Foreigners rank Italy ‘worst place in Europe’ for internet and paying without cash

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Foreigners rank Italy 'worst place in Europe' for internet and paying without cash
Is your Wifi in Italy fast enough to let you FaceTime? Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP
International residents in Italy are less satisfied with digital services than anywhere else in Europe, according to a new expat survey.

 

Italy ranked 57th out of 68 countries around the world when foreign residents were asked to rate the ease of accessing high-speed internet, paying without cash, getting a mobile phone number and other basic digital services, says InterNations, an information and networking site for people living overseas.

Its Digital Life Abroad report places Italy not just behind everywhere in Europe but several countries with a far lower GDP, including Kenya, the Dominican Republic, Kazakhstan and Vietnam.

While three-quarters of expats worldwide were happy with their internet access at home, in Italy the number dropped to 61 percent. The same percentage said it was easy to pay in Italy without cash, compared to 78 percent globally.

Some 82 percent of foreigners in Italy said they’d found getting a mobile phone number simple, slightly below the global average of 86 percent.

International residents were marginally more satisfied with the availability of administrative or government services online, and positively happy with their access to social media: 81 percent of expats reported being satisfied on that count, just above the global average of 80 percent.

Italy has long lagged behind other EU countries when it comes to internet access (in fact it’s such a running joke that The Local once pulled an April Fools’ about it). According to the latest figures available from national statistics office Istat, just 69 percent of Italian households had an internet connection in 2016, plummeting to 21 percent among the over-65s.

Poorer, southern regions have proved the slowest to get online: in Calabria and Sicily, less than 60 percent of households were connected to the net.

Those of us who move abroad often find ourselves even more reliant on technology than most, whether it’s to keep in touch with people back home, work remotely, or manage bank accounts and other admin overseas.

Worldwide, newcomers were most impressed with digital services in Estonia, Finland and Norway, while Egypt, China and Myanmar performed worst.

InterNations questioned a total of 18,135 residents in 187 countries for its survey, but counted only countries where at least 75 people had taken part.

 

The Local\Italy

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Nasty, just Nasty!

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I’m hungry,”El Paso 306 miles”, a comfy bed is six hours awaits me in this border town.  This is the desert.   Oh look, another tumbleweed.  I don’t want to stop, I just wanna go to bed.   My food options off the Interstate, was  fried, fried and fried.  I chose a familiar chain, the girl on the speaker was a bit huffy.    Ahead of me is a light blue Ford F-150, the occupants are having a very animated conversation.

Money was exchanged, drinks and bags were passed.  The brake lights went off and then abruptly came on,  more animation.  A problem with the fries, the man was handing them back and was waived off by a large girl with a black Mohawk.  The F-150 pulled away.  I rolled my window down, the winds of Montezuma rushed through the window of the drive through into my car, caused my head to recoil.  The stinky air from the restaurant is now contaminating my car.  I turn off the AC and roll down all the windows.

The girl with the Mohawk, said 7.41.  I handed her 10.    The girl was dirty.!  She wasn’t in uniform, she was wearing  blue striped overalls, and a shirt that someone from a auto repair shop might wear.    There were a collection of stain on the overalls. When she reached for the money. I could see her mails, they were filthy .  What the fuck?  Who would buy anything here?  Oh I would!  I just gave her money, when I should have just kept driving from the moment she opened that filthy ass window.

In my mind, I said to myself, the big girl wont be handling the food.   Then another girl appeared,  they were sharing a laugh.  The other girl sneezed and wiped her nose on her sleeve and then wiped her nose again on the front of her hand.   OMG Fucking Gross!

My drink, ,followed by the food through the window.  Oh my gawd, the air coming through the window smells soooo bad!!! .    The two girls are disgusting AND I’m starving!   I’m slowly driving through the parking lot, saying to myself, well the heat will kill the germs. (My mother used to say that)      But I cant do it.  For a brief moment, I considered taking it back, but what I am I going to say.  Y’all nasty!  I want my money back!     I didn’t  want to risk reaching into my bag and pulling out a fry, so I dumped every thing in a nearby bin.

Back on the Interstate, windows down.  Still  Starving, another drive through.  Nope, not gonna do it.   I park my car.  I step into the restaurant. and wait for the smell.  So far so good.  A few people are ahead of me..   I peer into the kitchen, every one is clean,  floor is clean, counters clean.  A young kid takes my order,  nails clean, uniform stain free.

Can I have bacon on my burger?

CityFella

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: S9 ep 3 sun and SHADE in the Bahamas

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By: Brian Moylan/Venture.com

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Rich Women Doing Things recap for this paid television announcement. “Hello, my name is Elvis, and I am a butler at the Baha Mar Resort and Casino on New Providence Island in the Bahamas. No, Rihanna is from Barbados, which is not the Bahamas. Here on New Providence Island we have an enormous complex featuring three hotels, a 100,000 square foot casino, and more than 2,000 rooms. Yes, that means while some of the suites have their own butlers and some guests are treated to lunch and massages on a private island, you will most likely not get that. You will be next to a cramped pool with about 3,000 other people who will most likely be Canadians in cargo shorts past the knees and Crocs. But don’t worry, all of the fountains shoot high enough that the droplets reach the stratosphere. Doesn’t that sound like paradise?”

While the rich women’s trip to this resort looked magical, there is no way that Erika Jayne, Kyle Richards, or Lisa Vanderpump would ever set foot in that enormous eyesore of a resort if the bill weren’t entirely being footed by someone else and they weren’t contractually obligated to be there. Obviously the resort kept them away from the rabble, so even while they were at dinner, cheek to jowl with a church group from Missouri and a woman from Arkansas who is about to enter her third marriage, it looked like the whole thing was very luxurious.

When Erika gets to her room her three-man gay glam squad, including creative director Mikey, is there waiting for her, brushing out a 70-inch ponytail. Erika tells us that all of these women could afford a glam squad but they’re just too cheap to hire one. I appreciate Erika’s dedication to the character of Erika Jayne. She started out being on the show with a certain level of fashion fabulosity and now she’s stuck delivering it year after year. She’s kind of forced everyone to up their fashion and glam games, as Denise Richards disastrously learns.

The first night in the Bahamas, Dorit invites everyone for drinks in her huge suite. Lisa is wearing a green caftan and looking like late-career Elizabeth Taylor, which is a compliment. Erika is in a gorgeous tiger-print pajama suit and said 70-inch ponytail, which is the mother that gave birth to the litter of all of Ariana Grande’s ponytails. Kyle is in a multicolored flowing dress, Lisar is in the slinkiest leopard-print dress I’ve ever seen in my life, and Dorit is in a stupid red bikini top and sea anemone-print pants with a giant red bandeau in her hair. She really does look like Lisa’s dog Schnooki. Denise shows up in a white tank top and sparkly white shorts feeling horrendously underdressed. The poor thing. Doesn’t she watch the show?

Dorit is the only other woman who seems willing to spend the money on a glam squad. The difference between Erika’s glam and Dorit’s glam, however, is that Erika’s is worth the money. The next day on the private island, Erika looks like an ’80s pinup fantasy in a vintage Body Glove one-piece, a pair of Oakley-esque shades, a silver mesh cover-up, and the ponytail, this time braided. Dorit is in an acid green mesh pantsuit and bikini and looks like she is wearing an electrocuted poodle on her head. How can someone spend so much money and still end up looking so mediocre? Every other woman on the trip looks better dressed than her and at a fraction of the cost.

Anyway, we’re not only here to talk about the fashion (though I do request a GIF of Erika in the water wringing out her ponytail), we’re also here to talk about drama, and it all seems to be revolving around Lisa Vanderpump. Erika and Lisa had a small skirmish at lunch when Lisa told Erika that she thought her note of condolence about her brother’s suicide was “standoffish” which Lisa says is something “you have been trying to get over.”

Immediately Erika retreats back into her shell and tells Lisa that she meant every word and that is how she expresses her sympathy. In typical Erika fashion, she gets mean when she gets mad, but I understand where she’s coming from. She sent a very nice, handwritten note, which is a lot of work for people these days. It was not a text or an email, it was something she had to put a stamp on and (have an assistant) take to the post office. I think it was completely sufficient. She also took a picture of it because she knew it would come back up because Lisa is “slippery.”

Lisa says she thought they were closer than that, which is a sentiment I can understand. As Kyle says, Lisa is wracked with grief and that doesn’t always lead to logical reactions. I can excuse her on this one. Lisa quickly apologizes and says she loves Erika and that she did nothing wrong. It seems healed over.

But the essence of Erika’s argument with Lisa dovetails nicely with this whole Dorit Lucy Lucy Apple Juice fiasco. (Why is the dog’s name not Lucy Lucy Apple Juicy? Does no one know how to rhyme anymore? Does no one appreciate parallel structure?) Erika says to Lisa during the fight, “Don’t make me out to be the bad guy.” It seems like everyone one of these women is waiting for Lisa to make them out to be the bad guy and doesn’t want to let her do it.

We all know the basics of the fight: Dorit got a dog from Lisa’s shelter and had to get rid of it and didn’t give it back to Lisa. Dorit was obviously wrong, even though she will never admit it. Lisa has been refusing to talk about it on camera, other than bringing it up privately at dinner with Dorit and her husband PK, a pigeon eating dried puke off the sidewalk.

Kyle makes a joke about the situation at the party in Dorit’s room in front of Lisar who is like, “What is going on?” When they won’t tell her she says, “Well, cheers to keeping secrets,” which is another GIF I could really use. The next day at breakfast, Teddi and Kyle tell Lisa about how Dorit’s dog came up at Vanderpump Dogs and Lisar immediately says, “You guys were set up.”

This is the moment that Lisa Rinna has been anticipating for the better part of two seasons, ever since Lisa embroiled her in that “Muchausen’s” fight with Yolanda Bananas Foster. She knows that Lisa plays dirty behind the scenes and was waiting for the precise moment when she would finally be revealed.

Lisar posits that Lisa told the guys at the store to tell Kyle and Teddi about the dog Dorit dropped off so that Lisa could say, “I don’t want to talk about it,” and she could punish Dorit while still coming off like a saint. That is exactly what happened and both Kyle and Teddi see, in that moment, how Lisa set the whole scenario up.

Teddi says she sees a pattern in Lisa’s behavior, and she’s only been around for a season. Kyle sees this setup as a way for Lisa to “protect her relationship with Dorit, but keep her hands clean.” When they bring it up at dinner with the whole group, Dorit is upset because she thought she and Lisa buried the whole thing.

Lisa is also upset because she says that she has been trying to protect Dorit from this whole mess. If that is the case, she never should have allowed her staff to bring it up while the cameras were on. She also never should have brought it up again on camera with Dorit. She then blames Teddi for gossiping about it and telling everyone, but Teddi didn’t hear about it on camera the first time and she was very careful not to tell anyone else about it. The only reason it came up on camera and Kyle knew was because Lisa’s two Johns brought it up at Vanderpump Dogs. This lands squarely at Lisa’s feet, like one of Schoonki’s organic dog food turds.

Lisar is at the other end of the table telling everyone that it smells like a setup and smiling with the face of a woman who has been waiting two years for her moment and knows enough to grab it like Barbra Streisand clutches a bedazzled white microphone. This seems to be the culmination of something that has been in the works for seasons. It’s a subtext that was started way back during Brandi Glanville’s reign (say her name three times and she shall appear), and it is finally becoming text. All Lisar can do is smile, each toothy tile like a full moon reflected in the Bahamian sea, and all of us waiting for the tide to come in.

Snow in Vegas, Jail time for Jussie?, Rookie Knock Out in Jersey

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Put on your mittens and just get happy, its just another Vegas day! 

Image result for snow in las vegas

Forget the Bikini clad bodies around the pool and make yourself a snowball, your friends in Minnesota will be jealous.   Fabulous Las Vegas is gonna get its second dusting of  snow this week.  If your in town for the week I’m sure it sucks to hear its unseasonable.     Some of the resorts will expand their soup menus.   Scarfs and mittens advised.

Bars in Chicago for Jussie? 

Image result for jussie smollett crying

The Chicago Police Department, is charging Empire actor Jussie Smollett with felony charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false report.  A Cook Country Grand Jury met yesterday.  A false report is a class 4 felony is punishable by one to three years in jail.   A bail hearing is tentatively scheduled for 1:30 p.m today.

The rookie took Teresa down in Jersey 

Image result for real housewives of new jersey

Everybody is afraid of the Queen.  The housewives tip toe around Nene in Atlanta, Vanderpump in Beverly Hills, don’t want to anger the queen, you may not be heard from again!

How so nevah,  From the moment, rookie housewife Jackie Goldschneider met Teresa Giudice in New Jersey ,she wasn’t intimidated. Which put her firmly in the cross hairs of the Queen.  In last nights Part one (of three) of the Reunion. Jackie body-slammed and dragged Teresa who reminded everyone “That this was her show!” A one point she lost control and grabbed bossman Andy Cohen cards.  Jackie had the last word when Teresa threaten her.   “You gonna throw something at me? Aren’t you on probation?

Housewife Delicious

CityFella

 

Picture Vs Policy: Virginia Governor Ralph Northam Does the picture represent the man?

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Image result for RALPH NOrtham BARACK OBAMA

So quick we are to judge. Who needs facts or details? One blip ,one bump and your career in over.   When my children were growing up, I would tell them its not what your say, its what you do.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam was young when he took a picture in Blackface standing next to someone in a Ku Klux Klan costume.   Both pictures are offensive to this blackman.     As difficult as its seems, there are people who are  racially tone deaf, even in 2019.   Usually individuals who live in mono,environments ( Megan Kelly comes to mind )  because these individuals have limited contact with people outside their communities, they are often shocked when they are called insensitive or racist, because they work with people of color.

There is a difference between working and socializing and this is where I struggle with the Governor, who graduated from a predominately black high school.   He reportedly has strong personal ties with blacks in Virginia.  So the picture is not only a shock to the black citizens of the state, but a surprise to his black friends.

As a flawed human being I try not to rush to judgement.  Throughout my life as a flawed human being, I have made some poor decisions in my youth and as an adult.  When he took the picture nearly 35 years ago, he wasn’t thinking about the impact that picture might have on his personal and professional career.

The Picture ,was published February 1, 2019 on the website  Big League Politics   . Big League Politics was founded by former Breitbart News Employees and is considered a far right wing conservative website.

Is the picture a representation of who is Governor Northam is? 

In Virginia’s 2017 Gubernatorial election, Ralph Northam received an estimated 87% of the black vote, 67% of the Latino Vote and 61% of the women’s vote.  He was supported by many groups notably  the Latino Victory Fund and Planned Parenthood and support by many black political organizations,  most are now asking the Governor to resign.

His Positions:

The Governor supports a $15.00 minimum wage and is against a state constitutional amendment enshrining right to work legislation. That would allow employees in unionized workplaces are banned from negotiating contracts which require all members who benefit from the union contract to contribute to the costs of union representation. 

Northam “has called for phasing out the grocery tax on low-income people and ending business taxes in struggling rural areas.

The Governor as a record of supporting Abortion rights, ( Planned Parenthood supported him in his election campaign)  He is against a bill called the Repeal Act that would allow third trimester abortions to be performed if a single physician determines that there is any physical or mental health risk to the mother. Currently, Virginia law only allows third-trimester abortions to be performed in the state if three physicians determine that continued pregnancy would be “substantially and irremediably” harmful to a woman’s health.  This bill is supported by many Republicans and may be a topic in the 2020 Presidential Campaign.  

Northam has proposed making it free for students to pursue a community college education or apprenticeship in a high-demand field (such as cyber security and early childhood education under the condition that they commit to a year of paid public service. He opposes public funding for private schools. (wiki)

In February 2017, Northam cast a tie-breaking vote in the state Senate against a bill to ban sanctuary cities in Virginia

In Washington Post, Article Titled  “Anger and sadness as African Americans in Virginia consider Northam’s fate”

In conversations at churches, salons and coffee shops, African Americans disagreed about whether Northam must resign, but all voiced a sense of betrayal. In public office, Northam worked to expand Medicaid, the health program that serves the poor, and he helped to restore voting rights for felons, a policy that helps many black men. Many in the black community saw him as an ally, and as one of the good guys.

It’s a real slap in the face. You pretend to be my friend, and you’re really not,” said Thomas Parham Jr., as he arrived for worship Sunday at the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Old Town Alexandria. It’s one thing, he said, to encounter a racist public official. It’s almost worse when it’s someone perceived to be an ally. “I’d rather know where you stand.”

The Democratic Party Image

What is disconcerting about this controversy. is the Democratic tidal wave against this Governor.  Not based on his record, or actions or public statements but a silly misguided picture taken when he was in medical school.

Governor Northam is no Steve King the Congressman from Iowa. Who, for more than thirteen years has on record said:

 “Mixing culture will not lead to higher quality of life but a lower one.

 He wanted to make English the official language of Iowa.

He sued Iowa for posting voting information on an official website in Spanish, Laotian, Bosnian and Vietnamese.

King suggested shocking (via electricity) immigrants who climbed the wall.its successful in containing livestock

One the house floor, he said Profiling was an important component of law enforcement.

Suggested paying for the border wall with federal dollars coming from welfare, food stamps and Planned Parenthood

January 2019:  Steve King was stripped from all committee assignments after bipartisan condemnation of his remarks on white supremacy (A theme of his for the last 10 years)

From my chair in the balcony, the Democrats want to demonstrate they unlike ,the GOP they walk the talk.   I am reminded of Minnesota Senator Al Frankel who admitted and apologized to sexual misconduct when he was a citizen in 2006, his apology was accepted.  However when other anonymous woman came forward. he denied the accusations.  Members of his party demanded he resign without a full hearing.

In his resignation speech he made comparisons to Republican politicians, saying he was “aware of the irony” that President Trump remained in office despite the comments Trump made in the Access Hollywood tape released a month before his election, and that the Republican Party supported Roy Moore‘s Senate campaign despite the many allegations of harassment and molestation against Moore (wiki)

 

Self Inflected Wound

Governor Northam may have been flying solo (without council) when the news broke Friday Afternoon.  A good publicist would have advised and prepared him before appearing on camera.  However, as bad as Friday was, Saturday was a tsunami of bad press.

On Friday, he was almost there.  He apologized for the pictures and went on to say  “I recognize that it will take time and serious effort to heal the damage this conduct has caused. I am ready to do that important work”.  Someone, from his office might have spoken to the press, touting his record, his reputation with the black community and the suspicious timing of the picture,

Over night, they may have linked release of the picture to the date of his comment regarding his position on the Repeal Act  and reminded the press of his reputation. 

But that didn’t happen!  Flying solo, taking a page out of Donald Trumps playbook.  He said, that may not be me?  and like the 45th President of the United States, he was unable to stop himself.  He admitted, “Blackfacing” in the past AS Michael Jackson.  A talent contest that he WON, after practicing the moon walk!

The “State” of Virginia 

Should the Governor resign, the Democratic Lieutenant Governor, Justin Fairfax would become the Governor.

Sunday, February 3,   Patrick Howley of the conservative website  Big League Politics . reported Vanessa Tyson, a professor of politics at Scripps College, said she was sexually assaulted in 2004 by a campaign staffer who was now up for a “VERY BIG promotion” in Democratic politics. Howley, who was also the first to obtain the Northam yearbook photo, noted that Fairfax was a campaign staffer for presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004 and that he was now poised to become governor of Virginia. 

It is reported, she brought her 2004 story to the Washington Post and another media outlet.  Both outlets investigated the story and found no corroboration and did not publish the story.

In the State of Virginia, if the Lieutenant Governor is ineligible, it would fall to the Attorney General, Mark Herring a Democrat. If he for any reason can’t serve,it would fall   to the Speaker of the House of Delegates would be next in line to take the role. The Virginia House is currently controlled by Republicans and Speaker Kirk Cox would be the interim governor.

Slow Down The Train……

The Democratic Party and the citizens on Virginia, should slow the train down. Dont solely judge the Governor on this picture.   Judge is life from there forward. What has he said?  What has he done?   Then look hard at the coincident via Big League Politics before rushing to judgement.

Wouldn’t you want someone to judge you on your complete body of work rather than one picture or a single incident.?

CityFella

 

Traveling during the Shutdown (Suggestions)

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Image result for sacramento international airport

 

Its not business as usual at the nations airports. Including Sacramento International.  Some 51,000 TSA officers, along with air traffic controllers, are among 420,000 federal workers required to work through the shutdown, but without pay.

The Transportation Security Administration plans to begin closing a handful of security checkpoints at airports around the U.S. the weekend in response to staff shortages as effects of the three week partial federal government shutdown begin to expand.

This morning, TSA experienced a national rate of 5.6 percent unscheduled absences compared to a 3.3 percent rate one year ago.    Most importantly security standard remained uncompromised at our nation’s airports, Michael Bilello, a TSA spokesman, tweeted on Saturday Morning.

It is likely the unscheduled absences will increase as the shutdown continues.

 

Suggestions

Arrive Earlier than normal

If you normally use TSA precheck, do not expect them to be open As these are the first casualties of the government shutdown.

If your traveling to a large metro area with three or more airports.  You waiting time may be less at a smaller airports.

Chicago’s midway, may be a better choice than O’hare.  Oakland or San Jose may be a better choice than San Francisco International.   Burbank, Long Beach, and Orange Country may be a better choice than LAX.

 

(Watch for Updates)

CityFella

 

 

 

 

 

Red pants, smashed plates and bingo: Six reasons Italian New Year is awesome

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Red pants, smashed plates and bingo: Six reasons Italian New Year is awesome
Fireworks in Venice. Photo: msavoia/Depositphotos
By:Catherine Edwards/ The Local
The Italians have a reputation for being a superstitious bunch, and some of their New Year customs can startle the uninitiated foreigner. From the correct underwear to smashing crockery, The Local looks at the stories behind Italy’s strangest New Year traditions.

 

They wear red underwear for the occasion


Photo: nito103/DepositPhotos

Whether you’ve got a date for your New Year’s Eve party or not, you need to put some extra thought into your undergarments. Red underwear will apparently help to fend off evil spirits and negativity, bringing you happiness in the coming year.

A study carried out by the Italian drinks company San Pellegrino revealed that 60 percent of Italians think the custom is linked to fertility or good luck in your sexual endeavors, but it is actually much more general. The color red has been used for centuries to ward off war and other disasters. You might even see red underwear hanging in the streets or shop windows during the lead-up to New Year.

However, it’s traditional that your capodanno underwear should be new and a gift from someone else, so no digging out a tattered pair of red pants, and if you buy your own, you’re cheating.

The food: lentils, sausage and grapes


Photo: aizram18/DepositPhotos

This is Italy, so food is of paramount importance, and although the traditional New Year’s menu might seem like a random selection of foodstuffs, it’s actually carefully thought through.

Lentils symbolize wealth and prosperity – either because their round, flat shape and golden brown color means they resemble gold coins, or because they are long-lasting and so represent longevity.

Then you’ve got the sausage meat, replaced in some parts of Italy by stuffed pig’s trotters, which again means good fortune for the coming year, because it is a rich food symbolizing abundance.

But don’t forget to finish your meal with grapes. These ensure you will be frugal with your new-found wealth, because it was thought that only someone with excellent willpower could save the grapes from the spring harvest time until the New Year meal.

They spend the evening playing bingo


Photo: soniacri/DepositPhotos

In many parts of the world, card games and bingo are associated more with pensioners than trendy parties, but at many Italian New Year’s Eve parties everyone settles around the table for a game of ‘tombola’ – similar to bingo.

Tombola was created in Naples in the 1700s as an alternative to gambling, which the church did not approve of. King Charles of Naples made a concession to the Catholics and said he would ban gambling during the Christmas period only. But Neopolitans found a way to get around the new law by playing tombola at home during the holidays.

They party until sunrise


Photo: arkade/DepositPhotos

Italians don’t do things by halves, and though you may be used to New Year celebrations fizzling out shortly after midnight, be prepared to keep the party going until the early morning. In Italy the celebrations usually last until at least sunrise, so that you can see the new year arrive.

They throw things 


Photo: victoriagam/DepositPhotos

Watch out for falling objects – in some southern parts of the country, it’s traditional to throw possessions, particularly crockery, out of your window to show that you are ready for a new start in the new year.

If you’d rather that new start didn’t involve arguments with the neighbours about why you chucked a plate at their head in the middle of the night, an alternative tradition is crashing pots and pans together at your front door, to frighten away evil spirits (see below).

They love a big bang (with a purpose)


Photo: maforche/DepositPhotos

True, this New Year custom isn’t unique to Italy, but while other nationalities may simply enjoy the bright colours, Italians have a different reason for setting off fireworks.

According to superstition, demons and bad spirits don’t like loud noises, so this a way to ensure they’re all scared off before the new year begins. Some people even say the pop of champagne corks is the reason prosecco or spumante are favoured over normal wines – well, it’s as good an excuse as any for a glass of fizz.

You’ll have your future mapped out (so avoid babies, doctors and priests)


Photo: shippee/DepositPhotos

Superstition dictates that the first person you meet after midnight on New Year will dictate how the rest of the year plays out. If you see someone older of the opposite sex first, congratulations, you’re going to have a great 2017(it’s a sign that you will live a long life and be lucky in love this year).

If it’s a baby or someone of the same sex, your year hasn’t got off to the best start. Variations on this legend state doctors are a bad omen too, because it’s a sign your health will deteriorate, while others say you should be wary of seeing a priest or a postman, though the reasons behind this aren’t clear.