Doing the time warp
QUESTION Who decided on the irregular shape of the International Date Line in the mid-Pacific?
The 1884 International Meridian Conference in Washington determined that the Prime Meridian — longitude 0 degrees — would run through the Greenwich Observatory. Thus, every place on earth was measured in terms of its distance east or west from this line.
The choice was convenient as it ensured that the 180 degrees meridian, the International Date Line, mostly passed over the vast waters of the Pacific.
however, this line doesn’t have international status and countries are free to choose the dates they observe.
The date line runs north to south from pole to pole, zigzagging around political borders such as eastern Russia and Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
The most obvious kink is around the Kiribati Island group in the equatorial Pacific. The U.S. state of hawaii is almost directly north and falls within the same lines of longitude. however, because of a curve the date line makes around Kiribati, they are a full day apart.
This was a recent adjustment. The extended Kiribati group comprising the Gilbert, Phoenix and Line islands became an independent republic within the British Commonwealth in 1979.
Spread across two million square miles of ocean, it consists of 33 atolls with a total surface area of 280 square miles.
Until 1995, the islands were split by the International Date Line, meaning the western part of the republic was 24 hours ahead of its eastern part.
This meant there were only four days in each week when official business could be conducted between both parts.
To put an end to this situation, President Teburoro Tito announced that from January 1, 1995, the International Date Line would run along the eastern boundary of the republic.
A consequence was that Kiribati’s most easterly islands were the first places to greet the new millennium. The easternmost, Caroline Island, an uninhabited atoll, was renamed Millennium Island.
QUESTION Why did so many Italians emigrate to Wales in the early 20th century?
The short answer is to find work. There are anecdotal records of itinerant Italians roaming the streets of the many iron towns at the heads of the valleys in the 1880s, hawking statuettes made of plaster, carried on boards balanced on their heads.
Census records show that at least one figure maker, Louis Galloezzi was a resident of Merthyr Tydfil in 1881.
At that time, South Wales had a booming economy, with deep pits being sunk in every valley to exploit vast reserves of coal. Coal output had been increasing exponentially since the middle of the 19th century, culminating in its zenith in 1913, with more than 50 million tons.
In my home town, three large collieries were developed from 1907 to 1913, with each employing 2,500 men.
Italians didn’t work down the mines, but they had a talent for providing sustenance to thirsty and hungry colliers. They sold cordial drinks, ice cream, confectionery, coffee, hot Bovril, steamed pies and later fish and chips.
Crucially, they didn’t cook and serve Italian cuisine, as most didn’t have a background in catering. These emigrants were poor agricultural workers from northern Italy, where shortages of food and wages were commonplace.
As they journeyed westwards in search of work, Paris was the first major centre of culture, entertainment and casual dining out. It is said this is where they learned the art of coffee brewing and ice-cream making. Many then travelled onwards to
London. Colin hughes, in his 1991 book on the subject, suggests the first Italian cafe in Wales was at Newport.
Birth records show Giacomo, a refreshment house keeper, and Caterina Bracchi had a son named Francesco at 124 Commercial Road, in December 1893.
however, the fish and chip shop run by the Vaccara family in Newport states it was established in 1888.
The Bracchi family became synonymous with cafes throughout the two Rhondda valleys, so much so that a cafe was known as a bracchi. They were frequented by young and old, day and night, seven days a week, 364 days a year.
Once settled in the valleys, the Italian emigrants would invite their brothers, sisters and cousins to join them.
When a business prospered and capital was saved, they would set up family members in a cafe in another town or village. The lead owner was known as a padrone and might loan money to other members of their family.
Over the decades, economic and social trends — the closing of the coal mines and steel works, changing work patterns and the emergence of Chinese and Indian restaurants and takeaways in the 1960s — have contributed to the demise of Italian cafes in the South Wales valleys. There are none in my home town when once there were eight.
The family names live on in the memory of the local people and the Italians were not considered to be foreigners, but honorary Welsh folk.
Lyn Pask, Blackwood, Gwent.
QUESTION What was the theme music for the Saint And Greavsie TV show?
ROD ARGeNT wrote and performed classic songs including She’s Not There and Time Of The Season with The Zombies, and God Gave Rock And Roll To You and hold Your head Up with his rock band Argent.
Under the name Silsoe, he composed Aztec Gold, a synthesiser piece, for ITV’s coverage of the 1986 Mexico World Cup. This became the Saint And Greavsie’s theme tune.
Silsoe composed theme tunes for the Nicholas Lyndhurst sitcom The Two Of Us and the Paul Nicholas drama Bust.
A. F. Gower, Croydon, Surrey.
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