My experiences of cultural differences between Italian and British attitudes to health!

First broadcast on From Our Own Correspondent, BBC Radio 4, 3rd December 2011

Telejato is a family-run television station in the heart of Cosa Nostra territory in Sicily. Every day it broadcasts a two-hour news programme, the majority of which bravely reports stories of Mafia and corruption. But a new Italian law regulating digital terrestrial television threatens the station’s future. With no provisions for local and community TV, around 200 non-profit stations, including Telejato, will no longer have a broadcasting frequency. And if the station stops broadcasting, not only will it be a severe blow to the local fight against the Mafia, it could also put the lives of the family who run it in serious danger.

First broadcast on From Our Own Correspondent, BBC Radio 4, 6th October, 2011

Harris Tweed is one of Britain’s most famous fabrics and has been through many ups and downs. Once synonymous with stuffy suits and upper-class country attire, Harris Tweed was catapulted into the realms of high fashion by Vivienne Westwood in the 1980s. But the spread of Gore-Tex and other modern textiles in the 1990s put a big dent in demand. Now it seems the Scottish fabric is making a comeback.

First broadcast on European Business Week, Deutsche Welle Radio, 1st October, 2011

If somebody asked you where they make the best bread in the world, you might say France or Germany, but according to the 20th century Italian novelist, Riccardo Bacchelli, it came from Ferrara, made on the banks of the River Po. He’s understandably widely quoted in that area, although bread-making has changed enormously since his day.

Bacchelli’s celebrated novel, The Mill on the Po, offers vivid, historically accurate descriptions of what life was like for the millers of the Po Delta. He’d seen their floating water mills with his own eyes, before the last one was bombed during World War II.

The mills may have disappeared but they’ve never been forgotten by the communities whose economy is still based on cereal production.

Today, in the small village of Ro Ferrarese, many of its 4,000 inhabitants are involved in a project to recover the lost glory of their ancient bread-making tradition. With the help of EU funding, they’ve rebuilt a floating mill, using plans dating back to 1850. They now hope that the mill, which will be used in producing traditional organic bread, will help protect their environment and identity, as well as attracting visitors.

(First broadcast on Living Planet, Deutsche Welle Radio, 21st July, 2011)

A word which didn’t even exist until recently, “wellness” has become big business in recent years. Ever since the likes of Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow made yoga and healthy lifestyles aspirational, Europe has opened its sports club doors to a wave of new health and fitness disciplines and programmes.

With Summer just around the corner, Italians have been preparing for what they call “the swimsuit test” at the country’s top fitness and sports expo, Rimini Wellness. 14 expo halls with 42 stages, 4 inflatable pools and more than 1,500 hours of lessons, offered visitors the chance to try out the latest fitness industry novelties and trends.

Normally only interested in trade fairs with fine foods to be sampled, I agreed it was time burn off some of those calories, and went to Rimini to discover the newest ways to sweat, stretch and tone.

(First broadcast on European Business Week, Deutsche Welle Radio, 4th June, 2011)

The Italian city of Genoa, set on the Ligurian Sea, is the perfect location for Slow Fish, a fair aimed at protecting fish and traditional fishing communities, and drawing people’s attention to the tasty fish they’ve likely never heard of.

How can we, as consumers, be more responsible and make sure that the fish we’re eating is healthy and sustainable? I went to the fair to find out.

(First broadcast on Living Planet, Deutsche Welle Radio, 2nd June, 2011)

“Spring Forward, Fall Back” is an adage many of us will have used last weekend to remember which way to change the clocks. It’s also the inspiration for the name of a brand new contemporary dance festival which took place in Slovenia’s capital city, Ljubljana, from Friday to Sunday.

Aerowaves Spring Forward – Dance For Changing Times treated locals to a veritable extravaganza of contemporary dance. 23 companies from 13 countries performed works at the biggest ever festival for new European dance.

Inviting promoters and programmers from all over the world, the festival is a platform to showcase the works of young choreographers, as well as offering local audiences a unique overview of what’s new in contemporary dance.

(first broadcast on Arts on the Air, Deutsche Welle Radio, 30th March, 2011)

Why I decided to join tens of thousands of Italian women in an anti Berlusconi demonstration.

French oyster producers say the much-loved mollusc is at risk of becoming a thing of the past. Will we soon be saying adieu to oysters?

Cupped oysters all over Europe are suffering from a Herpes virus epidemic which began 3 years ago and is threatening to completely destroy the industry. The situation is especially bad in France, where oyster farmers are losing a staggering 80% of their income.

While the virus doesn’t pose a health threat to humans, it is devastating the livelihoods of those in the business. And many natural oyster farmers are angry that the spread of the virus may well have been exacerbated by the introduction of laboratory manipulated and reproduced oysters.

French oyster farmers were at the Salone del Gusto, Slow Food’s international fair for traditional food producers, to publicise their plight.

(first broadcast on European Business Week, Deutsche Welle Radio, 30th October, 2010)

Online article: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6174169,00.html

Over the past 10 years, Afghanistan has become the largest producer of opium. The Taliban finance themselves with the money they make from illegal sales of the drug. Many farmers are either forced, intimidated or financially tempted into cultivating opium poppies. And today the country produces over 90% of the world’s opium.

The government is trying to change this, with a policy of burning poppy fields, but one of the most effective ways of dealing with the problem is by offering farmers an alternative source of income.

In Herat Province in western Afghanistan, a small project is proving a resounding success: switching from the cultivation of opium poppies to saffron flowers.

First broadcast on World in Progress, Deutsche Welle Radio, 10th November 2010