Introduction to Chile. Part I

[some links damaged] Chile: Situación, superficie y clima
La República de Chile forma una estrecha franja de tierra que discurre entre el Océano Pacífico y la Cordillera Andina, en el extremo sudoccidental del continente americano. Tiene una superficie de 756.946 km cuadrados, - aunque reclama sus soberanía de 1.250.000 km cuadrados de territorio antártico -, una longitud de 4.270 km (desde la frontera con Perú hasta el Cabo de Hornos) y una anchura media de 200 km (máxima de 400 km). Su posesión más occidental es la Isla de Pascua, a 3.780 km de la costa continental.
Chile es un país montañoso, recorrido de Norte a Sur no sólo por la Cordillera de los Andes (con alturas que superan los 6.000 m), sino también por la Cordillera de la Costa, formando entre ambas el Valle Central. El relieve chileno es muy variado e incluye zonas desérticas en el norte del país, zonas montañosas con nieves perpetuas, estepas en la zona austral y paisajes polares en el extremo sur. Por otra parte, Chile es un país sísmicamente activo y cuenta con varios volcanes en actividad. Además, la escasa distancia entre la cordillera andina y la costa no permite el buen desarrollo de los ríos.
El clima es suave y seco en el norte y húmedo en el sur. En Santiago (520 m de altitud), el mes más caluroso es enero (con 11° C de mínima y 36° C de máxima) y el más frío julio (que oscila entre 0,2°C y 20° C). El mes más seco es febrero, con precipitaciones medias de 2 mm y el más lluvioso, junio (84 mm).
Demografía y sociedad: Chile tiene 15.116.435 habitantes (INE–Censo de 2002), de la cual el 50,73% son mujeres. El porcentaje de población que habita en áreas urbanas es de 86,6%. En la Región Metropolitana, donde se encuentra la capital, Santiago, se concentran 6.061.185 habitantes, es decir, el 40% del total de la población del país. La composición de la misma está formada por 75,5% de mestizos; 19,9% de descendientes de europeos y 4,6% perteneciente a grupos étnicos (destacando un 4% de mapuches).
De acuerdo al Censo 2002, un 25,7% de la población es menor de 15 años y el 11,4% tiene 60 o más años. El 95,8% de la población está alfabetizada.
No existe una religión oficial. No obstante, según datos del censo 2002, el 70% de los chilenos mayores de 14 años se declara católico, el 15,1% evangélico, un 4,4% profesa otras religiones y el 8,3%, ninguna.
Breve referencia histórica: Chile alcanzó su independencia el 18 de septiembre de 1810. La Constitución actualmente en vigor se aprobó en 1980 y sólo ha experimentado ligeras modificaciones. La principal modificación se realizó en marzo de 1994, mediante la cual se acortó la duración del mandato presidencial de 8 a 6 años. El Presidente de la República no puede ser reelegido para el periodo siguiente.
Las elecciones generales del 11 de diciembre de 1989, primeras de la democracia, fueron ganadas por los partidos de la Concertación, tomando posesión, como Presidente de la República, el democratacristiano Patricio Aylwin Azócar, el 11 de marzo de 1990. Tras cuatro años de mandato, las siguientes elecciones fueron nuevamente ganadas por la Concertación, saliendo elegido Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, a quien le sucedió, el 11 de marzo del 2000, tras las últimas elecciones presidenciales, el también candidato de la Concertación, Ricardo Lagos Escobar, actual Presidente de la República: Daily Newspaper 'Mercurio'. (otra en Español)
Category: Foreign

S.O.

Introduction to Chile. Part I

Chile: Situación, superficie y clima
La República de Chile forma una estrecha franja de tierra que discurre entre el Océano Pacífico y la Cordillera Andina, en el extremo sudoccidental del continente americano. Tiene una superficie de 756.946 km cuadrados, - aunque reclama sus soberanía de 1.250.000 km cuadrados de territorio antártico -, una longitud de 4.270 km (desde la frontera con Perú hasta el Cabo de Hornos) y una anchura media de 200 km (máxima de 400 km). Su posesión más occidental es la Isla de Pascua, a 3.780 km de la costa continental.
Chile es un país montañoso, recorrido de Norte a Sur no sólo por la Cordillera de los Andes (con alturas que superan los 6.000 m), sino también por la Cordillera de la Costa, formando entre ambas el Valle Central. El relieve chileno es muy variado e incluye zonas desérticas en el norte del país, zonas montañosas con nieves perpetuas, estepas en la zona austral y paisajes polares en el extremo sur. Por otra parte, Chile es un país sísmicamente activo y cuenta con varios volcanes en actividad. Además, la escasa distancia entre la cordillera andina y la costa no permite el buen desarrollo de los ríos.
El clima es suave y seco en el norte y húmedo en el sur. En Santiago (520 m de altitud), el mes más caluroso es enero (con 11° C de mínima y 36° C de máxima) y el más frío julio (que oscila entre 0,2°C y 20° C). El mes más seco es febrero, con precipitaciones medias de 2 mm y el más lluvioso, junio (84 mm).
Demografía y sociedad
Chile tiene 15.116.435 habitantes (INE–Censo de 2002), de la cual el 50,73% son mujeres. El porcentaje de población que habita en áreas urbanas es de 86,6%. En la Región Metropolitana, donde se encuentra la capital, Santiago, se concentran 6.061.185 habitantes, es decir, el 40% del total de la población del país. La composición de la misma está formada por 75,5% de mestizos; 19,9% de descendientes de europeos y 4,6% perteneciente a grupos étnicos (destacando un 4% de mapuches).
De acuerdo al Censo 2002, un 25,7% de la población es menor de 15 años y el 11,4% tiene 60 o más años. El 95,8% de la población está alfabetizada.
No existe una religión oficial. No obstante, según datos del censo 2002, el 70% de los chilenos mayores de 14 años se declara católico, el 15,1% evangélico, un 4,4% profesa otras religiones y el 8,3%, ninguna.
Breve referencia histórica
Chile alcanzó su independencia el 18 de septiembre de 1810. La Constitución actualmente en vigor se aprobó en 1980 y sólo ha experimentado ligeras modificaciones. La principal modificación se realizó en marzo de 1994, mediante la cual se acortó la duración del mandato presidencial de 8 a 6 años. El Presidente de la República no puede ser reelegido para el periodo siguiente.
Las elecciones generales del 11 de diciembre de 1989, primeras de la democracia, fueron ganadas por los partidos de la Concertación, tomando posesión, como Presidente de la República, el democratacristiano Patricio Aylwin Azócar, el 11 de marzo de 1990. Tras cuatro años de mandato, las siguientes elecciones fueron nuevamente ganadas por la Concertación, saliendo elegido Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, a quien le sucedió, el 11 de marzo del 2000, tras las últimas elecciones presidenciales, el también candidato de la Concertación, Ricardo Lagos Escobar, actual Presidente de la República. Online Chilean news: Daily Newspaper 'Mercurio'. (otra en Español)

Category: Foreign

S.O.

Practising with links

I tried to add a link several times yesterday within the previous message; every time an error occured despite the fact that I had followed the instructions to the letter and checked, and rechecked...also, it was past midnight and I was a bit tipsy...but that shouldn't matter, should it?

Today let's read the Sunday Times

Or we could read this, which I think is an all round better newspaper

1st edit (10:45 am)...both links work perfectly, maybe it's true what they say about the demon drink...Doh!

Practising with links

I tried to add a link several times yesterday within the previous message; every time an error occured despite the fact that I had followed the instructions to the letter and checked, and rechecked...also, it was past midnight and I was a bit tipsy...but that shouldn't matter, should it?

Today let's read the Sunday Times

Or we could read this, which I think is an all round better newspaper

1st edit (10:45 am)...both links work perfectly, maybe it's true what they say about the demon drink...Doh!

I love being married

I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. Rita Rudner
Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then. Katherine Hepburn
Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate. Barnett R. Brickner
More marriages might survive if the partners realized that sometimes the better comes after the worse. Doug Larson
Divorce: The past tense of marriage. Author Unknown
A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. -Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966
It destroys one's nerves to be amiable every day to the same human being. Benjamin Disraeli
Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight. Phyllis Diller, 1966
An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit. Pliny the Younger (Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundis), Letters
If you made a list of the reasons why any couple got married, and another list of the reasons for their divorce, you'd have a hell of a lot of overlapping. Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960
A man marries to have a home, but also because he doesn't want to be bothered with sex and all that sort of thing. W. Somerset Maugham
There is no substitute for the comfort supplied by the utterly taken-for granted relationship. Iris Murdoch
Matrimony is a process by which a grocer acquired an account the florist had. Francis Rodman
Marriage is a book of which the first chapter is written in poetry and the remaining chapters in prose. Beverley Nichols
All marriages are happy. It's the living together afterward that causes all the trouble. Raymond Hull
As to marriage or celibacy let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent. Socrates
A first-rate marriage is like a first-rate hotel: expensive, but worth it. Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966
The reason for much matrimony is patrimony. Ogden Nash
Three rings of marriage are the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering. Author Unknown
A man in love is incomplete until he has married. Then he's finished. Zsa Zsa Gabor
One should never know too precisely whom one has married. Friedrich Nietzsche

I love being married

I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. Rita Rudner
Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then. Katherine Hepburn
Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate. Barnett R. Brickner
More marriages might survive if the partners realized that sometimes the better comes after the worse. Doug Larson
Divorce: The past tense of marriage. Author Unknown
A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. -Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966
It destroys one's nerves to be amiable every day to the same human being. Benjamin Disraeli
Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight. Phyllis Diller, 1966
An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit. Pliny the Younger (Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundis), Letters
If you made a list of the reasons why any couple got married, and another list of the reasons for their divorce, you'd have a hell of a lot of overlapping. Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960
A man marries to have a home, but also because he doesn't want to be bothered with sex and all that sort of thing. W. Somerset Maugham
There is no substitute for the comfort supplied by the utterly taken-for granted relationship. Iris Murdoch
Matrimony is a process by which a grocer acquired an account the florist had. Francis Rodman
Marriage is a book of which the first chapter is written in poetry and the remaining chapters in prose. Beverley Nichols
All marriages are happy. It's the living together afterward that causes all the trouble. Raymond Hull
As to marriage or celibacy let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent. Socrates
A first-rate marriage is like a first-rate hotel: expensive, but worth it. Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966
The reason for much matrimony is patrimony. Ogden Nash
Three rings of marriage are the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering. Author Unknown
A man in love is incomplete until he has married. Then he's finished. Zsa Zsa Gabor
One should never know too precisely whom one has married. Friedrich Nietzsche

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No comment...awaiting reply...to be confirmed...watch this space.

The Roots of Catalan Cooking

Not my own work - blogger blagged. Es de otra

Few cuisines are as attached to their historical roots as Catalan cookery is. Carla Passino compares today's fare with the medieval original.

'Catalans eat more graciously and better than other countries.' This may sound like a rave review by a food critic smitten with the menu at top Catalan restaurant El Bulli, but it was actually written in the 14th century by Francesc Eiximenis, a theologist who occasionally occupied his time with the rather more mundane concerns of eating and drinking. (bloggers note: he seems like a good sort)

Catalonia - intended as the larger area where Catalan is spoken - was as much a beacon of European cuisine in the Middle Ages as it is today, or perhaps more. It influenced cooking styles throughout the continent and especially in Italy, where it arrived through Sicily, Sardinia and Naples, which became part of the Catalan-Aragonese kingdom between the 13th and early 15th centuries. In a quirk of destiny, the Catalans were probably bringing back to Italy a much embellished version of what the Italians themselves had brought to Catalonia in Roman times.

The core of Catalan cuisine is of Roman origin, according to Rudolf Grewe, who was one of the foremost scholars of Catalan food history. The Romans brought to Catalonia bread, wine and oil - 'the classical triad' which, according to medieval food historian Massimo Montanari, fed imperial ideology and the food model it imposed throughout the Roman Empire. And Roman writers mentioned oysters from Tarragona, mountain hams and clams as local delicacies. (Bloggers note: well apart from the oysters and clams, the bread, wine, oil and ham are the same today...daily fare that is, not centuries old!)

However, this basic fare was greatly enriched in medieval times, when Catalonia became a flourishing centre of commerce which rivalled with Venice and Genoa for naval hegemony. Set at the heart of the Mediterranean, the country introduced and adapted many foreign influences into its culinary tradition. Arab cookery was especially important. The Moors held much of the Iberic peninsula throughout the Middle Ages and their traditional ingredients, such as rice, lemons or bitter oranges, made their way into local cuisines throughout Spain.

The Libre de Sent Sovi - which (presumably?) dates from 1324 and is one of the oldest cookbooks in Europe - lists a number of dishes made with aubergines, spinach or sugar which have a clear Moorish origin. Aubergines, for example, are served with almond milk, or cooked in a casola (casserole), and the book gives two recipes for alatria, pasta of Hispano - Arabic origin. Trade with the Muslim countries and Africa also brought in spices, which played a major part in medieval Catalan cuisine.

Cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon - which were thought to have medical properties - were widely used in medieval Catalonia. A simple mig-raust (later known as mirrauste) of almond milk, in the book de Sent Sovi, calls for pepper, ginger, cloves and the ubiquitous cinnamon - as well as sugar.

Some recipes use saffron, which had already been known in Roman times but found a new lease of life in Moorish-influenced Catalonia. Not only did the spice become an integral part of Catalan cuisine and the cuisines which descended from it, but - cultivated as it was in Valencia and Roussillon - it fueled a booming trade with Germany and central Europe until the 16th century.

The Libre de Sent Sovi also carries one of the earliest recipes for two founding elements in modern Catalan cuisine: picada and sofregit. A paste made with ground almonds, herbs and spices, picada is to Catalan sauces what roux is to French ones: the quintessential ingredient, the cornerstone of good sauce-making. Sofregit, which may have influenced the Italian soffritto, was a stir-fry of chopped onions, garlic and herbs that was and is still used to flavour all sorts of dishes. The contemporary version is practically identical to the medieval one, save for an ingredient: the tomato, which came to Spain and Catalonia from America in the 16th century. (Bloggers note: tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco...wow! Imagine a day without at least one of them today?...or hamburgers)

Beyond the individual dishes, however, it is the creative approach to ingredients which has remained a constant in Catalan cuisine from the Middle Ages. Sweet-and-sour combinations, for example, were common throughout Europe during the Middle Ages, but lost currency in later centuries. In Catalonia, however, they have remained an important part of the local heritage. Today's rabbit with pears, for example, or duck with fruit have their roots in the marinated mutton with pears and quince that appears in the 16th-century Libre Del Coch.

The other pillar book of medieval Catalan cookery, the Libre may have been written in the 16th century although it was published in 1520. The author was a Mestre Robert, who in later editions is identified as Robert or Rupert de Nola, head chef to Alfonso V El Magnánimo, king of Aragon, Valencia, Mallorca, Sicily and Sardinia, king of Naples and earl of Barcelona between 1442 and 1458. The book was probably a present for Alfonso's son, Ferran, who later became king of Naples, and it may have been a prime vehicle through which Catalan recipes penetrated Italian cuisine.

In typical medieval fashion, the Libre has plenty of sweet-and-sour dishes. One for all is the fritter of new cheese with sugar and honey, a version of which has survived practically unaltered in the former Catalan colony of northern Sardinia, where it is called a sebada or seada.
Mestre Robert often suggests sprinkling some sugar and cinnamon to give more oomph to his recipes, although, he says 'there are people who believe that you shouldn't sprinkle sugar on pottages cooked in meat stock and everything depends on the taste of the lord of the house.'

Sweets, such as marzipans and all sorts of fritters, feature prominently throughout the book - an indication that desserts played as important a part on the Catalan medieval table as they do today, although their serving style was different at the time. Another cookery book from the period is entirely devoted to 'totes maneres de confits' - from confit lemons to codonyat, a quince cheese which is still popular today. Perhaps it was familiarity with these recipes that prompted 15th-century Italian food writer Bartolomeo Sacchi, known as Platina, to say that the Catalans were undisputed masters in Lenten confectionery.

By then, the conquest of the Americas was looming on the horizon, and with it would come the last key ingredients of Catalan cuisine. Tomato, for example, added the finishing touch to the sublime simplicity of pa amb tomaquet - toasted bread with garlic, tomato and olive oil - while chocolate found its way into the saucepan to jazz up hare. (Bloggers note: chocolate as well, come on! What chance do we have!!)

Once again, new flavours went to add layers of complexity and riches to the Catalan pot, bringing it very close to culinary heaven. It is testament to the incomparable art of contemporary Catalan chefs like Ferran Adrià of El Bulli and Santi Santamaria of Can Fabes that they managed to improve on it.

(Bloggers note: El Bulli is not open all year and details of it and Can Fabes can be found via Google)

Category: Foreign

SO
Nutrition

The Roots of Catalan Cooking

Not my own work - blogger blagged. Es de otra

Few cuisines are as attached to their historical roots as Catalan cookery is. Carla Passino compares today's fare with the medieval original.

'Catalans eat more graciously and better than other countries.' This may sound like a rave review by a food critic smitten with the menu at top Catalan restaurant El Bulli, but it was actually written in the 14th century by Francesc Eiximenis, a theologist who occasionally occupied his time with the rather more mundane concerns of eating and drinking. (bloggers note: he seems like a good sort)

Catalonia - intended as the larger area where Catalan is spoken - was as much a beacon of European cuisine in the Middle Ages as it is today, or perhaps more. It influenced cooking styles throughout the continent and especially in Italy, where it arrived through Sicily, Sardinia and Naples, which became part of the Catalan-Aragonese kingdom between the 13th and early 15th centuries. In a quirk of destiny, the Catalans were probably bringing back to Italy a much embellished version of what the Italians themselves had brought to Catalonia in Roman times.

The core of Catalan cuisine is of Roman origin, according to Rudolf Grewe, who was one of the foremost scholars of Catalan food history. The Romans brought to Catalonia bread, wine and oil - 'the classical triad' which, according to medieval food historian Massimo Montanari, fed imperial ideology and the food model it imposed throughout the Roman Empire. And Roman writers mentioned oysters from Tarragona, mountain hams and clams as local delicacies. (Bloggers note: well apart from the oysters and clams, the bread, wine, oil and ham are the same today...daily fare that is, not centuries old!)

However, this basic fare was greatly enriched in medieval times, when Catalonia became a flourishing centre of commerce which rivalled with Venice and Genoa for naval hegemony. Set at the heart of the Mediterranean, the country introduced and adapted many foreign influences into its culinary tradition. Arab cookery was especially important. The Moors held much of the Iberic peninsula throughout the Middle Ages and their traditional ingredients, such as rice, lemons or bitter oranges, made their way into local cuisines throughout Spain.

The Libre de Sent Sovi - which (presumably?) dates from 1324 and is one of the oldest cookbooks in Europe - lists a number of dishes made with aubergines, spinach or sugar which have a clear Moorish origin. Aubergines, for example, are served with almond milk, or cooked in a casola (casserole), and the book gives two recipes for alatria, pasta of Hispano - Arabic origin. Trade with the Muslim countries and Africa also brought in spices, which played a major part in medieval Catalan cuisine.

Cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon - which were thought to have medical properties - were widely used in medieval Catalonia. A simple mig-raust (later known as mirrauste) of almond milk, in the book de Sent Sovi, calls for pepper, ginger, cloves and the ubiquitous cinnamon - as well as sugar.

Some recipes use saffron, which had already been known in Roman times but found a new lease of life in Moorish-influenced Catalonia. Not only did the spice become an integral part of Catalan cuisine and the cuisines which descended from it, but - cultivated as it was in Valencia and Roussillon - it fueled a booming trade with Germany and central Europe until the 16th century.

The Libre de Sent Sovi also carries one of the earliest recipes for two founding elements in modern Catalan cuisine: picada and sofregit. A paste made with ground almonds, herbs and spices, picada is to Catalan sauces what roux is to French ones: the quintessential ingredient, the cornerstone of good sauce-making. Sofregit, which may have influenced the Italian soffritto, was a stir-fry of chopped onions, garlic and herbs that was and is still used to flavour all sorts of dishes. The contemporary version is practically identical to the medieval one, save for an ingredient: the tomato, which came to Spain and Catalonia from America in the 16th century. (Bloggers note: tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco...wow! Imagine a day without at least one of them today?...or hamburgers)

Beyond the individual dishes, however, it is the creative approach to ingredients which has remained a constant in Catalan cuisine from the Middle Ages. Sweet-and-sour combinations, for example, were common throughout Europe during the Middle Ages, but lost currency in later centuries. In Catalonia, however, they have remained an important part of the local heritage. Today's rabbit with pears, for example, or duck with fruit have their roots in the marinated mutton with pears and quince that appears in the 16th-century Libre Del Coch.

The other pillar book of medieval Catalan cookery, the Libre may have been written in the 16th century although it was published in 1520. The author was a Mestre Robert, who in later editions is identified as Robert or Rupert de Nola, head chef to Alfonso V El Magnánimo, king of Aragon, Valencia, Mallorca, Sicily and Sardinia, king of Naples and earl of Barcelona between 1442 and 1458. The book was probably a present for Alfonso's son, Ferran, who later became king of Naples, and it may have been a prime vehicle through which Catalan recipes penetrated Italian cuisine.

In typical medieval fashion, the Libre has plenty of sweet-and-sour dishes. One for all is the fritter of new cheese with sugar and honey, a version of which has survived practically unaltered in the former Catalan colony of northern Sardinia, where it is called a sebada or seada.
Mestre Robert often suggests sprinkling some sugar and cinnamon to give more oomph to his recipes, although, he says 'there are people who believe that you shouldn't sprinkle sugar on pottages cooked in meat stock and everything depends on the taste of the lord of the house.'

Sweets, such as marzipans and all sorts of fritters, feature prominently throughout the book - an indication that desserts played as important a part on the Catalan medieval table as they do today, although their serving style was different at the time. Another cookery book from the period is entirely devoted to 'totes maneres de confits' - from confit lemons to codonyat, a quince cheese which is still popular today. Perhaps it was familiarity with these recipes that prompted 15th-century Italian food writer Bartolomeo Sacchi, known as Platina, to say that the Catalans were undisputed masters in Lenten confectionery.

By then, the conquest of the Americas was looming on the horizon, and with it would come the last key ingredients of Catalan cuisine. Tomato, for example, added the finishing touch to the sublime simplicity of pa amb tomaquet - toasted bread with garlic, tomato and olive oil - while chocolate found its way into the saucepan to jazz up hare. (Bloggers note: chocolate as well, come on! What chance do we have!!)

Once again, new flavours went to add layers of complexity and riches to the Catalan pot, bringing it very close to culinary heaven. It is testament to the incomparable art of contemporary Catalan chefs like Ferran Adrià of El Bulli and Santi Santamaria of Can Fabes that they managed to improve on it.

(Bloggers note: El Bulli is not open all year and details of it and Can Fabes can be found via Google)

Category: Foreign

SO
Nutrition

Logos and hidden initials

Logos and hidden initials

Gas natural - me queja

Español: Copia de la carta enviado a mi contacto en la agencia el día 23 de agosto 2005 - entregado a sus oficinas en persona:

Estimado Mª Antonia,

Espero que se encuentre bien y disfrute de sus vacaciones. Mañana, día 24 de agosto, voy a Inglaterra para 15 días vacaciones – vuelvo el viernes 9 de setiembre.

Todavía queda sin pagar la factura del gas porque no estoy de acuerdo con el total. Quiso estar con el técnico de Gas Natural cuando él vino para hacer la lectura y chequear si hubiera anomalía en el reloj, pues yo salí de me trabajo para juntar con él (cita confirmado para ser entre las tres y las seis por la tarde) el día18-08-05 pero ya había hecho su trabajo y dejado la nota (pagina adjunto) bajo la puerta – pues todavía no sé como abrir y leer el contador de gas.

Como verá la lectura nueva es 03781, es decir, el ultimo lectura facturado fue el día 07-06-05 (vea ultimo factura – adjunto) y entre las dos lecturas ha pasado 71 días (¡dos meses y 10 días!) y el consumo ha sido equivalente a solo €13,46 – los calculaciones son míos porque todavía no me han confirmado Gas Natural sobre los datos nuevos ni la visita etc.

Yo llame a Gas Natural el mismo día para reclamar que el técnico ya había salido y que yo no estaba contento porque quise hablar con él y porque había perdido un tarde de trabajo. Me contaron que parece entonces que el reloj funciona bien y que el piso habia sido en uso ‘minimo’ desde agosto 2003 – es decir, había sido 2261 en el reloj desde hace 7 meses ANTES de que yo entre.

Como yo estoy afuera, y seguro que ellos van a tratar a comunicar sobre este asunto, quiero que llame a Gas Natural para aclarar lo que realmente debo pagar yo – hay que recordar que en 71 días de uso normal (de verano) yo uso muy poco gas, también hay que notar que:

- Vivo aqui solo (sin niños, ni familia que se encuentran en Inglaterra) - Use tintorería todos los meses - Estoy afuera casi la mitad de cada mes - Casi no como/ cocina en casa - Aunque use calefacción por unos meses en invierno no fue por mucho tiempo porque se queda apagado cuando viajaba, y cuando sí fue utilizado ni fue a temperaturas muy altas porque soy Inglés (¡!!)

Todo lo mencionado es porque YO SÉ que el uso mío será mucho menos que el promedio pero me ha enviado una factura como si fuera uno o 2 familias con niños viviendo juntos – otra cosa -todos deben saber que no es correcto.

Le adjunto mi prima factura, y los dos lados de la última factura y también la nota del técnico de Gas Natural.

Category: Foreign

Un saludo

SO

Gas natural - me queja

Español: Copia de la carta enviado a mi contacto en la agencia el día 23 de agosto 2005 - entregado a sus oficinas en persona:

Estimado Mª Antonia,

Espero que se encuentre bien y disfrute de sus vacaciones. Mañana, día 24 de agosto, voy a Inglaterra para 15 días vacaciones – vuelvo el viernes 9 de setiembre.

Todavía queda sin pagar la factura del gas porque no estoy de acuerdo con el total. Quiso estar con el técnico de Gas Natural cuando él vino para hacer la lectura y chequear si hubiera anomalía en el reloj, pues yo salí de me trabajo para juntar con él (cita confirmado para ser entre las tres y las seis por la tarde) el día18-08-05 pero ya había hecho su trabajo y dejado la nota (pagina adjunto) bajo la puerta – pues todavía no sé como abrir y leer el contador de gas.

Como verá la lectura nueva es 03781, es decir, el ultimo lectura facturado fue el día 07-06-05 (vea ultimo factura – adjunto) y entre las dos lecturas ha pasado 71 días (¡dos meses y 10 días!) y el consumo ha sido equivalente a solo €13,46 – los calculaciones son míos porque todavía no me han confirmado Gas Natural sobre los datos nuevos ni la visita etc.

Yo llame a Gas Natural el mismo día para reclamar que el técnico ya había salido y que yo no estaba contento porque quise hablar con él y porque había perdido un tarde de trabajo. Me contaron que parece entonces que el reloj funciona bien y que el piso habia sido en uso ‘minimo’ desde agosto 2003 – es decir, había sido 2261 en el reloj desde hace 7 meses ANTES de que yo entre.

Como yo estoy afuera, y seguro que ellos van a tratar a comunicar sobre este asunto, quiero que llame a Gas Natural para aclarar lo que realmente debo pagar yo – hay que recordar que en 71 días de uso normal (de verano) yo uso muy poco gas, también hay que notar que:

- Vivo aqui solo (sin niños, ni familia que se encuentran en Inglaterra) - Use tintorería todos los meses - Estoy afuera casi la mitad de cada mes - Casi no como/ cocina en casa - Aunque use calefacción por unos meses en invierno no fue por mucho tiempo porque se queda apagado cuando viajaba, y cuando sí fue utilizado ni fue a temperaturas muy altas porque soy Inglés (¡!!)

Todo lo mencionado es porque YO SÉ que el uso mío será mucho menos que el promedio pero me ha enviado una factura como si fuera uno o 2 familias con niños viviendo juntos – otra cosa -todos deben saber que no es correcto.

Le adjunto mi prima factura, y los dos lados de la última factura y también la nota del técnico de Gas Natural.

Category: Foreign

Un saludo

SO

New look - changed already!

Have now changed the look of the blog...after all the first one was 2 hours old (!!!), much more professional now I think...also added to the BBC link other hyperlinks to FT, Multimap (my favourite map site or at least the one that has caused me least problems navigating etc) and Wikipedia, which is an online encyclopedia that I have helped edit...but only once!

Other useful and interesting links are sure to follow but as I have about 50 sites already in "Mis Favoritos" I'll have to be fairly ruthless in my editing/ culling...

New look - changed already!

Have now changed the look of the blog...after all the first one was 2 hours old (!!!), much more professional now I think...also added to the BBC link other hyperlinks to FT, Multimap (my favourite map site or at least the one that has caused me least problems navigating etc) and Wikipedia, which is an online encyclopedia that I have helped edit...but only once!

Other useful and interesting links are sure to follow but as I have about 50 sites already in "Mis Favoritos" I'll have to be fairly ruthless in my editing/ culling...

Tests: Edit links and add others

Test#4...edit link, add BBC...success..YIPPEE!....after several attempts!...:-(

Tests: Edit links and add others

Test#4...edit link, add BBC...success..YIPPEE!....after several attempts!...:-(

Tests: Change Clock and add image

Test #2...change clock...

Test #3...add image...

Tests: Change Clock and add image

Test #2...change clock...

Test #3...add image...

Test

Test