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My Italian Family Tree Has Reached the Point Before Italy

My latest hobby continues to get slightly out of control. When I returned seriously to my family tree, I thought I was essentially going to tidy up information I already had, fill a few gaps, attach some documents and perhaps push a few branches back another generation. Instead, it has become something much closer to historical detective work. One document produces two new names, those names produce another village, somebody gets married and introduces another family, and suddenly what looked like a small missing branch has become an entire collection of people I did not know existed. Today was another particularly productive day on the Italian side of the family. The descendant chart accompanying this post gives some idea of what is happening. The Pochettino and Ravera branches have been expanding, more relationships are becoming documented, and the colourful collection of boxes on my screen is beginning to look less like a family tree and more like the organisational char...
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Two Hours, One Jacket and Far Too Much Cheese

Only a week after our first proper visit to Port Mall, we went back. This time there was a very specific mission. Viorica had decided that she needed a new jacket for autumn and, apparently, several other seasons of the year. From the way the subject was presented, this was clearly not going to be just a jacket. It was going to be a special jacket, requiring proper investigation, comparison, inspection and whatever other mysterious processes are involved in selecting the correct item of clothing. My enthusiasm for participating in this operation was approximately zero. I have long accepted that there are certain shopping expeditions where my contribution is neither required nor particularly useful. Standing outside changing rooms while being asked whether two nearly identical jackets look different is not one of my recognised professional competencies. Fortunately, our previous visit to Port Mall had already revealed an excellent alternative: the upper food level, an I...
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5 Gigabits, a Georgian Hat and Another Saturday in Chișinău

Saturday has gradually acquired a very specific function in our life in Moldova. During the week, work and everyday responsibilities make it difficult for us to go around Chișinău together, so Saturday has become the day when we try to solve everything at once. There is usually a list. Sometimes there are several lists. We drive from one place to another buying things, asking questions, comparing prices and dealing with whatever the renovation of our apartment has decided to demand from us that week. Today one of the items on the list sounded relatively straightforward: choose an Internet provider for the renovated apartment. As somebody who has spent a substantial part of his professional life working with technology and infrastructure, I thought I understood roughly what the exercise would involve. Check which fibre providers serve the building, compare perhaps 500 Mbps and 1 Gbps packages, look at upload speeds, equipment and contract conditions, and make a decision late...
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Starting a Technology Company in Moldova: Doing the Homework Before Berendsen SRL Exists

For the last few weeks I have been doing something that, at first sight, probably looks remarkably unproductive. I have not incorporated a company. I have not hired anybody. I have not rented an office. I have not written a triumphant announcement saying that I am now the founder and CEO of the next revolutionary technology start-up. Instead, I have been asking questions. Lots of questions. I have been talking to Moldovan institutions, technology organisations, people involved with investment and exports, people involved with the IT industry, and people who understand the various programmes available to companies here. I have been trying to understand taxation, incorporation, intellectual property, investment, grants, export assistance, the Moldova Innovation Technology Park, and how all these pieces actually fit together. And the more of this homework I do, the more convinced I become that creating a technology company in Moldova is not merely one of my slightly eccentric ...
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When a Tax Refund Becomes an Almost Seven-Month Administrative Project

On 26 February 2026, I submitted my 2025 German tax return electronically. I knew from the beginning that it was not the simplest possible return, and I fully expected that some of the deductions might attract questions. In particular, I had claimed expenses related to my home office and legal fees connected with an employment matter, both of which could reasonably require clarification or supporting evidence. I had no objection to that. A tax authority is entitled to verify claims, ask for documentation and challenge a deduction where the legal treatment is uncertain. What I did not expect was that the process would stretch for almost seven months, involve repeated explanations and submissions of information that had already been provided, and eventually reach the rather extraordinary point where I was asked again for my bank details even though those details had been included in the electronic return from the beginning and were associated with an account I had already used for German...
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