Hello dear readers (and for the first time, dear LISTENERS, as I’ve recorded myself reading a more colloquial version of this article. Click on button to listen) Greetings from a small island in the middle of the Mediterranean, just off the coast of Sardinia, called Carloforte.
The quality of your sound recording is impressive. I used a tablet for listening, and I cannot recall another program with this level of audibility. Even though, you come from television, this presentation sounded very much radio like, which served your purpose very well. Your presentation style would also work for listeners in a virtual classroom environment --- with the possibility of interaction.
Thank you Ferenc. I actually recorded the sound on my Iphone's "voice memos' app, and uploaded it to substack unedited. I do come from Tv but my first love was radio. Started there many years ago. I love it as a medium, I find it much more intimate and because I don't have to worry about the visuals, I feel I can 'let go' a little more. Will definitely make it a permanent fixture of the newsletter.
First of all a ,Happy Birthday‘ to you. It was extremely refreshing to hear your distinctive voice again after missing it on Al Jazeera. The recording is a brilliant idea. Thank you.
I‘ve been following your posts with great interest and can follow your thoughts, having lived in the UK nearly 50 years. Despite this time I still have what you call ,a Foreign Accent‘. Does it really matter in normal life?
The other comment I would like to make relates to your ,Fascists in the Family‘ which I have recommended to my son and his daughter. This is indeed one of the best I have ever watched. Your compassion shown gives this film special meaning.
Do enjoy your break in Bella Italia and I‘m looking forward to your next post.
Dirk, thank you so much for your birthday wishes and your kind word about the film. Thank you also for recommending it to you son and his daughter. When the film came out i received emails and comments from so many parts of the world, and especially Europe. It's interesting to see how it resonates across countries and, now, generations.
More on the foreign accents in the next post! You're right, it shouldn't matter in normal life, but I do think it's a much overlooked aspect of the diversity of the UK, especially in a place like London.
Grazie mille Barbara. Having spent my formative years in Germany after marriage in 1969 we worked in Brussels and Germany before settling in 1973 in Nottingham. The early years were hard due to insufficient knowledge of the language and latent resentment towards Germans due to known historical events. However, over time I must say things improved and especially after setting up on my own in 1984. I can confidently say not to note any resentment or negative attitudes in my communications and maybe the technical community is more cosmopolitan. Even today I have several joint projects and new once with EU partners. In fact regarding the UK as my home now nearly monthly trips across are now having the ‚feeling of being a visitor in my country of birth‘. The UK gave me the chance in 1984 to start my own business which I was not allowed to do in my home land due to bureaucracy. You see, there also positive stories to tell regarding us and I‘ll certainly not be the only one.
Grazie Barbara per le tue analisi oculate e attente, come sempre. La versione audio è perfetta da ascoltare sdraiati su un lettino in spiaggia, therefore please do keep them coming!
Ha ha…. Thank you! I agree, the beach is much more suited to listening to podcasts than reading on a phone! I’m making the read-out version a regular newsletter feature from now on, thank you for your feedback 🙂
Exactly, if I temper correctly it was VOX that hosted that EU far-right parties “get-together/congress” in May/June. Meloni’s speech was, sadly, cheered.
Tough and challenging times for a world that needs to cooperate more than ever on the fight against climate change that will bring a new wave of climate refugees to the northern hemisphere. The “perfect” situation for the far right parties, not only to emerge, but consolidate its power. They feed themselves from fear and uncertainty. As history showed us.
I still Have hopes for Italy in September. I’ll follow the primaries closely as I live here. La esperanza es lo último que se pierde 🍀🕊☮️
Ciao Barbara, come stai? Sono Ángela, ci abbiamo conosciuto a Perugia questo anno. I really like this newsletter, even though the content of it it’s nothing to be happy about it. Living in Italy, specifically in the north of Italy where la Lega e anche brothers of Italy have a strong support, it makes me very nervous and anxious about the future of other European countries that may follow suit if Meloni&cia win. As you mentioned at the end of your newsletter, we’ll have to pay attention how - if there’s a victory- things will evolve in the rest of Europe. I fear for my own country, Spain, as in the past it followed Mussolini’s example. In Spain the far-right party VOX and some branches of the right party PP have connections with fascism, the franquismo, and they rule already in one of the regions. I hope that we’ve learned something from the past and that the European Union remembers the purpose of its birth.
Hello Ángela, of course I remember our meeting, we tried to set the world to rights! ;) The Spain example is very interesting. The recent clip of Meloni addressing the crowd of Vox supporters certainly highlights the common thread between a lot of the European Far-Right parties.
Hello Barbara, great idea to read the newsletter, please continue. I am sure the outcome of the elections in Italy will certainly have an impact in Europe, if not further afield. Thank you for keeping us informed! Greetings.
Thank you Shadrach. I'll definitely make the reading of the newsletter a fixture from now on. It was fun to do (and super easy actually) and almost feels like broadcasting again! All the best, and thanks for your support xx
Hello Barbara, I've just watched the "Fascism in the family", what a great documentary!!! And I keep hoping for a similar story to be told this side of the Adriatic, as us Croatians also have a dark WWII record with the puppet NDH goverment, and a lot of people trying to justify it today.
Love your newsletter, and it's great to hear your voice, and I do hope for the podcast in the near future.
Thank you Tanja, it’s always so rewarding when people who aren’t of an Italian background feel that the film resonates with them too. After all, it’s a global story. Thanks again. Sending greetings across the Adriatic and I’m definitely working on the podcast! Stay tuned 📡🙂🙂
Thanks for this complete and exhaustive report. It's amazing your idea of recording and summarize the items of your film that I've seen on you tube in February.
As I'm used to say" yoy never deceive us"
Waiting for other summer recordings, I wish you a wonderful rest period.
Let's supervise the path that will lead to the elections in september 2022, just to avoid the revival of the past.
Hello Barbara. Yes it's a strange time to be in either the UK or Italy with all that's going on. Are you able to share any more dates for events you'll be attending in Sardinia - my wife and I will be there from the 26/08 until 10/09 and would love to come along and show our support. Best wishes Neil and Annalisa.
Hello Neil and Annalisa! Unfortunately I’ll be leaving Sardinia soon after the 26th of August but the next date in Italy will be the Internazionale Festival in Ferrara on October 1st. In the U.K. I’ll scheduled to do a screening and Q&A at the University of Surrey sometime in the Autumn and at UCL in January. I’ll post dates as soon as I have them. Thank you as always for your kind words and support. Have a great time in Sardinia! 😊🙂
Thank you Barbara. I am sorry we missed you in Sardinia but Guildford is very close to us so we will look out for your event at the University of Surrey. Best wishes from us to you for the rest of your holiday. 😊
The quality of your sound recording is impressive. I used a tablet for listening, and I cannot recall another program with this level of audibility. Even though, you come from television, this presentation sounded very much radio like, which served your purpose very well. Your presentation style would also work for listeners in a virtual classroom environment --- with the possibility of interaction.
Thank you Ferenc. I actually recorded the sound on my Iphone's "voice memos' app, and uploaded it to substack unedited. I do come from Tv but my first love was radio. Started there many years ago. I love it as a medium, I find it much more intimate and because I don't have to worry about the visuals, I feel I can 'let go' a little more. Will definitely make it a permanent fixture of the newsletter.
Hi Barbara,
First of all a ,Happy Birthday‘ to you. It was extremely refreshing to hear your distinctive voice again after missing it on Al Jazeera. The recording is a brilliant idea. Thank you.
I‘ve been following your posts with great interest and can follow your thoughts, having lived in the UK nearly 50 years. Despite this time I still have what you call ,a Foreign Accent‘. Does it really matter in normal life?
The other comment I would like to make relates to your ,Fascists in the Family‘ which I have recommended to my son and his daughter. This is indeed one of the best I have ever watched. Your compassion shown gives this film special meaning.
Do enjoy your break in Bella Italia and I‘m looking forward to your next post.
Dirk, thank you so much for your birthday wishes and your kind word about the film. Thank you also for recommending it to you son and his daughter. When the film came out i received emails and comments from so many parts of the world, and especially Europe. It's interesting to see how it resonates across countries and, now, generations.
More on the foreign accents in the next post! You're right, it shouldn't matter in normal life, but I do think it's a much overlooked aspect of the diversity of the UK, especially in a place like London.
Next recording coming up soon! All the best,
Barbara
Grazie mille Barbara. Having spent my formative years in Germany after marriage in 1969 we worked in Brussels and Germany before settling in 1973 in Nottingham. The early years were hard due to insufficient knowledge of the language and latent resentment towards Germans due to known historical events. However, over time I must say things improved and especially after setting up on my own in 1984. I can confidently say not to note any resentment or negative attitudes in my communications and maybe the technical community is more cosmopolitan. Even today I have several joint projects and new once with EU partners. In fact regarding the UK as my home now nearly monthly trips across are now having the ‚feeling of being a visitor in my country of birth‘. The UK gave me the chance in 1984 to start my own business which I was not allowed to do in my home land due to bureaucracy. You see, there also positive stories to tell regarding us and I‘ll certainly not be the only one.
Do look after yourself. All the best and ciao,
Dirk
Grazie Barbara per le tue analisi oculate e attente, come sempre. La versione audio è perfetta da ascoltare sdraiati su un lettino in spiaggia, therefore please do keep them coming!
Ha ha…. Thank you! I agree, the beach is much more suited to listening to podcasts than reading on a phone! I’m making the read-out version a regular newsletter feature from now on, thank you for your feedback 🙂
Exactly, if I temper correctly it was VOX that hosted that EU far-right parties “get-together/congress” in May/June. Meloni’s speech was, sadly, cheered.
Tough and challenging times for a world that needs to cooperate more than ever on the fight against climate change that will bring a new wave of climate refugees to the northern hemisphere. The “perfect” situation for the far right parties, not only to emerge, but consolidate its power. They feed themselves from fear and uncertainty. As history showed us.
I still Have hopes for Italy in September. I’ll follow the primaries closely as I live here. La esperanza es lo último que se pierde 🍀🕊☮️
Ciao Barbara, come stai? Sono Ángela, ci abbiamo conosciuto a Perugia questo anno. I really like this newsletter, even though the content of it it’s nothing to be happy about it. Living in Italy, specifically in the north of Italy where la Lega e anche brothers of Italy have a strong support, it makes me very nervous and anxious about the future of other European countries that may follow suit if Meloni&cia win. As you mentioned at the end of your newsletter, we’ll have to pay attention how - if there’s a victory- things will evolve in the rest of Europe. I fear for my own country, Spain, as in the past it followed Mussolini’s example. In Spain the far-right party VOX and some branches of the right party PP have connections with fascism, the franquismo, and they rule already in one of the regions. I hope that we’ve learned something from the past and that the European Union remembers the purpose of its birth.
Hello Ángela, of course I remember our meeting, we tried to set the world to rights! ;) The Spain example is very interesting. The recent clip of Meloni addressing the crowd of Vox supporters certainly highlights the common thread between a lot of the European Far-Right parties.
Hello Barbara, great idea to read the newsletter, please continue. I am sure the outcome of the elections in Italy will certainly have an impact in Europe, if not further afield. Thank you for keeping us informed! Greetings.
Thank you Shadrach. I'll definitely make the reading of the newsletter a fixture from now on. It was fun to do (and super easy actually) and almost feels like broadcasting again! All the best, and thanks for your support xx
Hello Barbara, I've just watched the "Fascism in the family", what a great documentary!!! And I keep hoping for a similar story to be told this side of the Adriatic, as us Croatians also have a dark WWII record with the puppet NDH goverment, and a lot of people trying to justify it today.
Love your newsletter, and it's great to hear your voice, and I do hope for the podcast in the near future.
All the best, Tanja
Thank you Tanja, it’s always so rewarding when people who aren’t of an Italian background feel that the film resonates with them too. After all, it’s a global story. Thanks again. Sending greetings across the Adriatic and I’m definitely working on the podcast! Stay tuned 📡🙂🙂
Thanks for this complete and exhaustive report. It's amazing your idea of recording and summarize the items of your film that I've seen on you tube in February.
As I'm used to say" yoy never deceive us"
Waiting for other summer recordings, I wish you a wonderful rest period.
Let's supervise the path that will lead to the elections in september 2022, just to avoid the revival of the past.
Hugs... Simonetta
Thank you Simonetta. Hope you're having a restful summer too. And more recordings definitely coming up before the end of the month
Hello Barbara. Yes it's a strange time to be in either the UK or Italy with all that's going on. Are you able to share any more dates for events you'll be attending in Sardinia - my wife and I will be there from the 26/08 until 10/09 and would love to come along and show our support. Best wishes Neil and Annalisa.
Hello Neil and Annalisa! Unfortunately I’ll be leaving Sardinia soon after the 26th of August but the next date in Italy will be the Internazionale Festival in Ferrara on October 1st. In the U.K. I’ll scheduled to do a screening and Q&A at the University of Surrey sometime in the Autumn and at UCL in January. I’ll post dates as soon as I have them. Thank you as always for your kind words and support. Have a great time in Sardinia! 😊🙂
Thank you Barbara. I am sorry we missed you in Sardinia but Guildford is very close to us so we will look out for your event at the University of Surrey. Best wishes from us to you for the rest of your holiday. 😊
😘😘 see you in Guildford!
Thanks a lot. I'm looking forward to seeing what's coming up... Have a nice day.
Thank you! and yes, it had just turned midnight in Sardinia. Another year older, working on the 'wiser'.
All the best,
B