1) NO BROADBAND, NO WORK
2) ANTI CCP PROPAGANDA IN THE MAILBOX IN PRATO
3) SUMMER FEVER, BEACH CLUBS ALMOST SOLD OUT
4) A TICKET TO GET TO A PRIVATE POOL
5) THE MUGELLO FORREST GUMP RUNS ACROSS ITALY

BACKGROUND MUSIC
Title: Blood Problems (Argofox release)
Author: Cityfires
License: Creative Commons Attribution
Links: https://soundcloud.com/cityfires/blood-problems-instrumental
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tANXMypu9Vw&t=0s

LINKS TO THE ARTICLES
https://iltirreno.gelocal.it/lucca/cronaca/2021/02/24/news/senza-fibra-ottica-e-un-odissea-quotidiana-ne-ho-bisogno-il-mio-lavoro-e-a-rischio-1.39949802
https://corrierefiorentino.corriere.it/firenze/notizie/cronaca/21_febbraio_25/nella-chinatown-prato-posta-piena-di-volantini-contro-pechino-78442462-773f-11eb-84dc-eac143b95a3f.shtml
https://iltirreno.gelocal.it/cecina/cronaca/2021/02/24/news/tutti-in-cerca-di-ombrelloni-per-l-estate-i-balneari-non-abbiamo-piu-posti-1.39948016
https://www.ilcuoioindiretta.it/cronaca/2021/02/24/faceva-pagare-il-biglietto-per-la-piscina-privata-multato-52enne-di-fucecchio/92938/
https://corrierefiorentino.corriere.it/firenze/notizie/cronaca/21_febbraio_24/michele-forrest-gump-mugello-sfida-fare-tutta-l-italia-corsa-1d9965b4-76bc-11eb-ad76-985f4a68d3f6.shtml

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, Thursday February 25th 2021, as selected by our journalists. If you like what we do, please subscribe and share this podcast on social media, we would really be thankful for that.

Let’s start with an article we read last night on Il Tirreno, a story that makes us all aware of how dependent on certain technologies we really are. If for the average user a slow connection is nothing but a nuisance, for those professionals forced to work remotely it can become a much more serious issue. Alessandro Giampaoli, electronic specialist based in Porcari, up until last year used to visit the factories of his clients to set up their machinery. Now he’s forced to work remotely but his connection isn’t up to par. Losing a gig is serious enough for an independent contractor but losing it due to a bad connection is just ridiculous. When machines stop, firms can lose thousands of euros every minute, a fast connection is critical. Alessandro lives just 50 meters away from optical fibre but, even if he offered to pay to bring it to his house, the net company hasn’t replied. He’s quite miffed about it. Quote: “especially in these days I would expect them to work harder to improve such fundamental infrastructures - and to be a bit more sympathetic towards our plight” end quote. Makes you really think that most of our lives revolve around something that, just 20 years ago, was considered “geek stuff”. Welcome to the future.

Let’s move now to a story we read this morning on the Corriere Fiorentino that shows how, especially in Prato, China is very near. The normally quiet community was startled by a flyer that reached most of the 24000 citizens of Chinese origins in town, whose content was quite odd. Rather than the usual advertisements, the flyer in Mandarin and Italian was overtly political and sharply critical of the work of Chinese Communist Party officials. If some of their claims seem rather outlandish, other criticisms of the behaviour of certain high ranking officials hits maybe too close to home. The party faithful in Prato have reported everything to the Chinese Consul in Florence and were quick to label the flyer as fake news. Others, probably, had a very different reaction but thought it best to just lay low and stay quiet. If some were quick to point to Guo Wengui, public enemy number one of the Chinese regime, others think that the flyer originated inside the Prato community. Tough to say if it was really fake news or a counter information effort by those that fight for a different China. One thing is sure: the community, well known for being almost invisible, could be torn apart by this controversy.

Let’s move now to the coast, where, according to an article we read on the Cecina edition of Il Tirreno, people have already booked their spot on the beach for the summer, with some operators saying they’re sold out. Maybe pushed by the unseasonably warm weather, in the establishment on the coast from Vada to Castiglioncello, bookings for the summer have doubled since 2020. Normally, aside from the regulars, new clients start booking after Easter - this year they started in January. To make things more complicated the anti-COVID restrictions, that have slashed the number of available umbrellas. Many operators say that they have no spots for August and that July as well is almost sold out. Everyone hopes that the pandemic will allow at least a summer like that of 2020. While many Europeans are so optimistic to have booked travel abroad, Italians only wish to be able to get a spot on a nearby beach...
Let’s move now to a curious story we read on Il Cuoio in Diretta last evening, surfaced only now after months of investigations. Last August, the owner of a secluded villa in the hills between Fucecchio and San Miniato thought to make a bit of extra cash by transforming his private pool into a public establishment. You could find snacks, a bar, loungers and an improvised life guard - the fella himself. All for a very reasonably priced entry ticket. You can admire his entrepreneurship but he had absolutely zero authorizations, the venture was totally illegal. After people started flocking to the place, the police showed up and started investigating. After a while, the pool was closed and the owner was fined more than a thousand euros. Now, if people won’t be able to find an umbrella on the beach, I’m sure that next summer many others will try to emulate our crafty entrepreneur.

Let’s close today’s episode with a very peculiar story we read on the Corriere Fiorentino, a thirty year old man from Mugello that decided to emulate Forrest Gump and run Italy from north to south. Michele Gramigni, a Barberino resident, will leave on April 5th from Predoi, the most northern town in Italy, to reach Marina d’Avola, the southernmost point, after 52 days. 1588 kilometers running without a single day of break, 35 to 40 kilometers per day on paved roads with height differences up to 1500 meters. On his back a small 30 liters backpack with the bare minimum. Aside from a shoes company sponsorship and the help of the towns he will traverse, Michele has no idea where he will sleep or eat, he just hopes people will help him. “Miccia Gump”, that’s his nickname, is imitating his hero also on this subject, leaving most of the planning to fate. A really singular initiative, without the usual fundraising for a good cause, just propelled by the desire to do something epic. Best of luck to Michele and to all those that, COVID or no COVID, still have the courage to think big and follow their dreams.

That was all for today, I’m your host, Luca Bocci, and I’ll see you tomorrow for another episode 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!