Tag Archives: italy

Getting ready for Boston’s first Book Festival

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If you’ve been listening to Girls Around Town for a while now, the name Jane Keightley may very well ring a bell.

A travel writer and tour guide, she’s been on the show several times already and will be back again this weekend for another catch-up with June.

When Jane calls the studio just after 11.20am, no doubt they will both be bemoaning the fact that trips to their beloved Italy haven’t been an option over recent months.

But on a more positive note, she’ll have news of some events hopefully taking place a lot closer to home later this year…

Preparations are already under way for the first ever Boston Book Festival, to be held at Fydell House, Blackfriars Theatre and various other venues around the town in September.

Several authors have already been signed up and Jane and the rest of the team are on the lookout for more to ensure that what they hope will become an annual event gets off to the best possible start.

And as soon as it’s safe to do so she’s looking forward to running more of her popular history tours, sharing her knowledge and passion for her Lincolnshire home town with residents and visitors alike.

In addition to a new extended tour, taking in such places as Hussey Tower and the Maud Foster windmill, she’s also planning one featuring various pubs in the town and, specially for the kids, another one called Beastly Boston!

Make sure you’re tuned in to 107.8FM or listening online in the second hour of the show this Sunday to find out more about the tours and the festival…

And which destinations are at the top of their wish lists when they’re both finally able to start planning a return to la dolce vita!

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Welcome back Rachel!

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Would you believe it’s been almost EIGHT MONTHS since you heard the dulcet tones of Rachel on air?

The last time she was in the studio was at the end of January, before lockdown, but the good news is she’s back again this weekend!

Although she can’t be in the studio this time, she’ll be at the end of the phone for a long-overdue catch up with June during the second hour of the show, talking about her own lockdown experience – working 24/7 by the sound of things! – and the well-earned break she enjoyed with her family just recently.

Quite appropriate really, as the first time she was on Girls Around Town in June 2017 she was describing an amazing trip they’d taken during the previous year…

Lasting seven months, on that one they visited Canada, the USA, South America, Australia, Thailand and India. The latest holiday included a return to their favourite French spot and a chance to discover Italy too – quite a bit shorter in duration and definitely a lot closer to home but every bit as enjoyable judging by the pictures and posts on her Facebook page while they were away.

Make sure you’re tuned in to 107.8FM or listening online from 11.20am on Sunday to find out how Rachel spent spring and summer and what’s on the cards for her in the weeks and months to come…

What’s going in your celebration swag bag?

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Back in July 2014, June was tagged in a Facebook post inviting people to join in The Big Birthday Swag Bag Hop.

With both a holiday and a birthday on the horizon at the time, she was happy to jump on board and share a few of the essentials that would find their way into her suitcase were she to join a group of friends heading off for a special celebration.

Almost six years on – how time flies! – and, with the UK currently under lockdown, she’s already started planning her own post-coronavirus celebration.

So she’s revisited her original list and made a few adjustments to the must-haves that will be going into her swag bag this time around…

Scroll down the page to find out what they are – but before you do, how about telling the Girls Around Town what you’d put in yours?

To get involved, simply follow this link to a short survey listing the things to include, answer the questions and submit your response by Sunday 12 July.

No personal details will be stored or shared – as always with GAT surveys, it’s just a bit of a fun for a feature on one of the first Sunday mornings when the show returns to air on 107.8FM.

In the meantime, here are June’s answers to the questions – it goes without saying of course that these are all in addition to the things on the legendary (and very lengthy) spreadsheet packing list she compiles every time she goes away…

The destination

Well, it has to be Italy of course but for once I won’t be heading to my usual ‘home away from home’ in Amalfi.

Inspired by the book below, this time I’m off to Florence for a few days. And on the way home I’ll be nipping over to Milan – what’s a 200 mile detour when the fashion capital of the world beckons?

The book

As an avid reader, for me one of the hardest things about the current lockdown is not being able to nip into Newark library two or three times a week to pick up a good supply of books.

After just a few days of self-isolation, I’d already started searching through my bookshelves for something to re-read. And the first one I chose was one of my  absolute favourites, Bella Figura by Kamin Mohammadi. who left London in January 2008 to spend a few months in Florence and is still there!

Subtitled How to live, love and eat the Italian way, it tells the story of her first year in the city, month by month – the places she visited, the people she met and the meals she learned to make and enjoy, with many of the recipes included too.

During my own relatively brief time in Florence I’m planning to spend a day with Kamin on one of the workshops she has devised to bring the book alive to readers and hope to visit her home on a 10th-century castle estate in the countryside of Chianti for a simple Tuscan cooking class and olive oil tasting.

The beauty product

I’m still a martyr to mozzies so the White Tiger Balm on the original list will be in my bag again but my real beauty hero these days is a lovely berry-coloured lipstick…

Cast your mind back to the summer of 2017 and you may remember a slightly hysterical conversation between Rachel, Sue and me about how to choose the right shade of lippy.

Picked precisely in the recommended way (if you missed it, you’ll find details in the first 10 minutes or so of the podcast here), my berry lip gloss is a constant companion both at home and away so it will definitely have a place in the swag bag this time. 

Snack food

With lots of lovely Italian meals to enjoy, snacks won’t be much of a priority on this trip. But I’ll be adding a few of my favourite Vive Bars to that packing list to keep me going during the journeys to and from my two destinations – a far tastier option than airline food!

The music

My holiday playlist will mostly feature the wonderful Andrea Bocelli but there’ll be one extra track on there from the last time around…

After all, what could be more appropriate for the trip of a lifetime than Bill Medley‘s I’ve had the time of my life?

One last thing

Well, two things really…

A second (large and empty) bag – and a credit card to pay for all the extra swag going into it when I hit those Milanese shops!

So are you up for the challenge?

If you are, don’t forget to fill in the questionnaire and share your own swag bag essentials with the Girls Around Town.

Then watch this space to find out when they’ll be discussing their answers and yours on 107.8FM soon…