a road tunnel under mont blanc.has come true, and the paris—rome motorjourney is cut by 300 miles. to both france and italy this was an historic occasion. the joint opening ceremony was performed by general degaulle and president saragat. from here, this looks a pretty big hole, but when you think of the size of the mountain through which it's being driven, it's rather like trying to drive a needle through the granite foundations of edinburgh castle. franco cuaz is 91 now, and long retired, but he still lives near the mont blanc tunnel. now, in 1977, a state hospital near paris began quietly changing the way that women gave birth. 0bstetrician dr michel 0dent believed that childbirth had become too medicalised. he wanted a more natural approach, so he introduced a pool to ease the pain of labour. franco cuaz is 91 now, and long retired, but he still lives near the mont blanc tunnel. now, in 1977, a state hospital near paris began quietly changing the way that women gave birth. 0bstetrician dr michel 0dent believed t

a road tunnel under mont blanc.cades has come true and the paris—rome motorjourney is cut by 300 miles. to both france and italy this was an historic occasion. from here, this looks a pretty big hole, but when you think of the size of the mountain through which it's being driven, it's rather like trying to drive a needle through the granite foundations of edinburgh castle. franco cuaz is 91 now, and long retired, but he still lives near the mont blanc tunnel. now, in 1977, a state hospital near paris began quietly changing the way that women gave birth. 0bstetrician dr michel 0dent believed that childbirth had become too medicalised. he wanted a more natural approach, so he introduced a pool to ease the pain of labour. there is something special about the relationship between human beings and water. as soon as it's lifted into the air, its lungs start to work normally. dr michel 0dent, obstetrician, this is his maternity unit, run according to his deeply felt beliefs about women and natural childbirth. the right pla

the euro is back in focus, putting the squeeze on luxury ridgemont, which owns cartier blanc. mont watchmaker joining others in warning the strength of the euro is taking a toll on luxury spending. let's bring in andrea, who covers consumer and retail industries. andrea, do we look at asia or europe? asia is flying and europe has been hit by the strong euro, isn't it? andrea: it comes down to the same thing. you have this phenomenon of the traveling luxury consumer and their traveling around the world to get the best deals. britain has had a great boost coming over here with the weak pound. the u.s. has had a good time because of the strong dollar and now it seems that they are avoiding europe. the key thing is whether they spend as much in asia as they would have spent when they were traveling. that is the thing. mark: despite the focus on the european performance headlines sales figure, as you pointed out, it looked for to get. -- pretty good. it was not in a great position told months ago. andrea: the whole industry has had a fantastic year. the has been a big catch up in the in

james: you think about a mont blanc 149, those can run over $1000.sted me about the company is the entry-level price point is bringing new fountain pen fans into the fold. carol: they don't go to trade shows or to traditional marketing. there is a message board called the fountain pen geeks and other blogs and that is how the are getting known. james: very internet 1.0. blogs are still the way people get information on the internet. oliver: as more and more key medication does happen online -- i had an ex-girlfriend who loved writing poetry and notes. i feel like this is the kind of thing that could really appeal the something like that. writing handwritten letters. who buys $1000 fountain pens? james: a writer of this piece went to a lot of shops where they sell these pens. in this community there is a tension between people who only collect and they get two of each kind, and those that still use them at right with them. she claims it would be a crime against writing to use these pens. oliver: carol, we had to cover the hurricane harvey story. carol