Global News Podcast - The Happy Pod: The shop that opened for hugs at Christmas

Episode Date: December 28, 2024

We meet the family who kept their shop open on Christmas Day to help locals feel less lonely. Also, the parents creating visual memories for their children and the restaurant where most of the staff have Down's Syndrome.

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Hi, I'm Eliza. And I'm Francesca. We're Growing Greener. And you're listening to the Happy Pod on the BBC World Service. I'm Rachel Wright and in this edition... You can come in and be a part of our family on Christmas if you don't have a family to be with because it doesn't matter who you are or what you believe. We're Hindus, you know, but we still believe that we should celebrate everything. The family offering hugs in their shop on Christmas Day to help tackle loneliness. I think what I would like people to get from that movie is that in your life whenever you're faced

with a challenge or a sad situation, if you focus on that your entire life's going to get dark and sad. One family's quest to find a lifetime of visual memories. Plus... Slowly, slowly we thought about how can we move from Naples? What can we do in a rural area to feel happy? We meet the couple who want to encourage Italians back to the countryside and the restaurant in Paris where most of the staff have Down syndrome. They feel like they are useful, they feel like they have a nice job that they like, they feel like they are working like everybody else. Many people around the world will have celebrated Christmas this week with their friends and family.

But for some, Christmas can be a very lonely and isolating time. So one family in London have set out to change that. Meet and Deep is a corner shop in Twickenham in the south west of the capital which opened its doors to anyone who didn't want to spend the festive day alone. It's something they've been doing for the past 15 or so years and typically most shops would be shut on Christmas Day. The shop is run by mum and dad, Palu and Shashi Patel and their sons Meaton and Deepan, hence the name Meat and Deep. I caught up with Deepan Patel and started by asking how the tradition began.

They used to close. But then one day there was a young man from South Africa who was a student and at that time there wasn't much internet or social media. And it was Christmas Day so he came knocking on the shutter early in the morning of the shop and we live above it. And it was this young guy who was desperately looking for an international calling card to call his mother in South Africa because he was alone. So my father lifted the shutter up and let him in and then gave him the international calling card. He was begging basically at the at the door and in tears, this poor guy, because he wanted to talk to his mom because he was alone

here for Christmas and his mom was alone there. And my mom and dad gave him the card. He made the call and they had a really nice conversation, said happy Christmas, and they felt together. And then my mom invited him in and he stayed with us, you know, in the shop for a little bit of food and things, and he said he's all alone and made him feel happy. So ever since, we've been opening it every year and just saying, you can come in and be a part of our family on Christmas

if you don't have a family to be with, because it doesn't matter who you are or what you believe. We're Hindus, you know, but we still believe that we should celebrate everything. What kind of people come? Well, the kind of people that come vary from all ages and backgrounds, actually. We've got young people coming, older people coming, people from all over the world that are here studying, you know, they all come come and just to be with somebody, our shop is actually known as the Good Karma Shop. That's because my father and mother

decided to stop selling anything in our shop that harms anything. We've got a convenience store, people come in for pesticides and poisons for mice and things and they said, no, no, no, don't use things like mouse poison because it makes the mice suffer use a humane trap and release them far away catch them you know they wanted to show people even little creatures we have to be kind to. So when people turn up what do they say to you and and how do they come across? Lots of people come to the door and they're embarrassed to come in at first so what they tend to do is they just linger outside and then one of us will go out there we're all in full fancy dress and we've got disco lights all around the shop

and lots of Christmas music playing out. My mum makes 400, 500 samosas and dad gives out his great-grandmother's blend of masala chai from India. And so he goes to the front and says, come in for a samosa and sort of invites them in that way. And then when they come in, we say there's no need to do anything and nobody needs to buy anything. It's a shop. Obviously the only one rule is that if you come through that door, you have to have a hug. And what we find is that the hug is something so powerful that it actually breaks all the borders, breaks down any kind of the ice with people, if you like, and everybody's just happier. So, you know, people come the ice with people if you like. And everybody's just

happier. So, you know, people come in and they're a bit nervous. As soon as they've had a hug, they're relaxed and they start talking to us as if we're their family as well. And we love it because it's amazing just how a hug can cross all cultures, all languages and all backgrounds. Would you encourage other people in other countries to do the same? Yes, definitely. I think that the world needs more love and more happiness. You only have to look at a newspaper in any country and there will always be something that is there that worries us. And you know, the state of the world, we just need more loves.

So any opportunity you get, just say something to somebody, smile at somebody, give somebody a hug. And that one hug can make somebody's day and make a real difference to their lives. And if we can all do that, then we're making the world a better place one hug at a time. Deep in Patel. Now, most of us love to travel and some people have a bucket list of places they'd like to visit. But one family did it all at once. Edith Flammé, Sébastien Pelletier and their four children set out on a year-long journey around the world. And that's because three of the children

were diagnosed with a medical condition that would ultimately make them go blind. So the parents wanted to provide them with a lifetime of visual memories. They've been telling Julian Warreker about their adventure, filmed for a new documentary. One thing that was really hard with a diagnosis of Fretinitis pigmentosa is that there was nothing we could do. There's no treatment. So we wanted to find tools for the kids to help them for the future instead. We talked to a specialist at school and she told us that the best thing you can do right now is to fill their visual memory. That was the spark.

Some of the places you visited and some of the adventures that you went on were particularly chosen, weren't they, by your four children? When we started planning the trip, we asked the kids, what activities anywhere in the world would you like to do? And that's when it started. And we had, I'd say, normal things like eating ice cream. But we also got the odd answers like Laurent, who was four years old, said, you know, I'd say normal things like eating ice cream. But we also got the odd answers like Laurent who was four years old said, you know, I'd like to drink juice on a camel. That's very specific. But at the same time, we said, let's put it on the list

and let's try to make it happen. The ages obviously vary. Your oldest is 11. Laurent, you mentioned it's four, the youngest. How much do they all know about the full story here? Before the trip, we told them all. With Mia, her reaction surprised us a lot because she was so calm and focused on solutions. Even today, she's so positive. What she tells us is, I don't have to focus on the future. There's no reason to think about it because today my vision is still really good. So I'm going to enjoy the present moment, you know, face the challenges when they come.

Obviously it's going to be tough. They're going to get down and have to get up again. But I think the fact that they're living with it, that they know it's their condition, but they can make what they want of it is the positive spin on it. And when people watch this, what do you want them to take out of it? I think what I would like people to get from that movie is that in your life, whenever you're faced with a challenge or a sad situation, if you focus on that, your entire life is going to get dark and sad. But if you in your life, it's going to be more beautiful things. So if you focus on what remains and that what's beautiful, if you put your energy on that and you focus on making the rest of your life beautiful, then it makes

everything easier. Clearly, there might be some people listening thinking this sounds great, but it probably was quite expensive. Is this kind of approach maybe not on the scale that you did it? But is this kind of scale, do you think, actually affordable for more people than perhaps they think it is? It doesn't matter what you do. We chose this adventure. We were fortunate to be able to do it. But you know, you can do it in your backyard. Try to do what you want to do, what makes sense for you, what is positive for you. And it could be something just, you know, next door. It doesn't matter what

you do. It's how you look at it and what you do with it. It was amazing to go in all those places, but the kid made us realise that you don't have to go see all the beauties of the seven wonders of the world to see beauty. They were more excited most of the time to little kittens or cute beetles. And we realised that beauty was everywhere. You don't have to go that far. Yes, it's amazing, but you can do it around you. Canadians Edith Lemay and Sebastian Pelletier from the documentary Blink speaking to Julian Warica.

Now, as a new year approaches, people traditionally reflect on their lives and sometimes decide on radical changes. Well, a couple in a small corner of southwest Italy have spent the past year doing just that. Alisa and Francesca have been inspired to open an eco-lodge to try to reverse the current trend in Italy of people migrating from the countryside to bustling cities in search of better opportunities. The country is facing record-breaking levels of tourism, but the couple want to remind people that they can be happy living close to nature.

The Happy Ports' Ella Bicknell went to meet them. When we got to know each other, we discovered that we had a lot of similarities to know. We loved spending time outdoors, in nature, we'd go on camping trips. Slowly, slowly we thought about how can we move from Naples? What can we do in a rural area to feel happy? We created this idea of opening up an eco lodge. Nestled in Chilento National Park lies Perda Fumo, a hilltop village of olive trees and terracotta rooftops.

I'm here to see Eliza and her partner Francesca on a small plot of land they hope will be the start of the big dream. You have time to breathe and be quiet, live a calmer life in touch with nature. I had forgotten this feeling. In fact, maybe I'd never experienced it in a city. When we have an event, so tomorrow we'll put out lots of picnic blankets around in this area under the two olive trees and it's a lovely space. It's right to the top of the hillside. Yeah, so you can actually see right from here a beautiful view as well right across to the sea.

With views like these, it's easy to see why the couple left their busy city lives in Naples to settle here. But like many rural Italian villages, Perifumo faces an uncertain future. As Eliza explains. An aging population, all of the young people after they finish school, they're going away, maybe to the north, maybe to cities like Naples nearby and they're studying, they're getting a job and they're staying there, they're not coming back. According to the World Bank, Italy's rural population is falling rapidly, by 1% each year. As economic opportunities dwindle, villages are becoming shadows of their former selves,

damaging Italy's rich cultural heritage. All the people around here, all the old people, they go and they forage wild asparagus in April. They have a real respect for the nature around us. And knowledge. And knowledge, and knowledge, that's the thing that's a part of our project as well, taking this knowledge and trying to carry it forwards. In 2021, the European Parliament announced that tourism could help address rural depopulation. Francesca, whose grandparents are from the region, agrees.

But she hopes their eco-lodge can make a difference in a more sustainable way. We want to live here for the rest of our lives because we want to build something meaningful. Not so people just come here and chase their own dream. The hope is that this becomes a common dream, a dream that belongs to the community. These stairs, this is the first thing we built with Chicha. He's one of our neighbours. Over the past year, they've transformed the space from an overgrown orchard to a working piece of land, hosting a calendar of events guests can try yoga, bread-making, foraging,

or simply enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside. And then the second set down there to get down to the rest of the piece of land we built on our own. We took what we learnt and we did it by ourselves. So it was a kind of a positive way for us to learn as well. See one, do one, teach one. Exactly, now we can teach it. Eliza and Francesca have called the project Growing Greener and they've built up a large social media following.

This is delicious. 20 people. Emaps was being like, you the guy's been growing greener, I'm here because of you. The efforts are starting to pay off, attracting visitors from the local community, across Italy and beyond.

The biggest wow moment that I had was the first event that we held. And it was just a celebration. Nearly 200 people came that day. Do you remember? Every five minutes, we'd be talking to someone, we'd turn around and we'd look at each other and we were like, wow.

We are bringing life. The people here, they are very happy, very happy to see young women, young people who believe in this place. They see through us a second chance to make these places come to life again." As for the eco lodge, the couple are still searching for the right location. Italy's rural heartlands may be facing tough times, but with passion and creativity, Eliza and

Francesca believe people like them can make a difference. Ella Bicknell reporting. Coming up in this podcast... So all these weaves are actually our traditional weaves from India and we are trying to use plastic waste to weave those kind of weaves. Meet the people who are trying to upcycle plastic waste in India. For just as long as Hollywood has been Tinseltown, there have been suspicions about what lurks behind the glitz and glamour. Concerns about radical propaganda in the motion pictures.

And for a while, those suspicions grew into something much bigger and much darker. Are you a member of the Communist Party? Or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party? I'm Una Chaplin, and this is Hollywood Exiles. It's about a battle for the political soul of America and the battlefield was Hollywood. All episodes of Hollywood Exiles from the BBC World Service and CBC are available now. Search for Hollywood Exiles wherever you get your podcasts. At first glance, Le Reflet seems like just another chic restaurant in Paris, with its

exposed stone walls and modern cuisine. But go inside and you'll see that most of the staff have Down's syndrome, a genetic condition that can cause learning disabilities. They work both in the kitchen preparing the meals and at the table serving customers. Waiter Cyril says being given the opportunity to work at the restaurant has transformed his life. Thanks to everyone here, this restaurant has changed my life and it's also done the same for my family. My mother and father are very proud of me. I've worked here for five years, I like it a lot, I'm very happy. Everyone here is very smiley, there's a great atmosphere. This makes me

feel really comfortable and I've got more joie de vivre. I feel I've gained a lot more self-confidence." Cyril and the other staff with Down's syndrome are supported by colleagues like Vicky Djibout. She explained to Jeanette Janille why the restaurant had been set up and how it works. The purpose of the restaurant is to work with young people with Down Syndrome and the purpose is to show everybody that we're all the same but they are a little bit more extraordinary and they work with us in the kitchen and in the service.

So tell us about some of the staff here. They are all very different. I mean they have all their character and at the beginning it was a lot of work because some of them didn't know how to behave in the kitchen, how to behave in the restaurant, but they learn. And it can be dangerous working in a kitchen, so how do you adapt the restaurant to make it safe for them? It's all kinds of different organisation and it's make everything practical. It's a slow learning. For example, we teach them how to behave

when you walk with a knife. You walk with a knife along the length of your leg. Exactly. When you walk behind someone, you say behind. When you move with something hard, you say behind, when you move with something hot you say hot. And when the waiters who have Down syndrome are serving, you have special procedures to make it easy for them to take the orders. Exactly.

Here for example we have the stamp, we have the little cards, we have the menu on little cardboard boards and the servers explain to the customer this is how it works you make your choice and then you take the stamp and you stamp on the plastic card and you have three choices starters three choices main plate and three choices of desserts so the entire process is is easier so that these staff don't have to remember the orders. They can just take the card and stamp on it. Yeah, but they are able to remember a lot of stuff.

They remember, I don't know if there is a switch, if someone decided to take another dessert, if someone decided to take a coffee, all those kind of stuff. It's not on the little plastic, but they remember it. They are servers. Yeah. They do a server job.

And from watching them work, how much of a difference does it make to their lives? They feel like they are useful. They feel like they have a nice job that they like. They feel like they are working like everybody else. And they're supported by other staff like you. Yeah. So there is an atmosphere where everyone is working together as a team, whether you're

disabled or not. We are a team, an extraordinary team. What's the response from customers to this? Everybody loves it. Vicky Djobot talking about a Paris restaurant that employs staff who have Down's Syndrome. Now a man from New Zealand has won the Spanish Scrabble World Championships despite not actually speaking the language. An impressive feat given the board game centres on players spelling out words with letter tiles for points.

Nigel Richards beat opponents from across the Spanish-speaking world to take the title, but this isn't the first time he's taken on competitors in a different language, as Isabella Duell reports. It's a game in which successful players need a rich vocabulary, but one man from New Zealand has shown that perhaps language is not a barrier when it comes to the board game Scrabble. Nigel Richards added yet another world title to his name, winning this year's Spanish Scrabble World Championships in Grenada. The player known as the Tiger Woods of Scrabble bested more than 145 opponents from countries

including Argentina, Venezuela, Spain and Colombia. But unlike them, he doesn't actually speak Spanish. That didn't hold him back, he only lost one game out of 24. In second place was defending champion Benjamin Olay-Zola of Argentina, who won 18 of his games. He described what it was like to play against Mr Richards. Playing against Nigel, well I told my friends it was like playing against a robot. He's very thoughtful, very restrained, didn't speak much, but he's very precise and didn't make mistakes.

It was a pleasure because he's the best player in history, a player with unique abilities." In 2015, Mr. Richards became the French-language Scrabble World Champion after studying the official word list for nine weeks. Recognised over his three-decade career as the greatest player of all time, his games are analysed in YouTube videos watched by thousands of fans. In game three, Nigel was one of just two featured players to find the early top move of X. Audir and was the only one to find the tricky Chatungo. So how does he do it? His friend Liz Fagerland, a New Zealand Scrabble official, told me that

Mr Richards began memorising the Spanish Scrabble official, told me that Mr. Richards began memorising the Spanish Scrabble dictionary a year ago. Mr. Richards never gives interviews and is known for being shy, so I asked Benjamin Olazola what he makes of his Scrabble technique, having sat across the board from the player. His method is basically to record all the words that exist, which is already a very powerful weapon considering it's the entire database of the Spanish language. It's more than a method really, it's a gift. He has a kind of photographic memory.

His mother told a New Zealand paper in 2010 that her son was never good at English in school, so he takes a mathematical approach to the game. And clearly it's a strategy that pays off. Nigel Richards has won nearly 200 tournaments and holds multiple world titles. Isabella Jewel, now did you know that if we continue on our current path, there will be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050, and most of that plastic is likely to be the very thin kind used in supermarket bags and packaging. That's because there isn't really an efficient system that can

recycle it, so it ends up polluting both oceans and rivers. Now environmental groups have welcomed a scheme in the Indian city of Pune, which tries to reuse plastic bags and address the problem of rural unemployment at the same time. Chavy Sajdev has been finding out more. I'm standing by the seafront in a pretty ritzy part of my city, Mumbai, but the seashore itself is a very different vista. There's a carpet of plastic bags and food packages across every inch of sand and mud. It's something I see daily and it continues to depress me because packaging waste is nearly impossible to recycle, which is why I was really excited to learn about an organization that's doing something about this kind of plastic in Pune city about four hours from my home.

I'm Amita Deshpande and I'm the founder and CEO of Re-Char Kha. Char Kha is the Persian word for the spinning wheel and we use the Char Kha as one of our most important equipment to upcycle this plastic waste into these beautiful products that we make. And that's why it's a Ricarca. It's one of the oldest machines in the world, invented first in India, more than 3,000 years ago, and it's even on our national flag.

Ricarca have dusted off this rustic tool to make contemporary products like tote bags and lampshades, planters and table mats. It all starts in this yellow two-story building that serves as their office and their store. One of their workers Priyanka Tai is sitting cross-legged surrounded by plastic packaging from all over the country including bags for bread, lentils, sugar, biscuits, tea, chocolates.

What do you do with all this? I do segregation. Hard plastics are used for making things like baskets. But the majority, which are softer plastics, go into the handloom and charkha. She tells me with a laugh that her two-year-old has started picking up discarded plastic packets from the road and bringing them to her. The next stage unfolds at the workshop about an hour away. A dozen women are seated on the floor with various types of equipment around them.

After the packets are sorted by color, some of the women use plain old scissors to make strips about a centimeter wide. This ribbon is loaded onto one of four charcas, or spinning wheels. This ribbon is then wrapped around a large bobbin. And then at the loom, a woman will start making magic by weaving them into sheets of fabric. So all these weaves are actually our traditional weaves from India and we are trying to use plastic waste to weave those kind of weaves. All the woven fabric goes back in rolls to the bungalow in Pune city

where it's cut into all kinds of products they design in-house, from cushion covers to purses and backpacks to toiletry bags. And finally everything is photographed, listed online and displayed in their Mumbai and Pune stores. Rechar Kha employs 60 people. 48 are women artisans who work on everything from cutting to stitching the plastic into products. We upcycle about 2,000 to 3,000 plastic bags per day. Over a period of time now we have upcycled over 3.5 million plastic bags. Javi Sachdev and you can hear more in People Fixing the World wherever you get your podcasts. And that's all from the HappyPod for now.

We'd love to hear about your happiest moments of 2024, from family events to global stories, or any unusual plans you're making for the new year. As ever, the address is globalpodcast.bbc.co.uk. This edition was mixed by Antonio Fernandez. The producer was Holly Gibbs. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Rachel Wright.

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