hammock to two four by four posts that are cemented into the ground or for a quick solution, you could purchase a hammock stand.

Some people prefer to just soak up the sun and for those people the ideal items of furniture are sun loungers on your patio or deck.

Indeed, a patio or deck doesn’t look finished if it is bare of furniture. A patio is complemented well by either wooden, plastic or metal patio furniture. There should have no problems locating the right pieces for your garden patio and be sure to consider a patio heater. A heater can extend your use of the garden both daily and seasonly.

Finally, as you wander through the garden beds, you will find that there are certain places that are ideal to linger in and ponder. These places are ideal spots for benches or a couple of chairs and a side table. You also may want to add a decorative garden bench to any area in your garden that is a bit bland or in need of a focal point.

About the Author

Matthew Anthony contributes to and manages several gardening websites such as garden furniture and greenhouses.

The cost of furnishing a conservatory can catch many people out, in fact it can often cost more than the conservatory itself. Conservatory Blinds can be very expensive so it is important to know what the choices are and what value a particular blind will bring. This article looks at the most common types and discusses the individual merits of each one.

Pleated Blinds

Pleated blinds are argueably the most attractive conservatory blind. They are available in a huge range of frabics and colours and have a modern elaborate look. They are a value alternative to pinoleum blinds and can be made with reflective material, which will help to maintain a more pleasing temperature. Typically, the pleats come in 25mm width but are increasingly available in 20mm. Pleated blinds are very versatile and can be used in any style of conservatory. Made to measure pleated blinds are readily available.

Pinoleum Blinds

Pinoleum blinds are the most traditional type of conservatory blind. Pinoleum is the name given to strips of thin wood which are woven together in different patterns. Roman or Rolled-up Pinoleum blinds are available. One of the great advantages of pinoleum blinds is that they let in a diffused light between the strips of wood. This gives them a great look. However, the downside is that maintaining the temperature is harder as heat comes in as well as light. This is obviously a problem is controlling temperature is the major concern, in which case this type of blind is probably not the right choice. Having said that it is possible to fix a reflective material to the back of the blind, but then the pleasant light effect is lost which is one of the major attribute of pinoleum blinds.

Roller Blinds

As previously discussed, conservatories are often tarnished by the high and low temperatures and the glare of bright sunlight. Also, bright light can damage furniture and ruin your favourite plants. However, you do not want to block out all light completely otherwise what would the point of a conservatory be. Roller blinds are a very versatile solution, while not as attractive as pinoleum or pleated blinds, they do offer a very practical solution. Also, they are great value and are usually at the lower end of the budget range. Roller blinds come in either standard sizes or made to measure. Or you can even adjust them yourself. Another advantage is that as they are typically made from synthetic material, roller blinds can be easily cleaned. Also, you can get reflective material to help keep the conservatory cool in winter and the heat out in the summer. Roller blinds are the easiest type of blind to fit yourself. The blind sits between two brackets that are fixed to the inside or outside of the window recess.

Hopefully this brief discussion will provide some assistant in choosing your blinds. As a general rule it is always a good idea to learn from other people’s experience and so tap into friends and family who have already gone through this process. In addition talk to some experts and get some no obligation quotes, but make sure you know what is being quoted for.

About the Author

Garry John has contributed to several sites about conservatories including conservatory blinds and conservatories

Well, the fall bite is on and the fishing has been spectacular. I have been fishing some smaller inland lakes instead of burning gallons of gas out on Lake Champlain and it has been a lot of fun. It is nice to just get out and fun fish instead of worrying about putting five good fish in the box.

The water temperature has been in the high 50’s and although the bass haven’t quite begun to move out of their summertime haunts yet, they are beginning to get on the feed and the jig bite has been pretty good.

Back in July at Lake Oneida I met Matt Wilson (a.k.a. The Principal) from TAC: The Angling Center. Matt and I talked for quite a while, swapped fishing stories, and gave each other samples of our favorite baits to try. Among the products that Matt gave me were a couple of bottles of CB’s Hawg Sauce. Now I will be the first to tell you that I have always thought scents were kind of a waste of time and money, but hey, they were free so I thought I might as well give then a try - what do I have to lose? When I got home I gave it a try. I would fish for a while without a bite (in an area where I know there were fish), then I would add the CB’s Hawg Sauce to my bait and shortly after I would get a bite? Coincidence, right? Well, I wanted to think so. However, after three months of experimentation I can honestly say that this stuff really works - and that means something coming from someone who didn’t want it to work. OK, now back to the story:

So like I said, I was piching a Vertical Lures Jig X in scattered, deep grass. I was also using a LaChase Baits Chunk trailer and had that covered in CB’s Sweet and Sassy Crawfish Gel. I caught lots of fish in the two-three pound range and a couple of nice kicker fish that were around four-plus pounds - the majority of them ate it on the fall. What was really interesting to me was all the fish had the jigs way back in their mouths, I mean choking on it, but I only felt a couple of bites and saw my line jump one or twice. My only explaination for this is that I have come up with the killer jig combination - Vertical Lures Jig X, hand-poured chunks, and CB’s Hawg Sauce. Aside from the Jig X being an awesome weedless jig, I think the hand-poured chunks added to the appeal of the jig, making it look like a real craw. And when they got it in their mouth, the Hawg Sauce convinced them that they had a real tasty treat so they held onto the jig long enough for me to drive the hook home.

Check out the fishing pictures, blogs, forums and articles at FishingRecreation.com.

Anti-Aging Treatment: The Rationale Behind It

In a culture where people, especially women, are obsessed on reversing the process of aging, the anti-aging skin care industry is nowadays a multi-million dollar market. People continue to look for solutions, study and find the fountains of youth, and invest in the multi-million dollar market. Why do people get so crazy over anti-aging treatments and products? Is it because of pure vanity? Or is it simply because women, and even men, want to take care of themselves healthily? Whatever it is, there is no denying that anti-aging treatment has become the best friends of the men and women who are undergoing the process of aging.

What happens when aging process starts to show?

When you start stepping on the 30’s, you also start stepping on the fact that aging starts to process. If you haven’t been too careful about your daily lifestyle, you may even start to feel the sad truth about unpleasant physical change that is associated with aging in as early in your late 20’s. The first part of our body that starts to accumulate changes is the largest, and ironically, the most visible human organ, the skin. It starts to show fine lines, it wrinkles, it hardens, it sags, it cracks, it dries, and it breaks down.

Why do these things happen? It is because as people age, there happens the free radical change, or more specifically damage. A study about free radical damage insists that there is occurrence of skin layers flattening, collagen that stabilizes enzymes is decreasing, the blood vessels are thinning out, which causes the normal blood flow. All these things cause the skin and the parts underneath it to work abnormally so that it can no longer exfoliate more often and produce sebum in the right amount.

Read part two of Anti-Aging Treatment: The Rationale Behind It

Is learning a foreign language ever easy? Yes. If you are five and move to another country …

But what about for the rest of us who are no longer five, and need to be polite when travelling for business or for pleasure? I think that the answer is yes, language learning can be easy provided you don’t want or need to learn too much.

The key to successful language learning in my mind is not to set the goalposts too high. It is rather like running. Even if you run twice a week, you don’t necessarily want to be able to run a marathon, or have any intention of running a marathon or maybe you never could run a marathon. You might just want to maintain a level of fitness. I think the same can be said for language learning. I find languages fascinating and enjoy dabbling with them, but that doesn’t mean I feel duty-bound to get good (or maybe I can’t anyway). I’m a programmer and have no particular aptitude for foreign language learning, but I like to learn a few words here, a few words there type of thing.

Let’s get back to the goalposts. If you decide to learn ten words in a foreign language before visiting the country, you know that you will manage to do this. Learning a foreign language for your purposes has now been redefined to learning ten words. Conversely if you decide to attain conversational fluency, unless you are an exceptionally talented individual you will fall far short of your goal, and quite probably give up in disgust.

I think that there is far to much emphasis on this completer-finisher thing with regard to languages. For the majority of us, language learning should be easy and fun. Of course, I’m not saying that there isn’t a place for becoming fluent in other languages, I’m just saying that for most of us it isn’t practical or necessary.

I like travelling but I don’t have the time or aptitude to learn too much of any particular foreign language. So I learn, or dabble and enjoy it. I set goals that work for me and are usually to learn about hundred words whenever I visit a new country. I’ll learn the words you need to be polite, the numbers, greetings and a few general phrases. Doing this always results in a better holiday and I enjoy it.

It is also far easier to start learning a foreign language than to finish. In other words the better you are the slower it can be to improve, because you are becoming stuck with grammar, making sentences, learning less common words etc. If you are only trying to learn a few foreign words and phrases you will enjoy a faster rate of progress, have more fun, and don’t have to spend to much time on any given language.

Minority languages are particular candidates for this approach, because often you don’t need to use them to communicate and they are by their very nature not widely used. A good example is Catalan which is spoken in the north-east of Spain by about 10 million people, almost all of whom are bilingual (also speaking Spanish). There is no need to learn Catalan to travel around this area of Spain, if you already speak Spanish, but it shows respect for the local culture and it is interesting to learn a few words.

The intention of learning only a few hundred words in a language, and then stopping, isn’t the usual approach to language learning, but it can be a very rewarding and entertaining activity

Frank Jones is a freelance author and writes occasional articles for Veneficium Ltd. Visit http://www.linguata.com for language learning software designed to teach a few hundred words and phrases in different languages.

Why study Italian in Italy?

Reason 1
Thousands of students travel abroad each year to learn Italian language. They realize that the most effective way to learn Italian language is to learn in the country the language is spoken and may be used not only in the classroom, but all day and in the street, shops, restaurants…

Reason 2
Italy is a world leader in the culinary arts, interior design, fashion, graphic design, furniture design, etc. Those planning careers in such fields greatly benefit from knowing Italian and Italy.

Reason 3
Living in Italy can be a fantastic cultural experience. Although it can be said that Italian cannot be considered as a vehicular language, it is just as true that it cannot be relegated to a language of the past. Are you an art and culture enthusiast? Italy, the country with the highest concentration of art, history, culture, nature, good food and wine in the world, is one of the most popular vacation countries in Europe.
Wherever you choose to study Italian in Italy you will find something unique: beautiful natural scenery, history, customs, delicious food, colourful festivals and warm people.

Reason 4
The Italian welcome is warm everywhere, people are friendly and all seasons are good for a visit.

What you should know

Information about visas for entry into Italy

Citizens from countries from which a visa is necessary to enter Italy can enroll in and attend a course provided that they have a visa for TOURISM (for stays of up to 90 days) or for STUDY (indispensable for periods of over 90 days).
Before enrolling in one of our courses we would ask you to contact the Italian diplomatic representation or Consulate nearest your place of residence to obtain precise, up-to-date information.

In some countries it takes a long time to obtain a visa and for this reason it is advisable to contact the Consulates as soon as possible.

For countries, such as:
Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Savador, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malesia Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay, Poland, Rumania, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Korea, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, there is no obligation to apply for an entry visa for purposes of tourism for periods of up to 90 days.

To check up on any changes in these lists, we advise visiting the site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://www.esteri.it/eng/5_32_183.asp? and the site of the European Union: http://europa.eu.int/abc/travel/doc/index_en.htm

In any case, even if a visa is not required, to avoid problems with the Police, always make sure that your passport is stamped with the date of entry into Italy by the Italian Border Police.

The documents normally required by the consular authorities are:

1. Passport valid for at least 3 months (for some countries it must be valid for at least 6 months) longer than that of the visa applied for
 2. Return air ticket (or return ticket for any other means of transport) or the flight booking
 3. Proof of possession of sufficient financial means for self-support during the stay in Italy, according to the parameters specified above.
 The applicant, by means of appropriate documentation (e.g. declaration of employment, cash, credit card, travellers cheques or other), will have to prove that he/she is in a socio-economic situation or work or family position that can guarantee his/her genuine interest in returning to his/her country of origin at the end of the period of validity of the visa.
 4. Confirmation of hotel booking or any other suitable accommodation.
 5. Health insurance with adequate cover and valid for all the countries of the Schengen area.

Anyone applying for a visa for purposes of study must also:

a) stipulate a medical insurance policy, valid in the event of urgent hospitalization without limits on expenses or duration with 1′”INA - Le assicurazioni d’Italia”. This insurance is fairly cheap, on 03/10/2003 it costs euro 38.73 for 6 months or 77.46 euro for 12 months and covers risk of hospitalization in the event of injuries or illnesses that necessitate emergency hospitalization, but cannot be used for out-patient or domiciliary medical examinations. For this reason it is necessary to have also medical insurance from ones own country, valid in Italy, that covers these risks.

b) show documented proof of the course to be attended (certificate of enrolment in the course).

Those applying for a visa for purrposes of tourism must also:

Stipulate medical insurance cover, valid in the case of urgent hospitalization without any limit on expenses or duration, with INA -Le assicurazioni d’Italia”. This insurance covers the risk of hospitalization in the event of traumas or illnesses that necessitate urgent hospitalization, but cannot be used for surgery or domiciliary examinations. For this reason it is also necessary to have medical insurance from the country of origin, valid in Italy, covering these risks.

Once the possession of the minimum requisites required by law has been verified and the necessary information obtained from the Consulate, the student can then enroll in the course by sending to the school the enrolment form and effecting a single payment of the entire cost of the course booked. Only at that point can the school, in order to make possible the initiation of the visa application procedure, issue the enrolment certificate, the letter of confirmation for the course with the address of the accommodation booked and the receipt for the amount paid.

It is not possible to issue a visa (nor the extension of a pre-existing visa) to a foreigner who is already on Italian territory. To make possible officially extensions of the period of stay, only extensions or renewals of the residence permit are valid.

In Italy the Police cannot extend or renew residence permits of the visa is type “C”.

Further information about the issue of visas and residence permits can be found by visiting the following sites:

Mistero degli Affari Esteri
http://www.esteri.it/eng/2_11.asp
Addresses of all the Italian Diplomatic and Consular Representations in the world (in Italian). Information about visas in languages other than Italian can be found in the web sites of some Embassies.

Ministero dell’Interno - Polizia di Stato
http://www.poliziadistato.it/pds/cittadino/stranieri/stranier.htm
Information about entry into Italy and work permits (in Italian)

At the end it should be remembered that within eight days from the date of entry into Italy, all foreigners are required to apply for a residence permit to the Police (Questura) of the town in which they reside. The secretary of the School provides assistance with the application for the residence permit.

Teacher in ILM http://www.ilm.it/ an Italian Language school in Pisa and Viareggio, Tuscany