As part of the 2019 Being Human Festival I organised two public engagement events. In collaboration with Dr Kelly Spring (Southern Maine/ IHR) we presented an evening event at the Institute of Italian Culture in Edinburgh and a day event at the National War Museum, Edinburgh Castle. The events stem from research I am conducting at IMLR on WWII food and its memory in Italy, and dialogue with Dr Spring’s work on stories around food as emerging from WWII British diaries.
Thursday 14 November, 6-8pm, Italian Institute of Culture, Edinburgh.
Eating Under Fire: Food in WWII Britain and Italy (1)
Have you got an Italian relative or a person you know who was living in Italy during WWII? How could they survive? What were they eating? Do you want to know what the situation was like here in Britain and make a comparison? Join us for this evening event where you will be able to see the types of bread, coffee, tea and other food available in Italy and Britain during WWII. Experts will introduce you to the food situation in both countries. In the second part of the event, a performance will follow where readings of diaries and memoirs of people living in Italy and Britain during WWII will give you an idea of how people were feeling about food. As a memento, copies of British and Italian wartime recipes will be made available together with information cards to further explore the topic.
Associated Event: Thursday 14 November, 10-3.30pm, National War Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle
Eating Under Fire: Food in WWII Britain and Italy (2)
It’s 2019, the 80th anniversary of the beginning of WWII in Britain, what better time to experience daily life at this particular significant time of world history! Step inside the war-torn Italy, a country where Nazi occupation, civil war and black market made daily life atrocious. What kind of bread were people eating? What about coffee? And in Britain? Why were your grandads or great-grandad so keen on tea? Drop by to see a display of ingredients and food available in Italy and Britain during WWII and talk to experts. A short performance will follow where extracts of diaries and memoirs of British and Italian people discussing their love for coffee, tea, their food daydreaming etc will be read. As a memento, pick up a copy of British and Italian recipes to try at home and impress family and friends with your knowledge.
Events will run on a drop-in basis. Memoirs reading will take place at 11.30am and 2pm.