The 5-star Parador at Cangas De Onis presents a wonderful opportunity to combine extraordinary natural surroundings and a unique cultural experience while staying in a historically significant and aesthetically beautiful hotel.

The Cangas De Onis Parador is situated on a bend in the stunning Sella river in the foothills near the mighty Picos de Europa – among the most rugged and awesome mountain peaks in Europe. The peacefulness and purity of the countryside here is amazing. The Parador, formerly the Monastery of San Pedro de Villanueva, maintains and contributes to the air of tranquility that you will experience here.

This place played a pivotal part in the history of Spain. At this exact spot began the centuries long re-conquest of Spain by the Christians over the Moors. The great historic figure (whose true history is muddled by legend) who started this fight was Pelayo – around 722 A.D.. He became the first king of Asturias and this land was know as “Primorias” until the 9th century – indicating the ‘first birth’ – the ‘primordial beginnings’ of what was to become what we know of as Spain.

The Parador was founded in the 8th century as a monastery by Alfonso I and his wife – the daughter of Pelayo. During the rehabilitation of the Monastery of San Pedro de Villanueva, many artifacts from the various stages in the history of this place were unearthed and rediscovered. Two rooms in the Parador have been set aside as museum display rooms for these artifacts.

The Parador at Cangas De Onis is the perfect base from which to do several fascinating day trips to . . .

- The Basilica at Covadongas standing serene in its own isolated valley is a must-see and makes for a very enjoyable half-day excursion.

- The Picos de Europa Park was the very first national park in Spain. The Picos de Europa are mountains of unmatched grandeur and worthy of several days of pleasant exploration. These are among the most rugged mountains in all Europe and still provide home to bear, wild boar, ermine, mountain goat and golden eagles – among many, many other species. There are several “routes” into the mountains – try the Cares Route – and try to stop at the Mirador de Frito and the Mirador de la Reina for incredible panoramic views that stretches from sea to mountain peaks.

- The beaches along the coast here are not to be missed – you can usually find one that you’ll have all to yourself. Drive to Buelna beach, Toro beach, Toranda beach, Antolin beach – and there are dozens of others awaiting to be discovered.

- The Sella river is one of Spain’s prettiest and provides great fishing, kayaking, and hiking opportunities.

- There are fascinating pre-historic and Paleolithic cave paintings at Tito Bustillo and Buxu, as well as the the rock art at Pea Tu.

- The many examples of Gothic and Romanesque churches are too numerous to list, but the front desk at the Parador will give you maps and point you in the right direction.

- There are three excellent golf courses in the vicinity at Ribadasella, Llanes, and Villaviciosa.

Gastronomically – Asturias is justifiably famous all over Spain. Some of Spain’s fines and most distinctive cheeses are produced here; Cabrales and Penamellera – from the areas with the same name. Also noteworthy are Gamonedo produced around Cangas de Onis and Beyos from the area of Amieva and Ponga in the heart of the mountains.

Asturias is also famous for apple cider. This fermented drink is the national drink of the entire region, and its pouring and drinking has become ritualized and its great fun to watch and participate in this ritual. Just walk into any ‘cider bar’ in Asturias and partake.

Fabada Asturiana is a classic dish of the region – a kind of stew made of kidney beans, blood sausage, bacon and shoulder of pork flavored with laurel leaves. Seafood and river fish is also abundant in the cuisine of this area bounded by sea and mountains.

The Parador will serve these specialties in its own incomparable way and provide you with daily gastronomical discoveries that will leave you satiated, yet already anticipating the next meal!

One really needs to have a vehicle to be able to fully explore this captivating region. Rent a car and plan leisurely day trips to the various areas of interest. Always take along some of the famous cheese, a bottle of wine or cider, some bread and ham – whatever – because you’ll drive by dozens of perfect picnic spots every time you venture out.

This area has been nick-named, “The realm of the senses” by some of its aficionados – and that it surely is. Take your time, use the Parador as home base, and enjoy this area that has also been called “the most Spanish of all Spain.” It will be a travel experience long-cherished and never forgotten.

SpainParador.com makes it easy for you to plan and arrange your next trip to Spain. This time stay in palaces, castles, and other places of great historical interest and rare beauty – the wonderful Paradors of Spain. http://www.SpainParador.com

How do I become a private investigator?

That’s a complicated question with several parts that largely depend upon in which state you plan on working. You have two options; you either work for a licensed private investigations agency or you go to work for yourself and obtain your own PI company license. Either way, you there are two considerations you must address at some point:

The first consideration is licensing; all but only a handful of states require a state-issued license to be a private investigator. Each state has different background, education and experience requirements that may vary from simply attending a state-approved training course to pre-licensing education, exams, years of work experience and obtaining a sizable professional liability insurance policy with “errors and omissions” coverage. To make matters just a little more confusing, there are some cities that require private investigators to either register or obtain a municipal license in states that do not otherwise require them.

The second consideration is training. Private investigation specific training is the most important investment you can make in yourself! Since most new PIs don’t have the ability or are not ready to start up their own investigations company you will most likely be looking for employment with an established agency. As an owner of an established and well respected detective agency I get resumes all of the time; the first thing I look for before considering a candidate is to ask the question, “How has this person invested in themselves before asking me to invest in them?”

What if I do not have the minimum experience required by the state to obtain my own company license? How will I ever break into the industry?

If your goal is to eventually own your private investigations agency, no problem… every state that requires experience also has a program in place to see that new investigators have access to eventually obtaining their own license. For example, in Texas where we hold an agency license those who are too new simply go to work for an established company until they have the required number of hours to be able apply for their own license. In Florida (where we also have an agency license) they specifically provide internship licenses. Again, every state is a little bit different but thousands of successful private investigators are working today and tens of thousands have come before us; we all had to get started someplace… you can too.

Also, consider your own background and employment related experience carefully some of it may apply. I have known loss prevention agents, security guards (in specific roles), accountants, firemen, bail bondsmen, alarm installers, teachers, and even a librarian use their previous employment experiences to apply for their own agency license.

What type of training should I be looking into?

Any amount of training is great though most PI companies don’t place a whole lot of credibility with the courses from PCDI, Harcourt, and Thompson Direct. You could honestly do much better and at less cost.

Instead, look for academies or training programs that have been created by private investigators. Who knows better about what a new or an aspiring private detective needs to know than an investigator who has been in the field for a considerable amount of time?

Also… look to see that the sponsoring company is active in the industry as well. Are they still providing regular private investigative services to a robust clientele? It’s sad, but many PIs who wash out over a very short period of time in the business look to teaching. In reality, you will learn very little from those who could not make it themselves; success breeds success!

Lastly, I have a little secret I would like to share with you…

Look over the education provider’s entire website and see if you find boastful claims or where the company is bashing other educators. This is a very tight-knit industry and you will find that students who complete training programs from educators that spend time “bad mouthing the competition” have a terrible time getting a break simply because of the animosity created through their educator’s use of negative advertising. I know that seems unfair but it is a reality in this business. This does not mean, however, that you should dismiss the negative press but the first thing an excellent private investigator learns is how to evaluate a claim, identify the source and make a judgment based on additional facts and research. Some statements will have merit while others will not; it’s up to you to make that decision.

What is the difference between a private investigator and a private detective?

Nothing. The terms are used interchangeably but some states choose to use the term “detective” while most use the term “investigator.”

I really just want to help my friends and family to find old friends or people who owe them money. Do I need a PI license?

That’s a great question. Generally speaking, in those states where it is a requirement you will need to obtain a license if you hold yourself out for hire or accept payment from another person or business and participate in or provide the following services:

• Surveillance

• Obtaining or furnish information related to a crime or the identity, habits, business, occupation, knowledge, movement, location, affiliations, associations,transactions, acts, reputation, or character of a person, group or company.
• Securing evidence for use before a court, board, officer, or committee

• Locating or recovering lost or stolen property and unclaimed funds.
• Determining the cause or responsibility for a fire, libel, loss, accident, damage, or injury to a person or to property.

Some states may specifically include such things as service of process, bail enforcement, personal protection and genealogical research under those activities that require a private investigator’s license as well.

Do I have to have a degree in Criminal Justice from a college or university?

No, though some states may accept a degree in Criminal Justice, Administration of Justice or Police Sciences in lieu of the minimum experience requirements. One recent study conducted on behalf of the Virginia Department of Justice concluded that almost 57% of all private investigators do not have a college education.

If I do not have a college education do I have to have a background as a police officer or other law enforcement related profession?

No. Most private investigators do not have a law enforcement background before entering into this industry. It is true that many private investigators may have once had a career in criminal justice but the bottom-line is that private investigation and law enforcement is very different and my experience has been that very few who make the transition from law enforcement are prepared for this type of work, either technically or creatively, on their own. Most of them recognize this and seek industry specific training as well.

What type of person makes a successful private investigator?

This business requires a rare blend of logic and creativity; it’s rare because logical people tend to not be very creative and vice-versa.

I would say that any successful detective must first have the ability to communicate. This means that he or she must have the ability to connect with people of all walks of life, regardless of economic status, ethnicity or education. It also means that the investigator must have the ability to clearly present a simple fact or a complex investigation in writing. The end result of an investigation is the investigative report, which is given to the client upon conclusion of the assignment; this is essentially our work product. If you cannot write reasonably well, your reputation will surely suffer as a result.

Secondly, great investigators have a burning desire to answer any question that is put to them only after a careful and determined effort to identify the facts and circumstances that contribute to a complete and unbiased explanation. We are in the business to provide facts, not opinions; we let our clients draw their own conclusions from our report. Oftentimes in order to get to those facts, we must be relentless in our pursuit of information. This is where logic meets creativity. Dead-ends often only require a different approach!

Lastly, I believe that every investigator should possess a varied set of experiences and knowledge. One characterization of the private detective industry I can make is that by and large we represent a vastness of experience, skills, and trades. One of the most accomplished investigators I have ever met listed “Mom” on her resume. When she decided to become a private investigator she had no appreciable skills that she could put in her resume but through her own experiences she had developed an intuition that was almost never wrong and she could simplify complex problems into there most basic parts. I have personally hired a plumber, building contractor, car salesman, and a host of other seemingly unrelated career types into my own company, CompassPoint Investigations, because they had certain intangibles that made them great in this business!

The bottom line is that anyone can train to become a wildly successful private investigator, just like one can train to become a barber or an attorney, but an aspiring detective has to bring some things to the table that cannot be easily taught: creativity, logic, the ability to communicate and an insatiable curiosity!

I have a criminal conviction in my background from many years ago. Will this affect my ability to become a private eye?

Every state that requires a license to be a PI also requires a background investigation as a part of the licensing process. I believe that a felony conviction will be an automatic disqualification in almost every instance (though I know a felon who has a PI license issued by the city of Columbus, MO.), while misdemeanors may be considered depending upon the crime, its seriousness and the amount of time that has passed since the conviction; again this will vary by state.

Will my military discharge affect my ability to become a private investigator?

In some cases a discharge that is anything but honorable may prevent you from becoming a PI. Just as in the answer to the criminal conviction history above, some states require PI applicants be free from negative military discharge classifications- Bad Conduct Discharge, Less than Honorable or Other Than Honorable service characterizations are grounds for denial of a PI license in several states and jurisdictions.

Perhaps the Florida Division of Licensing put it best: “Private investigators and private investigative agencies serve in positions of trust. Untrained and unlicensed persons or businesses, or persons not of good moral character, are a threat to the public safety and welfare. The private investigative industry is regulated to ensure the interests of the public are adequately served and protected.”

Can I just specialize in a particular type of investigation or will I have to do the surveillances and cheating spouse investigations too?

I absolutely recommend that investigators find their niche and specialize in only a few types of investigations! There are several important reasons for this, which I discuss in my training programs, but it can be summed up this way: when you are the most notable investigator in your region of the country for a specific type of investigation, you will find MANY additional opportunities to make a lot more money than if you advertise yourself as a “jack of all trades.” This has been proven across the country time and time again and is a major topic of discussion in our upcoming private investigation marketing manual.

What types of assignments do private investigators typically take?

Wow, the options are endless and the subject really deserves its own entire section! I have listed the most obvious types of private investigator assignments in an article you can find by going to my Articles Page. I will eventually briefly describe each type of investigation in the next couple of weeks. Continue to check in as we are constantly making additions.

What type of investigation or specialty assignment pays the most?

I don’t know that anyone can answer that question definitively, but I will say that surveillance is typically the most lucrative type of assignment a private investigator can get because it is solid, billable, blocks of time. I am aware that there are particular types of investigations where investigators are making anywhere between $300 and $500 an hour for activities like forensic computer evaluation, security consulting, automobile repossession, and a few others specialties. I personally have made $10,000 in an hour on several occasions in 14 years doing bail fugitive recovery work, those types of paydays are few and far between. Overall I average almost $150 an hour while engaged in bail enforcement, not too bad by most people’s standards, though many investigators just don’t have the stomach for that type of work. It can be extremely dangerous, it is a very competitive field and you get paid only if you can complete the case.

Is private investigation dangerous work?

Obviously, there are some PI jobs that are more dangerous than others like collateral repossession or bounty hunting but, generally speaking, private investigation is not a dangerous job. We all have heard the stories of PIs getting caught while on surveillance by an irate cheating husband or being chased out of a yard at the business end of a shotgun while serving a subpoena. Most episodes of Magnum PI had Tom Selleck dodging bullets, too. Certainly, scary things can and do happen on rare occasions but like all war stories, the ones that seem to get a lot of attention play out more like fiction than reality. Safety is always at the forefront of every trained investigator’s mind.

L. Scott Harrell is the author of several private investigator training courses stemming from 14 years of experience as a private detective and principal of CompassPoint Investigations.

More information regarding CompassPoint Investigations and the private investigation industry can be found via the internet: http://www.BeAPrivateEye.com

Nowadays, eBay is becoming a fast increasing market for online shoppers. It gives them the convenience and feasibility of shopping online.

However, it is the seller that benefits most of the time as they find selling things on eBay a lucrative way of earning additional wages. But before a seller logs in and sell his or her items on eBay, there are some things that needs to be done first, here’s how:

1. Sellers must know the rules.

It is extremely important for sellers to know first the rules and regulations of eBay concerning items to be sold and the transaction method. This is one way of protecting themselves so as to avoid fraudulent activities.

2. They should know their market.

Before selling, a seller should first contemplate on what type of market is she or he aiming at. If the sellers know who their target market is, it would be easier for them to think of effective words to use on their descriptive title and the details of their items.

3. They should know the selling fees.

It’s a must for them to know how much the selling fees of eBay are so that they may include this on the initial price of their item.

4. They should know the available payment scheme.

The sellers should know these first so that they can assess which type of payment mode are they comfortable with. After all, they should stress this out when posting their items on sale.

5. They should know how to make an account.

It is, indeed, important for the seller to know first the basic procedures of creating an account on eBay before selling an item. No one can go start selling an item right away without having an account on eBay.

They should know how to register first. They can do this by going to the eBay website and set up a seller’s account by entering some pertinent information like a valid credit/debit card account or bank account. Though, they may opt for an alternative if they are not comfortable doing this. They may opt to become ID verified as a substitute.

For payment purposes, they should also know how to open a PayPal account.

Also, they should know first what kind of format to use, the category of the item, how to write the title and the specifications of the sale, item description, how to increase the item’s visibility, and how to contact the winning bidder before starting to post an item on eBay.

If all of these things are already clear on the seller, then posting an item on eBay will never be a problem. It’s that easy!

Landlords and rehabbers take notice – you may soon be focused on the new concepts of “Virtual Real Estate Investing“. Everything from using the internet as an avenue to make more money in real estate to online games such as SecondLife seem to be included in the popular definition of this term.

To get the facts, I sought out the man generally considered to be the father of virtual real estate investing: Bryan Ellis.

“I began using the term ‘virtual real estate investing’ in the late 1990’s when I realized the clear similiarities in profit strategies, regardless of whether the “real estate” is “virtual” or “physical” said Ellis.

Bryan Ellis cites the similar strategies one can employe to make money from “virtual property” and “physical property” as a primary parallel of the two markets. “These types of assets – websites and physical real estate – can be monetized in very similar ways like buy lo/sell high, leasing/rental and advertising opportunities” he says.

I must admit: Its easy to see the parallels. Consider: A valuable piece of real estate is valuable largely due to the interest that other people have in that specific location. Likewise, if you own a desirable domain name, others will find value in it because it serves their purposes. So it doesn’t matter if you own physical real estate or virtual real estate – you’ll likely use similar strategies to turn them into money in your pocket.

In our next installment of this series on virtual real estate investing, Bryan Ellis will share the internet analogies to the physical concept of real estate development.

I had been backpacking for three months around Europe and had reached my final destination of Nice. Too bad I had 10 days till my flight home and I was nearly broke!

As I sat in the Gar de Nice, the train station, I started giving serious thought to how I was going to survive for 10 days on $150.00. I had just arrived from two weeks in Barcelona, a Spanish girlfriend and, well, it had seemed worth it at the time.

Lodging seemed like a good place to start. Hmmm…the Ritz? Probably a bit pricey. Eventually, I found a bed in a communal room in a hotel with a lot of character. By communal, I mean eight beds for both boys and girls in one room. By character, I mean the place was old when Napoleon was in power. The snoring alone was enough to raise the ancient roof.

Still, it only set me back $8 a night, so I had $70 to live off for ten days. $70 doesn’t go particularly far in Nice and some involuntary dieting was coming front and center in my mind. Even McDonalds was expensive, but the clean bathrooms made a daily trip worth it.

Fortunately, one of my roommates was Thomas from England. He was broke as well, but intentionally so. He had come down from London to relax on the beach. Every night, he went out and played guitar in front of cafes for spare change. He made the equivalent of $10 to $15 a night and felt he was playing well. I pointed out the money was being paid to make him go away. He just smiled.

Thomas soon figured out I was dead broke and empathized with my situation. For the next 10 days, I would follow him on his musical rounds and keep an eye out for the police. Apparently, the local authorities frowned upon freelance guitar sessions. This was particularly true when he played the extended version of “Hey, Jude” in front of diners that weren’t tipping.

Afterwards, we would buy wine and grab a bus to Villefranche Sur Mer, a beach area just to the east of Nice proper. There we would visit various friends Thomas had made over the years, drink wine and eat until the wee hours of the morning.

I have to admit is was a very good time and I was melancholy when the day of my flight finally came. Okay, the snoring in the room was obnoxious, but you could avoid it by staying up all night!

If you get stuck in Nice and are low on funds, Thomas still goes every summer. He’s the tall guy singing Beetles tunes off key.

Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com – makers of travel journals. Writing journals are the perfect travel accessories. Visit http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com to read more travel articles and travelogues.

The fifties held a promise of excitement and adventure. A defining
childhood experience of St Patrick’s Day was the yearly Point to Point Horse Race.
Caricklee, a townland on the border of Tyrone and Donegal was the venue for the
yearly steeplechase. The races were run under the stewardship of the Master of the
Foxhounds, who patrolled the races in his finery and fine horse. A Fair accompanied
the races, with dice and card tables, around which we children would gather, with a
dream of riches, in finding a lost penny on the ground.

The late sixties saw the decline in the point-to-point races in Ireland.
The Cariclee races were cancelled in the early seventies. The sound of the horse’s
hooves pounding over the racecourse was replaced with the sound of gunfire. As
teenagers, we listened to the cracking of weapons fire for the first time on the
border between Tyrone and Donegal, at Strabane one St Patrick’s Day. “The
Troubles” had begun. The horses were never to race again.

The St Patrick’s Day of the seventies were marred with violence in the
North of Ireland, celebrations were muted, the March nights long and unsafe. St
Patrick’s Day was celebrated across the border in Donegal or in Dublin City.

The St Patrick’s Days of the eighties and nineties were spent out of
Ireland, in different countries and cities. Good people worked to bring together
artists and writers, musicians and poets, where groups of Irish people met up to
share the day. One isolated and isolating experience of a St Patrick’s Day was in Sri
Lanka, in the Indian Ocean. That year, no other Irish person was to be found to
share the day with, it made for an experience of dislocation and pure loneliness.

The new century in Ireland sees St Patrick’s Day being celebrated in
Peace. Children born on the border of North and Southern Ireland this new decade
experience St Patrick’s Day without the sound of gunfire.

People of all nations now celebrate St Patrick’s Day throughout the world. The major
cities in many countries have their own official St Patrick’s Day parade. New
traditions are being made, and they are welcomed.

Happy St Patricks Day.

©2006 Clare O Hagan

Clare O Hagan is co-owner of O Hagans Irish Store. With fellow artist
Denise Wyllie, they design, produce and sell, funky goods with an Irish twist.
http://www.clareohagan.com

The artists are affiliated to leading Women’s
Health
Institutions internationally. See their art at
http://www.wyllieohagan.com

Cabin rentals Smoky Mountains can be found in either Tennessee or North Carolina. For cabin rentals Smoky Mountains, the busiest months are the summer months as visitors enjoy the cooler mountain air and all that the Smokies area has to offer. Since it’s located within a day’s drive of half of the USA population, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the #1 visited park in the United States. If you’re searching for cabin rentals in the Smoky Mountains area, here are the three most popular destinations: Gatlinburg, Tennessee – Gatlinburg has been a favorite of visitors for decades, adding more attractions every year. Located at the Tennessee entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you’ll find that Gatlinburg has hundreds of cabin rentals Smoky Mountains for you to choose from. With only about 3,800 permanent residents, Gatlinburg can accomodate up to 35,000 visitors a night for all of its lodging types. Cabin rentals in Gatlinburg exist that are within walking distance of the Gatlinburg attractions, or you can choose a mountain view secluded cabin if you prefer. Pigeon Forge, Tennessee – Pigeon Forge is located less than 10 miles from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park entrance. Pigeon Forge has more than 40 attractions on the main thoroughfare in town, including Dollywood and Dollywood Splash Country. Even though Pigeon Forge only has a few thousand permanent residents, nearly 10,000 visitors a night can find lodging. Again, you can find dozens of cabin rentals Smoky Mountains in and around Pigeon Forge.

Cherokee, North Carolina – Cherokee is the original home area of what’s now called the Eastern Tribe. You can find great Cherokee cabin rentals Smoky Mountains to stay in while vacationing in this popular destination. Cherokee is about 3 miles from the North Carolina entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You can enjoy many cultural and family attractions in Cherokee such as the Cherokee Heritage Museum, the Oconaluftee Indian Village and the Indian arts gallery. Another famous attraction is the outdoor drama ‘Unto These Hills’ which portrays events in the lives of the Cherokees during the early 1800’s leading up to their forced relocation to Oklahoma and the infamous ‘Trail of Tears’.

Besides all the attractions in these three popular towns, there’s a host of outdoor fun activities in the Smoky Mountains area such as whitewater rafting, canoeing, tubing, kayaking, hiking, walking, mountaineering, ropeclimbing, getting around with ATV’s, bicycling through the mountains, fishing, hunting, horseshoes and much more. With all the fun you know you’ll have during the day, why not add to your pleasure by spending your nights in one of the cabin rentals Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge or Cherokee? Cabin rentals Smoky Mountains are based on the number of guests that can be accommodated or number of bedrooms that are available. For example, cabin rentals are listed as ’sleeps 8′, ‘for 2 couples’ and so on. It’s easy to check out all the fun rental cabins that you can choose from. Compared to staying in a hotel room, it’s no wonder many choose to enjoy the privacy, conveniences and extra space while on vacation by staying in cabin rentals Smoky Mountains. Whether you’re visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the first time or you visit often, check out the variety to be found in cabin rentals for your next vacation stay.

Copyright 2006 InfoSearch Publishing

Thousands of keen skiers will before long be dusting down their salopettes and shooting forth trying to find the largest snow.

And beyond question the affect from your carbon footprint will be about as far down the list of vacation essentials as a xmas tree after Christmas.

Only last Christmas, a slow snowfall hit the newspaper headlines and holidaymakers were panic stricken about the bits of snow melting nearly as soon as they landed.

Snowboarding company Chalet1802, located at the base of Monte Bianco in Chamonix Mont Blanc France in the Alps, is one of the only autonomous businesses to go carbon negative and give snowboarders an environmentally friendly alternative when organising their ski trip.

Chalet1802 owner Fleurette said: Last winter was quite a shock with the most warm winter in fifty years in the French Alps. Snowboarding skiing areas for example Les Trois Vallees, Le Grand-Bornand and Auron suffered.It was warm and the snow did not last so a lot of the early season ski season in the mountains was patchy. We selected to go carbon negative to help preserve the ski resort.

Fleurette said: We’re not seeking to prescribe to guests but I feel it’s of import to afford the guests the option without augmenting the cost of the holiday. When they book with us and visits our Chamonix luxury chalet they may further off-set their carbon footprint and we soak up the other costs. Of course we still have a sauna and a hot tub – clients want luxuriousness but not at the expense of the alps mountains, so we considered means of reducing the impact of a skier flying over here for a holiday.”

The firm have also linked up with organisation Climate Care, who attacks climate change by making C02 deductions on behalf of individuals and companies.

For more info about luxury chalets and carbon neutral ski holidays supplied by Chalet1802 visit www.chalet1802.co.uk.

Embroidery is an ancient variety of decorative needlework in which designs and pictures are created by stitching strands of some material on to a layer of another material. Most embroidery uses thread or wool stitched onto a woven fabric, but the stitches could be executed in, for example, wire or leather strands, and embroidery can be worked onto many materials. …

An embellishment of a fabric or garment in which colored threads are sewn on to the fabric to create a design. Embroidery may be done either by hand or machine.It is A term applied to a hill or mount with several copings or rises and falls.

Decorative stitching on fabric. Generally involves non-lettering designs but can also include lettering and/or monograms. Evidence of embroidery exists during the reign of Egyptian pharaohs, in the writings of Homer and from the Crusaders of the 12th century. Evolved from hand work to manual sewing machines and from handlooms and schiffli machines with hundreds of needles to high-speed, computerized multihead machines.

Ornamental needlework or trimming using silk, cotton, metallic or other threads.

Embroidery is the embellishment of cloth with designs made by needle and thread; an art that stretches back to antiquity. Over the centuries, embroidery has been used to adorn everything from handkerchiefs to the most sumptuous state regalia. With the exception of leather, embroidery in India has been done on woven cloth of cotton, wool and silk.

In India, natural colors used for dying distinguishes the work done in India from the others. The Indian embroider never uses too many colors in any one piece. Each state in India has a style unique to its tradition. The satin stitch is used in Kashmir. The darn stitch, which produces the ‘bagh’ and ‘phulkari’ stitch of Punjab is vibrant like the people of the state. The interlacing stitches of Kutch and Kathiawar are as beautiful as they are intricate. The ‘kasauti’ stitch of Karnataka too is popular due to its traditional value. The white on white ‘chikan’ work of Uttar Pradesh is breath-taking and requires a lot of skill. The silk embroidery done in Surat has exquisite patterns.

Indian embroidery uses many stitches as well as variations of basic stitches. The running stitch, back stitch, stem stitch, feather stitch, interlacing stitch, satin stitch, cross stitch etc. are just to name a few. Indian embroidery exists in exquisite variations and vibrant colors, with each state having a unique style of its own.

Chikan

The chikan work of Lucknow is perhaps one of the most popular embroidery works in India. It has a certain grace and elegance, which ensures that it never goes out of style. The word chikan literally means embroidery. It is said to have been originally introduced by Nur Jahan, the beautiful wife of the Mughal emperor, Jahangir. It has since evolved and attained its glory and perfection in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The work became popular in a number of important cities of the Indo-Gangetic plain such as Delhi, Agra, Rampur, Banaras, Patna and Gaya. But the supremacy of Lucknow remained unchallenged.

The designs depend for its effect on the variety of stitches used and different grades of threads used to form the patterns which include, the lace like jali, the opaque fillings and the delicacy or boldness of outline and details. The most beautiful part of chikan work is the open work ground, an effect of drawn thread work is achieved without drawing out any. Tiny raised flowers done in what seem to be French knots are balanced by the flat stem stitch and large areas of open work to prevent either a crowded or too scattered appearance.

A variation of the chikan work is the bakhia or shadow work. Here the work is done from the back, the stitches completely covering the design in herringbone style. The shadow of the thread is seen through the cloth on the right side. To give a richer appearance, the designs are produced with tiny backstitches on the right side over the shadow. A similar effect is created by cutting out tiny flowers and leaves in the same material as the basic fabric and then applying them on the wrong side. The work is done so dexterously that the turned in edges of the cut pieces are scarcely visible from the front of the work.

The refinement of taste dictated that not even the seams should be straight. So the material of the kurtas were cut in waves along the sides. The stitches employed are back-stitch, chain stitch, and hemstitch forming an open work pattern, jali or openwork ground. The introduction of color in to the kurtas is a recent innovation.

Embroidery has been a craft for women, Banni, a small village in the Rann of Kutch is known for its artistic embroidery work. Small mirrors are interspersed to lend glitter and charm. The finest type of such embroidery work with small mirrors is called Abhla-Bharat. When a bride is sent to her husband’s house, she carries with her some pieces of skirts and cholis exquisitely embroidered with minute details.

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