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Oral history recording with Anna-Maria Woodford. Recorded as part of the Italian Memories in Wales project (2008-10), delivered by ACLI-ENAIP and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Part 3 of 7 (AV 11502 - 11508)

00.17 By the time they moved to Lanzo Torinese her father had retired from the police, her mother never worked. She talks about her father’s work as a Marshall in the carabinieri. They were well off as a family, Anna Maria was lucky to go to a paid school; her mother had always told her to go to work and not rely on a husband to bring in money. Lanzo Torinese was a town, she had many friends there. They would go to dances, to the cinema. She talks about the films they saw, the actors she liked. She also describes the dances she went to, where they played rock and roll music. She talks about the clothes and shoes they wore, which were made specifically for her. She was privileged in that sense, though she wouldn’t ask others about their money situation. Presentation was a very important at that time.

07.02 When asked about religion, Anna Maria says that it was important but she wasn’t very enthusiastic about it as a youngster. She recalls missing church to go to dance to rock and roll music on a jukebox in a local cafe. At church people found out about this and she was punished. She felt that people were inflicting their views on her at a time when she wanted freedom. She talks about her college, run by nuns, where they had regular meditation times. She talks about the nuns and a flirtatious priest, which gave her a negative view of religion. She talks about one nun who she remembers vividly as a great open minded teacher, who wouldn’t impose religious rituals on the students.

12.28 Anna Maria talks about the college. There were two sides to the building, one side housed orphans and the other was a college. The orphans used to work for the kitchen. She was there from 11 to 18. She took exams to become a teacher, but didn’t follow that path and went on a Secretarial course. She carried out office work for a year but wanted to learn English, which pushed her to move to London. When asked if many women went into work, she says that she was lucky, due to her father’s contacts.

17.00 Anna Maria talks about a strong link to her Sardinian roots even though she was born in North Italy. She forgot about her roots to an extent whilst in London, when she went back to Italy she would miss Britain, she talks about it as a complex feeling towards her nationality. She talks about leaving Italy, the plans she had to make- which were mostly made by the Managing Director where she worked. She talks about being excited about leaving due to the strictness of her parents. She talks about her approach to bringing up her daughter as more liberal. She then talks about the journey over to England, the view from the plane and her first impressions- she went to Harrods the first Sunday she was here, she bought a hat, which was ’christened’ by a pigeon, so she had to go back and buy another one.

22.08 When asked about her expectations, Anna Maria said she had expected to return to Italy after a year. She stayed, and talks about fate and meeting her husband. She talks about wanting to experience a different life, as opposed to the restricted life she had in Italy. In London she felt free and talks about social life. She worked for FIAT in Berkley Square, and was one of the first to translate documents about Concorde. She explains how she found the job and what it entailed. Her first job was working as an Au Pair in Chelsea and talks about that experience as a positive experience. She explains how she met people from all over the world, and talks about the work. She had a lot of time to meet friends and describes going to clubs with them and Italian people. When asked about difficulties she experienced she says she found it more difficult when she moved to Wales. More people questioned where she was from, making assumptions about Italians being connected to the Mafia.