Mark Pentleton

It wasn’t until I listened to the evening news on the radio in the car last night that I realised the significance of yesterday’s date. For many years my Italian grandmother would reminisce about the sad events which happened on 10th June 1940 when Churchill infamously gave the order, “Collar the lot!”, referring to Germans and Italians living in the UK. My gran’s family owned Pieroni’s cafe in Irvine and it was business as usual until the day on which Mussolini declared war on Britain and France. Some regular customers became enemies overnight and looted the café. Of course, real friends supported my gran’s family, many coming to visit to demonstrate their solidarity. Nonetheless, it was a difficult time for Italians throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK: even though they had no allegiance to Mussolini, Italian men between the ages of 14 and 75 were interned, many of whom died when a ship deporting them to Canada was torpedoed.

It seemed only appropriate to play something Italian in memory of my gran and her brother and sisters who lived through these sad events. Rather than play something poignant, however, I’ve decided to choose a song which my gran always loved. The song Luna Caprese wasn’t released until twenty years later, but it has always been a favourite in our family. I hope I’ve done it justice.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 5:41 — 7.8MB)