TODAY'S RUNDOWN
1) MIDWIFE FATHER, BIANCA IS BORN AT HOME
2) THEY ONLY SPEAK ENGLISH, THEIR CLASSMATES COME TO THE RESCUE
3) 130 YEARS OF PONCE AT THE BAR CIVILI
4) A POSTCARD 16 YEARS LATE

BACKGROUND MUSIC
Title: Skystrike (Argofox release)
Author: Hinkik
License: Creative Commons Attribution
Link: youtu.be/hCVoUMh80tE
https://soundcloud.com/argofox/hinkik-skystrike

THE LINKS TO THE ARTICLES
http://www.notiziediprato.it/news/troppa-fretta-di-nascere-il-babbo-si-improvvisa-ostetrico-guidato-via-telefono-dal-medico
https://www.firenzetoday.it/social/scuola-inclusione-alunni.html
https://www.iltelegrafolivorno.it/cronaca/ponce-civili-livorno-1.6043016
https://iltirreno.gelocal.it/cecina/cronaca/2021/02/19/news/la-cartolina-spedita-da-santo-domingo-arriva-a-vada-dopo-oltre-16-anni-1.39927979

SCRIPT
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you may be, however you might be listening, welcome to another episode of What’s Up Tuscany, the daily podcast from L’Arno where you’ll find the most interesting news of today, Saturday February 20th 2021, as selected by our journalists. Slightly different episode as, thanks to the Lord, we got to the weekend. As everyone tries to escape the usual routine, we’ll have today an episode devoted exclusively to odd or funny stories, a sort of Feel Good Saturday, if you wish. We’re still encouraging you to subscribe and share this podcast on social media. You can also leave a comment here below.

Let’s start with a cute story we read yesterday on Notizie di Prato, a very particular birth that happened at La Tignamica, a small town in the municipality of Vaiano. Yesterday morning at 8:30 AM, the soon-to-be mother went into labor - nothing strange there. After calling the ambulance, the father realized that things were moving way faster than usual. The baby couldn’t wait to join the family. The parents panicked for a second, especially when informed that the ambulance wouldn’t be able to get to them in time. The father, following the instructions of the emergency physicians, was able to act as an improvised midwife, helping his wife to deliver safely Bianca, a healthy 3.9 Kgs baby girl. Once they got to the house, the ambulance crew confirmed that both mother and daughter were in excellent health. A sort of a throwback birth, back to a time when every child was born at home - this time with a happy ending.

Let’s move to the coast, the beating heart of Leghorn, the mother church of the ponce alla livornese, a drink that has become synonymous with the port town. The famous Bar Civili yesterday celebrated 130 years of activity. As reported by Il Telegrafo, due to COVID restrictions, the bar isn’t open in the evening but the ponce ritual continues as usual. The owner, Carlo Fusco, seems determined to continue the family tradition. Quote: “We won’t be throwing away 130 years of family history, not even with COVID. Now everything is more complicated but we’ll remain here. It’s our life, our very being, we won’t give up. We wanted to celebrate our anniversary with a big party but, for the time being, this won’t be possible. The party is only delayed, though. Be sure that as soon as this COVID curse is over, we’ll throw such a party that everyone will be talking about for years” end quote. As people from Leghorn are well known for not being exactly understated when it comes to partying, we’re more than sure that it will be a day to remember. We’ll let you know about it here on What’s Up Tuscany, of course.

Quick jump to Florence, where the arrival of a brother and sister from Sri Lanka pushed their classmates to walk the extra mile to help them integrate. The couple, arrived with their mother a few days ago to live with their father, who has been working in Florence for several years, joined the Santa Marta school - grade 7 and 13 respectively. As they only spoke English, the impact with an Italian school wasn’t easy but teachers and classmates did their best to help them. To facilitate them learning Italian, they plastered the school with dual language post-its, with the name of the item in Italian and English. There are those that go even further: the maths teacher that conducts her classes in English, the classmates that try to translate everything, Divine Comedy included, into English and so on. The headmaster seems satisfied with the process. Quote “we’ve noticed that they’re much more comfortable here. After only 15 days they seem much more confident and happy, something that makes us all very happy” end quote. Now, I know that one swallow doesn’t make a summer but it’s still refreshing to see the proverbial Tuscan hospitality live up to its tradition.

Let’s close this special episode of our podcast with a singular story we read on the Cecina edition of Il Tirreno. These days the mailbox is more a source of nuisances rather than good news, as it was back in the day. Opening it and finding a postcard from Punta Cana, Domenican Republic, considered the pandemic is enough to make you raise an eyebrow. The addressee, a couple living in Vada, were perplexed. Quote “we’ve noticed that it was signed only “Simona” and we wonder who it could be from our friends and relatives. We checked with our neighbours, as she is named Simona, but they knew nothing about it. We have a relative called Simona, the daughter of my husband’s cousin but I had no idea she had taken a vacation there lately” end quote. A phone call solved the mystery. She had sent them a postcard all right, but back in October 2004! A postcard that reached its destination after more than 16 years, after God only knows what nightmare journey. A sort of time capsule of a different life, a different era, with only one constant: the legendary delays of the Italian Postal service...

That was all for today, I’m your host Luca Bocci and I’ll see you tomorrow with a new episode, again slightly different, of What’s Up Tuscany, the daily podcast from L’Arno where you’ll find the news that, according to us, are well worth a second look. Thanks for listening and goodbye!