Quirky

Burping is a socially unacceptable habit in many cultures. But each year, crowds flock to the Italian town of Reggiolo, to listen to belching in all its myriad forms. It’s a competition called Ruttosound, part of an annual beer festival – and for a good cause with contestants clearing their oesophagus’ to raise money for…

The day I visited the Willy Wonka of grappa production in Bassano del Grappa. (first broadcast on From Our Own Correspondent, BBC Radio 4, 21st February, 2015)Click here for original episode – 21 February 2015

Click here for the audio version When you live in a foreign country and delight in cultural differences, there can come a time when you discover that, in some tiny way, you’re beginning to adopt them yourself. It’s usually something innocuous, like developing a taste for salt liquorice or taking your tea with mint instead…

Both literally and figuratively one of Italy’s sweetest success stories, Nutella this year celebrates its 50th anniversary. Company legend has it that the first ever jar was consumed on May 18th 1964. From the little town of Alba in north western Italy, the chocolate-hazelnut spread has grown in popularity to become a global phenomenon. Now…

The people of Romagna prove that, even without crystalline waters, they can still attract the tourists. (First broadcast on From Our Own Correspondent, BBC Radio 4, 25th August, 2012) Link to original episode – Inside Europe 25 August 2012

I used to eat chicken and the odd bit of smoky bacon but, soon after I moved to Bologna, I gave up meat altogether. Thirteen years of often amusing reactions inspired me to write this piece. (First broadast on From Our Own Correspondent, BBC Radio 4, 12th January 2013) Link to original episode – From…

Keratoconus is a change in the curve of the cornea. In the advanced stages, the disease can lead to severe sight loss and even blindness. When I read a report that an Italian doctor had developed a new surgery-free treatment using a super-permeating solution of vitamin B2 eye drops, I thought it would make a…

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 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017vcm7

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,…

British novelist, Somerset Maugham, once said, “death is a very dull, dreary affair, and my advice to you is to have nothing whatsoever to do with it.” Clearly, he’d never been to a funeral fair in Italy… First broadcast on The State We’re In, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 25th July 2010

Italians take their pasta pretty seriously but nowhere more so than in the north Italian city of Bologna, the hometown – of course – of Bolognese sauce. Not only were tagliatelle and tortelllni invented here, but you’ll even find legal documents in the city’s Chamber of Commerce, dictating the exact width of tagliatelle and the…

Last weekend, the Italian city of Bologna played host to Gods of Metal – the country’s largest annual heavy metal festival. 30,000 metal-lovers were there to head-bang to live concerts by Iron Maiden, Slayer, Judas Priest and many more. But a rather unusual performer was among the line-up of satanically-inspired names: Fratello Metallo. His name…