1) A SUNDAY AT THE BEACH IN THE TIME OF COVID
2) LIFEGUARD SAVES A SURFER, BECOMES A STAR ON SOCIAL MEDIA
3) PETTY THIEVES ATTACK PARKING METERS AND COFFEE MACHINES
4) FOOTBALL, THE WEEKEND RECAP
5) FROM NORTH CAPE TO CAPETOWN TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CANCER PATIENTS
6) DO-IT-YOURSELF HOME BLESSINGS IN FLORENCE

BACKGROUND MUSIC
Title: Ignite to Light Instrumental
Author: Pipe Choir Records
License: Creative Commons Attribution
Link: https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/ignite-to-light
http://www.pipechoir.com/

LINKS TO ARTICLES
https://iltirreno.gelocal.it/massa/cronaca/2021/02/21/news/in-spiaggia-come-in-estate-tintarella-e-tanto-sport-1.39936654
https://iltirreno.gelocal.it/livorno/cronaca/2021/02/21/news/a-18-anni-salva-un-surfista-tuffandosi-in-mare-in-jeans-e-camicia-non-riusciva-a-rientrare-cosi-l-ho-aiutato-1.39936189
https://iltirreno.gelocal.it/livorno/cronaca/2021/02/21/news/ovazione-per-lei-sui-social-tanti-fisicati-rimanevano-li-1.39938233
https://www.quilivorno.it/news/cronaca-nera/boato-nella-notte-fanno-esplodere-un-parchimetro/
https://iltirreno.gelocal.it/livorno/cronaca/2021/02/21/news/ladri-alle-scuole-collodi-saccheggiata-una-macchinetta-automatica-del-caffe-1.39936427
https://www.sienanews.it/toscana/siena/lincredibile-viaggio-di-thair-in-marcia-da-capo-nord-a-citta-del-capo-contro-il-cancro/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lincredibile-viaggio-di-thair-in-marcia-da-capo-nord-a-citta-del-capo-contro-il-cancro
https://firenze.repubblica.it/cronaca/2021/02/21/news/covid_benedizione_quaresima_pasqua_fai_da_te_il_parroco_passate_a_prendere_le_boccette_di_acqua_benedetta_-288137146/?rss

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 will find the news that caught our eye today, Monday February 22nd 2021, as selected by our journalists. If you like what we do, please subscribe and share this podcast on social media. The more, the merrier!

Let’s start the second week of this podcast with a story we read last evening on the Massa Carrara edition of Il Tirreno, something quite unusual these days, a very normal Sunday at the beach. As Tuscany could become a Red zone next week, many families took the chance to enjoy the sun and the unseasonably warm weather to have a trip to the beach. Not many were willing to brave the icy waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea but many wore swimsuits and were sunbathing on towels or deckchairs. Others played sports, from racketball to volleyball. A kite surf and wing surf school tried to promote their activities, show their latest models but were unable to have lessons or exhibitions due to the complete lack of wind. All in all, a nice Sunday with plenty of relaxation, pic-nics and a bit of activity to facilitate the digestion. Let’s hope that this is a good sign and that soon we will all be able to get back to the real normal.

As many are already craving for the summer, let’s continue with another sea story, this time from Leghorn. As we read on Il Tirreno, the story of an 18 year old lifeguard saving a windsurfer at sea prompted enthusiastic reactions on social media in the port town. Friday evening, as she was taking a walk on the beach, Martina Lottini realized that a windsurfer was in trouble and couldn’t get back to shore. Without thinking twice, she took off her shoes, grabbed a stand up paddle and rowed for an hour, wearing jeans and a shirt against the wind and the currents. Once she got to him, she realized that his wing was damaged and that he had hurt his shoulder. The sirocco wind was pushing him away from the shore but they slowly managed to get back to safety. When they landed, the few people on the Academy Beach cheered her courage. Many people from Leghorn were quick to follow. On the Tirreno Facebook page, a reader says that “many of the beach body-builders would have never been willing to jump in the sea in February” end quote. I must concur with him. No matter how much I love the sea, at this time of the year it’s a tad too chilly for my taste...

Let’s move on to the usual report on those petty crimes that do not stop for the weekend, at least in Leghorn. If we had read on Il Tirreno of yet another theft in a local school, where the coffee machine was broken into, on QuiLivorno we read of something more unusual, a hit on a parking meter, with explosives. At 11:45 PM last night a loud bang awakened the people downtown. When the fire department and the Carabinieri got there, they quickly realized that the explosion had destroyed the automatic parking meter, throwing shrapnel meters away. There are those that think this was just simple vandalism, but the fact that the coins inside the meter were nowhere to be found makes you think about a theft. Same thing happened in the Collodi school, which was hit in the night between Saturday and Sunday. Now, I know that this damned crisis is hitting hard every one of us, but this looks a lot like scraping the bottom of the barrel...

Let’s move on to a remarkable story we read on Siena News, that of a civil engineer that has been walking from North Cape to Capetown for more than six years to raise funds for cancer patients. Thair Abud, Austrian citizen born from an Iraqi father and a German mother, just got to Siena but his path has brought him from Norway to Spain to Morocco. After the border was closed due to the COVID pandemic, he managed to get home to Austria, before leaving again to Slovenia and then Italy. He will shortly leave Siena and head for Sicily, before crossing again to Africa. After walking the Way of St James after his sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, Thaid continued walking to raise funds for Doctor Clown Tanzania, an organization that tries to cheer up the many pediatric cancer patients in the African country. A really singular story that you will be able to follow on his social media accounts.

We don’t usually talk about Tuscan football, soccer if you wish, on this podcast, mainly because it’s difficult to follow tournaments that have games every day from Friday to Monday. We’ll try to cover the results with a quick recap of the main games of the weekend - let us know if you like it or not in the comments below. In Serie A convincing win from Fiorentina, that beat Spezia three nil. Vlahovic, Castrovilli and Eysseric on the scoreboard. The Viola are now at 25 points, plus ten from the relegation zone. In Serie B, one one in the big match between Pisa and Empoli. After shocking high-flying Monza two nil away, the Nerazzurri caused more than a headache to table leaders Empoli, before a late equalizer. Pisa at 32 points, minus five from the playoffs, while Empoli is still leading at 45, three more than Monza. In the A group of Serie C, nothing much to cheer for the Tuscan clubs. If Grosseto drew nil-nil at Albinoleffe, Carrarese was beaten home two one from Novara. A draw between Lucchese and Juventus Under 23 while Leghorn continues its downward spiral losing one-nil home against Renate. Nil-nil draw between Pontedera and Alessandria. In the B group, convincing win from the Cinderella Arezzo, which beat Matelica two-nil.

Let’s close today’s episode with a funny story we read on La Repubblica Florence. A priest of a local church found a creative way to solve the problem of the traditional Lent home blessings, a do-it-yourself ceremony. The vicar of the Holy Family Church in Via Gioberti, don Andrea Marianelli, instead of mailing the usual flyer to his parishioners with the date and time of the home blessings, decided to stick some signs in the lobby of high-rises in the Campo di Marte area, inviting people to get to the church to collect a bottle of Holy water and the prayer to bless themselves and their family. Parishioners were perplexed by this initiative. Some asked where to put the Holy Water - in a plant sprayer? - others shook their heads in disbelief. If last year we saw vicars running around to have mass blessings in various vehicles across Tuscany - a convertible Beetle in San Miniato, for example - this year they went a step further. Right you are - if you think so...

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!