long as he's speaking to her across the water and. you need to. climb our back to get the africa's most successful radio drama series continues to not only this it was are available on the. course you can share and discuss on the africans facebook and other social media platforms and crime fighters. in the. hello and a warm welcome to focus on europe. it's nice to have you with us today twas the night before christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse the classic tale has taken on

a new meaning this holiday season as a pandemic brings europe largely to a standstill streets are empty shops are shuttered and large christmas gatherings cancelled and the lockdown is set to continue into the new year and many countries . over many europeans living in big cities being confined to one apartment has created a deep yearning to be closer to nature whole fernandez wanted to escape the confines of his small space in madrid he found a place on the countryside that allows him and his girlfriend to live the simple life it's in the northwestern spanish region of galaxia near abandoned villages like this one have become hot property during the pandemic. almost. a year ago a label financial and then yellow herrera wouldn't have thought they'd be keeping chickens in the countryside. back then they still have the majority of it but in

the summer they moved to look at least in northwestern spain 500 kilometers from the capital. for our advantages and disadvantages. but i mean that's what i meant about i mean for me country life offers things that the city just doesn't tough. you know it's something you have to experience. living a couple deal to have a village of 30 inhabitants she was a completely foreign to them away his parents have a summer house here the young couple is now we further see the property clay who is a stockbroker he can work from home and really has a good imagery daniela is a psychologist she found a job with a real estate company the coronavirus like bill that changed everything it. got the land we could never imagine just leaving everything behind to move out to the country far away from it all. but then we spent 3 months cooped up in 20 square

meters i don't want to go through that again i need to have nature peace and quiet that's why we came here. spain's villages are in desperate need of 2 younger residents for decades a rule as it is has decimated them entire communities are dying out especially english here but experts say the pandemic is leading to a turnaround. deal is real estate agent specializing in a band in villages together with a local he visits how much he's just sold the new owner isn't a profit individual real dire assessment now belongs to a canadian company. but the companies are coming in and buying. 367 villages in one go so they get turned into vacation homes or residential houses for people who can work from home she very few yes a lot of things are possible for people. there are thousands of such houses for

sale in spain no one's live in a closet for 30 years gustavo iglesias was one of those who moved to the city as a young man in search of work together with the owners he now wants to sell his hamlet. maybe really. it just hurts to see the houses almost in ruins like this but you had to give status of a point it would be nice if someone would take care of the bank and if life with return even if i won't get anything out of it myself called the not to be and i won't pay your. the 59 year old grew up here. he ate mills in this kitchen because no one knows if the rule of life takes some getting used to even if conditions have improved over the years. because

we used to have to cart her food here by horse think about some of the winery and everything it. just wasn't any other transportation. access is much better now and to stop us is the pandemic has increased the value of the villages but more needs to be done to save them better intimate connection would be a good incentive for potential buyers. if local governments did more like with financial aid for reconstruction to be completed all get back on track even faster. you can update it looked at me and you learn here. but municipalities don't happen much that's also true in the neighboring town of nova the mayor says the spanish government should help after all villages dying out isn't a new problem he's counting on the pandemic having a positive side. of it. now there's just been talk about

nothing's being done. now we're hoping for european aid coming in because of the damage. maybe that could also support projects that will revive these villages. such a home took matters into his own hands and organize a stable internet connection his employee says he'll be allowed to work from his new home office for the long term. yeah i should be back i want to permanently settle here of course you never know what's going to happen or where you'll end up you know what i mean what basically i want to stay and so does my girlfriend you know whether you. and helen and that they'll miss the city they say this is too much to retreat for a few days they don't want to give up their country life. for those in the performing arts moving to the countryside and working from home

isn't an option at all many actors musicians and dancers are being forced to simply wait out the pandemic at the caucus theatre in germany conductor mario vns algo is refusing to bow to the virus the audience may be gone but his ensemble is fine tuning their performance of carmen despite corona but how does an opera as passionate as carmen work while social distancing a few weeks ago our reporter got a front row seat for the rehearsals. the national theatre of composers is trying to do something different. they are putting on a covert version of george this is all pretty common. masks for the soloists but there is pixie class to offer protection. so yes especially contagious something quite hard for everyone here to forget. it

doesn't look this is an air purifier i don't know what professionals call it. i'm just purifies the air is that we can sing without wearing masks with less risk . we mostly were hers with masks on anyway. and to be honest we don't yet know for sure how it'll be in the end. of the fruits of me yes of course i'm afraid and i protect myself the best i can get tested as often as i can but it weighs on your soul from 3 of those are 2 ways quite heavy on your saw. you need off the ceiling. but why would they even subjecting themselves to this theater was still closed but the performers were still hoping they'd be able to perform for an audience of december. and the danger is not just hypothetical a sort of had covered themselves. up to argue fortunately i already had

a few months ago. my doctors say i've still got the antibodies but of course you always have to be careful. but i know what you go through with this virus. how was it horrific i'm still tired even now. the pandemic has impacted the song with us now 2 phones because they're not under contract unlike the employed members of the orchestra at the subsidize national theatre of cut costs. and many of these freelance musicians haven't had a gig in months. then did it if the government and the theatres don't support us for us before morris we might just wind up living under a bridge by the time the pandemics over into the put in. a few hours later came the next to set back the entire opera house was supposed to rehearse together

as it normally does with obligatory masks but the latest figures for new infections were alarming the chorus was then released for the day that put mario van gogh and director stefan mackie in a difficult situation. much tying into. relief as the figures rise sort of the individual fears and questions we have to deal with on a daily basis so it's all if. with it steve inskeep there are a few more fears among the wire and that's what we thought we talked them through this period it is pretty eerie it is my house. for musical result is a delight to the ears of the dress rehearsal as carmen is ready for the stage they had planned brilliance performances in caucus for the turn of the year but now that the new lockdown nothing is certain anymore still there remain motivated which is a real challenge for you in sample.

this is the answer of course because of the it's this is the job we have to do for our musicians or to send our singers answer for the entire theater here with everyone involved as so they can form their tasks to the best of their ability and with the greatest dedication priests and this may be one of the most important jobs of my life that he picks them up at minus levens. finally they're allowed to rehearse with the choir. not on the stage but well spaced out on the balcony. and then we stop with the 3 double the 3 and one let down of course because that we're not allowed to dance and we can't put the choreography on the stage the way it was played you were british already but still we're delighted to be accompanied by this beautiful music on to perform comedy here on the bow college and in the ring in here dhabi through. this opera about love and passion the hygiene regulations of costumes to mind compromises.

the. strict regulations prohibits any intimate kisses. it's heartless of healthy exactly what composer visit he himself would say about it . carmen doesn't die of the pandemic but it's a crime of passion. and at some point perhaps this opera will someday mesmerize an audience it costs. love in the time of corona let's hope the audience returns. for the elderly life with a pandemic is especially challenging every day activities like going to the supermarket can pose a serious risk that's where alina by a car comes in she delivers more than just the essentials with the help of her

custom van and the remote friends area of euro some villages don't even have shops which makes elderly residents reliant on her service for lina work is a joy and she goes the extra mile for her customers. speeding down country roads bringing food and goods. that's lena becomes mission 1. she stops often you see on a village of 400 people being or comes here every tuesday for. enough. every one of them for the cook. raymonde pathak is doing her weekly shopping. lina has everything she needs and her fun fresh veggies like sprouts and lettuce along with the carmel designer and her husband are so fond of. because when we

don't have a car my husband and i don't drive anymore where old folks so we shop and they know . that doesn't sell cheese and other products. she always has time for church to catch up on the latest gossip today's big news is that a neighbor has returned home from the hospital well this could be we talk about anything and everything i ask what's new i change people's lightbulbs some seniors have no one around their children live far away so when something needs doing i take care of it fixing the t.v. very well then let's not just business it's about interpersonal relationships do you. leave since off to her next destination she's on the road 5 days a week taking various routes everyone's assuring she visits 20 to 30 customers a day this region is sparsely populated and shops are few and far between for home

that the phone is compromised of just a few houses. there she visits to. the couple or waiting to take a coffee break together with her. in a stops in once a week she feels right at home with the today's good cleaner we'd have a lot more stores here she's the only one. quote is in a hurry lin has brought his favorite food. yet this guy goes on s cargo plane and knows her customers well. each week he buys a dish of snails. made his warehouse her courage her husband helps her lowered her truck every day since most of her customers are regulars she tailors her assortment to their needs. along

with cakes and cookies to you and detergent she also has wine and meat on offer most regional products. you must keep things well organized so everything stays in place then drive very carefully could. be not as operations are mobile a grocery store for 4 years now once or talk or was fully grown the nikkei 4 per job in a plastics factory and fulfilled her long time dream. and yes i can live from it even if i'll never be filthy rich the proof i've been doing this for 4 years and i'm still in business. she stops in a village with 190 residents. are more young people in this part of the shura district it hasn't been as badly affected by de population as other places the

young people use their cars to go to shopping fields customers are really between 80 and 85 so there are lie in her. i can't afford to get sick and i take just 3 weeks vacation in august that's all that's when many of my customers are on holidays that their children or their children are with them so they don't need me as much of. a city that almost. a bit of shopping a bit of socialising. is in our hearts we know. rose 0.5 look forward to the recreate visits with nina we buy something every week when she comes around we become friends your paper defended. lena because long day is just about over. she can relax and take a quick breather before doing it all again tomorrow. siberia it's cold the climate is harsh and for some it's not the most appealing

place to live but it is home to many natural treasures such as lake by call it's the world's deepest and all this freshwater lake from it's the only home she's ever known she has barely any contact with the outside world and she wants to keep it that way even at christmas other luba doesn't want any part of the festivities after all her favorite gift is right in front of her. like oh no the governor was a muggle which is. they are they are gradually. by coal is everything. for the last 80 years there's no place in the world that lubov not a horde of i would rather be than i've linked by call in southern siberia.

the sprightly senior lives on the western shore of the world's largest freshwater lake. was i speeding is her passion. my skates were made in 1943 and i'm still using them. when she straps the steel blades she's used for decades onto a pair of old wolf felt boots she's just as nimble as ever. consider of using a bicycle or a car. as she's fondly known as her errands on skates. she checks on her accounts or does a little shopping in the neighboring village it's a half hour journey each way and she does it most every day.

that's mysterious been with a hint of melancholy. romantic scene lake by call is a reflection of the russian soul. this octogenarian belief skating on lake by call is the secret to her longevity. the world's deepest lake has her day she has more faith in its powers than in the miracles of jesus was birth is currently being celebrated around the globe. seasons greetings to all our viewers. so it's only non-sense. what is the one that will live the church and everything around it these pope's dress didn't golden silver that's not for me i don't want that. is the. however in a village some 60 kilometers away the russian orthodox church is experiencing new

life following decades of oppression during the soviet era. according to recent polls 65 percent of russians count themselves as belonging to the faithful. but not . the church is growing in importance as a social institution in russia too and bringing with it a more conservative philosophy of life. but none of that for bubble yuba. lord have mercy on us because one of the central themes in the liturgy it's repeated dozens of times church services can last for several hours especially at christmas. if you think about it logically you won't find anything up above no soul that flies to heaven nothing

when you die you'll be eaten by worms. she had a long working life in the soviet union. for almost half a century she worked at a factory in air quotes as a press operator a welder one turner and later i mean it's engineer. she's been retired for 20 years and since the death of her husband lives alone. look you can see stones. siberian winters are cold and long. sometimes they can last for 6 months with temperatures that can plunge to minus 40 degrees celsius. so the people who live here are tough and modest. in this sense bubble yuba is a true siberia. some folks are never content they think everything's bad one

needs lots of money the other a palace. to the 54 walls and a roof over your head that's all a person needs going to die one way or another whether in a palace or elsewhere. nurse. but w. by still alive and well and she says she will be for as long as she can skate on her lake baikal. what's the secret to the perfect pot of pasta or result oh for some top chefs it's not just about the ingredients but what they are cooked in copper cookware is the gold or rose gold standard in top rated restaurants it's an art form that passed kuala marana has mastered his workshop in italy but the craft has lost its luster over decades as a fails to attract younger generations as one of the last copper smiths in italy

has quality is now hoping his children will follow in his footsteps. one of the special tricks the coppersmith pasqual marone a employs to crafting the perfect part is to hammer the bottom to make it more resistant heres worked with this reddish metal since he was 8 years old and still loves the to this day. it is a stop on his of the metal and the possibility of always creating something new and beautiful with your own hands that are out of work or for a longer pasquale mulroney produces high quality parts that almost double as works of art relying on the centuries old methods of coppersmith syrian santana stasia near naples with milling hammering and burning it takes 6 to 7 hours to finish one of these pots it will but i'm going to run if you buy a copper pipe like this it would last 2 or 300 years and there is no waste it is the most ecological part in the world unfortunately traditional artisans like us

are gradually disappeared from the. because many such businesses lack young employees. yet their craftsmanship is essential for other professions michelin star chef francesco's zito swears by the square limo names topper parts when cooking for his restaurant. got one you don't have to keep stirring all the time to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom not a tall order and that all. the food cooks gently in the copper pot said very low heat on about it like it's an elemental empower you constantly have to turn stir the food 1st to turn around 12 with figs pots you can let it simmer for. 3 squalor moronis 4 children now work with him in his workshop for about passing on all my knowledge to help person is extremely rewarding for me. the tradition of this craft is that it's in good hands securing high quality copper

cookware for the next generation. no matter what pots you use to cook this christmas or new year's. do let me know your thoughts about this week's show on twitter thanks so much for watching focus on europe and happy holidays.

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water. thanks. this is deja vu news live from the european union and britain on the brink of a free trade deal british prime minister boris johnson is expected to make an announcement from downing street at any moment news also expected from brussels on what could be an historic settlement will bring you all the details.