WALKING IS BETTER THAN GOING TO THE GYM

By KATE PICKLES FOR MAILONLINE

Brisk walking is better for keeping weight off than going to the gym, a study has found.

Women of all ages and men over 50 who regularly walked for more than 30 minutes were found to weigh less than those who took part in vigorous activities like jogging or cycling.

Research by the London School of Economics discovered people who walked a lot had lower BMIs and smaller waists than those who took part in regular sport.

Dr Grace Lordan, a specialist in health economics who led the research, compared the measurements of people who took part in activities which increased heart rate and caused perspiring.

She compared people who said they regularly did half-an-hour of fast-paced walking to those who did the same amount of heavy housework, manual labour and sports like rugby.

Waistline and BMI measurements showed that men and women who regularly walked briskly for more than 30 minutes had lower BMIs and smaller waists than those who engaged in regular exercise.

The findings were based on physical activity levels from the annual Health Survey for England between 1999 and 2012.

Government guidelines suggest adults should do 150 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity every week, but there is no suggestion of which activity is the most effective.

Currently, 32million adults in the UK are overweight – about 60 per cent of the adult population – of whom 12.5million are obese. 

PANAMA DISEASE WAS FIRST NOW ITS TR4

Bananas as we know them today are on the point of extinction. This happened once before and the end result was the grafting of the banana we now eat.

Bananas Could Go Extinct 

by Alfredo Carpineti

Bananas are the most popular fruit in the world, but they could soon be killed off by a deadly fungus. In the last few years, a banana-killing disease has spread from Southeast Asia to the Middle East, Africa and Australia.

According to a new study, published in PLOS Pathogens, the perpetrator is called Tropical Race 4 (TR4), which originated in Indonesia in the 1960s and has now spread so widely that it’s threatening the world banana production.

In the study, they call for major investment into the breeding of new varieties of bananas and better analysis and quarantine of contaminated soils. "The current TR4 epidemic and inherent global attention should be the wake-up call for these much needed strategy changes," they said in the paper.  

This is not the first time bananas are on the verge of extinction. In the 1950s, almost all Gros Michel bananas (the main type of banana farmed at the time) were wiped out by thePanama disease, caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum. A new species of banana, resistant to the fungus, was introduced in the affected areas, known as the Cavendish.

Today, the Cavendish accounts for 47 percent of the entire production of bananas, and the vast majority of the bananas sold in the temperate regions of the world are Cavendish, but it is now at threat from TR4. This disease is also a strain of Fusarium oxysporum, but is produced from a different strain to the Panama disease. TR4 enters the roots of banana plants and invades the vascular system, spreading and making the plant die of dehydration. 

It's difficult to breed fungus-resistant bananas. All Cavendish plants are clones, exact copies of each other, and so are the Gros Michel plants. If an illness affects one plant, it will affect all the others. All bananas come from the careful breeding of wild bananas, until a seedless offspring is formed. This makes producing more seedless bananas easy, but opens the plant to the possibility of devastating diseases that can wipe out entire plantations.

The study doesn't quite herald the "bananapocalypse," but the scientists have looked at the evidence from around the world and highlighted that we have developed no way to stop the spread of the disease. So far, measures to destroy the fungus, such as putting infected soil or bananas in quarantine, have been inadequate and ineffective.

Banana crops are mostly produced by small-holder farms and 85 percent of the production goes to local markets. The disease could take away the livelihood of millions of peoplearound the world. Researchers think that the disease will continue to spread as long fungus-susceptible varieties are being grown.

THE KISSING BUG

KISSING BUGS

BY DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSCIENCE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

There are many different species of triatomines (commonly known as kissing bugs or cone-nose bugs in USA, and in different countries of Latin America as chinche besucona, chipo, barberio, vinchuca). Of the 12 species of triatomines that occur in United States, the most important epidemiologically are Triatoma rubida and Triatoma protracta in Arizona and California and Triatoma gerstaeckeri in Texas and New Mexico. In southern Arizona, the most abundant kissing bug is T. rubida. Other less prevalent species include T. recurva and T. protracta. Kissing bugs received their name because they usually bite people near their mouth during the night while they sleep. The two main reasons for this is that kissing bugs are attracted to the odors that we exhale, and our face is usually the only exposed area of skin during sleep. Kissing bugs usually do not burrow under covers like some other bugs or spiders do. Kissing bugs are also called cone-nose bugs or a Mexican bed bugs here in the United States. In Central and South America, kissing bugs are known by many common names such as benchuca, vinchuca, chipo and barbeiro.

Kissing bugs are blood-suckers, like mosquitoes, ticks and tse-tse flies. They usually feed just after sunset. They are attracted to the light in our houses, the odors that we exhale, skin odors, and to the warmth of our bodies. Kissing bugs who enter a house will feed on household pets as well as humans.

In southern Arizona, most kissing bugs are found in packrat nests. Packrat nests provide the kissing bugs with a readily available supply of blood and a safe haven from insect-eating predators. However, the packrat also is a predator of the kissing bug, so safety is not guaranteed in those nests.

The adult females lay eggs usually in the months of May-Sept. The eggs hatch after approximately 3 weeks, giving rise to the 1st instar stage (see photo above). Each additional instar stage is reached after a molting process. The kissing bugs may need several blood meals before molting into the next instar stage. This process leaves behind a thin skin of the previous instar, and it has grown in size and length. After the 5th instar stage, the kissing bug will molt into an adult with wings that have the ability to fly. At this point the adults will leave the packrat nest in search of other blood sources.

During these flights, kissing bugs are attracted to light and host odor. Your porch light or lights from your windows will be attractive to kissing bugs flying nearby. After reaching your house, they will look for a way to enter the house and feed on your pets or you,. The carbon dioxide that we exhale is attractive to the kissing bugs, as well as the heat from our bodies.

Many people have moderate to severe allergic reactions to the kissing bug bite. Reactions from the bite range from skin irritation and redness to anaphalitic shock requiring immediately medical attention. For more information on this, please refer to our Allergies page.

Another possible health problem is Chagas Disease. This is caused by a potentially deadly parasite (Trypanosoma cruzi) that lives in the digestive system of the kissing bug and is excreted during defecation or urination of the kissing bug after feeding. If this parasite enters your blood stream through the bite site or an open wound, you might become infected (note: not all infected people become sick, only 10% of infected people after 30 years or so of initial contact). Testing for this parasite in the local kissing bug population is currently underway by our research group, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. This is a major health issue in Central and South America where over 18 million people have become infected resulting in 14,000 deaths every year.

Cold Weather Myths: What You Need to Know During a Snowstorm

 

By GILLIAN MOHNEY AND ABC NEWS

With a monster snowstorm expected to hit the East Coast this weekend, plenty of people are preparing to face their first major dose of wind, ice and snow this winter. But there are a few persistent cold weather health myths that are more harmful and helpful for people wanting to know the best way to handle a blizzard.

Myth: Have a sip of alcohol to ward off the winter chill

Experts say despite the warm feeling a shot of whiskey can bring, alcohol is actually more harmful than helpful in cold temperatures.

Too much alcohol can actually make you colder, according to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, which advises people to abstain from caffeinated and alcoholic beverages since "they cause your body to lose heat more rapidly."

Dr. Edmundo Mandac of University Hospitals Case Medical Center explained too much liquor can "really screw up body regulation [of] temperature."

Additionally, the American Heart Association warns that people who become impaired after drinking alcohol may not realize how the cold weather is affecting them.

"Alcohol may increase a person’s sensation of warmth and may cause them to underestimate the extra strain their body is under in the cold," the American Heart Association explained.

Myth: Shovel snow early in the day

Picking up that shovel in the early morning may appear to be the responsible thing to do after a big snowstorm, but that chore can have serious health effects. Simply shoveling snow can be a dangerous for those at risk of heart attack, since being in the cold and lifting a heavy shovel can put an added strain on the heart, according to the American Heart Association.

Dr. Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, explained that shoveling in the morning can be even more problematic. He explained in a 2014 interview that hormone levels in the morning make blood "sticker" for people at greater risk of a heart attack.

Additionally, getting the flu, or winter habits such as over eating during the holidays or going on vacation to warm areas, can all have an impact on your heart.

"We should all realize that over the winter season, we're just more vulnerable," Yancy said in an earlier interview. "Take it easy."

Myth: As long as people are indoors they are safe

Unfortunately, even being indoors doesn't protect everyone from bitter winter cold. If a house isn't properly heated or if the heat is shut off, elderly residents and infants can be at greater risk for developing hypothermia.

The CDC advises keeping a close eye on infants during winter months and making sure that they're not sleeping in cold rooms. Unlike adults, infants can't shiver to stay warm and they are less able to regulate body temperature.

Additionally, elderly residents are more at risk for feeling the effects of cold weather since their bodies have a slower metabolism and are less able to regulate body heat, according to the CDC. If you're concerned your house is too cold, you should make arraignments to stay elsewhere.

SO MANY... SO SOON

THIS MORNING WE WERE INFORMED THAT ACTOR, ALAN RICKMAN OF THE FAMOUS HARRY POTTER SAGA HAS DIED.

A FEW DAYS AGO WE WERE TOLD DAVID BOWIE HAD DIED.

WE LEARNT OF THE DEATH OF NATALIE COLE WHO DIED ON NEW YEAR'S EVE.

WHAT DO ALL OF THESE FAMOUS PEOPLE HAVE IN COMMON? THEY ALL DIED IN THEIR 60's AS A RESULT OF A BATTLE WITH CANCER!!

CELINE DION'S HUSBAND, RENE ANGELIL, AGE 73, DIED TODAY OF THROAT CANCER.


THE SAD REALITY IS THAT CANCER IS KILLING SO MANY PEOPLE EVERY DAY. IT IS 50 YEARS SINCE I LOST MY MOTHER TO THIS TERRIBLE ILLNESS AND STILL THERE HAS NOT BEEN A SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY TO ERADICATE CANCER FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH. HOWEVER, HAVING A COUSIN IS IS A SURVIVOR AND KNOWING THAT SHE IS GETTING THE TREATMENT ON AN ALMOST WEEKLY BASIS TO KEEP YOU CANCER AT BAY IS COMFORTING.

I PRAY FOR A BREAKTHROUGH AND FOR THIS DEADLY ILLNESS TO DISAPPEAR. HOPEFULLY ONE DAY IT WILL.

POWERBALL LOTTO HIT 1.5 BILLION DOLLARS MARK!!!!!

Tomorrow the biggest Powerball Lotto ever will be played. The amount it is at now is $1.5 BILLION DOLLARS! The frenzy has grown and now even people who have never bought a Lottery ticket in their lives are rushing to get a ticket or a few tickets so they can have a chance at this HUGE amount that they could win.

Obviously, I am buying a few tickets myself!! SuperMama, Org could do a lot of wonderful things if I were to win! So, like many of my friends I am praying for a miracle.

Guess its going to be a long wait for 11 pm tomorrow night! BEST OF LUCK TO ALL PLAYERS!!!

NEW YOGURTS WITH THE NEW HEALTH CRAVES HIT THE STORES!

I WAS IN KROGER LAST SATURDAY AND WHILE LOOKING AT THE YOGURTS IN THE FREEZER SECTION I CAME ACROSS SOME NEW YOGURTS! I WAS SHOCKED AT FIRST. I KNOW I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN A PICTURE BUT I GUESS I WILL NEXT TIME I AM IN KROGER.

SO WHAT ARE THE NEW FLAVOURS, YOU MAY BE ASKING.

ZUCCHINI, KIWI AND A FRUIT

CUCUMBER AND A FRUIT

SQUASH AND SOME OTHER THING!!!

CHECK IT OUT IN YOUR GROCERY STORES!!! ITS ALL THE NEW HEALTH CRAVE!!!

FROM MY HOUSE TO YOURS

Spanish Treasure Galleon San Jose Found Off Colombia's Coast

The San Jose and its estimated $17 billion treasure have been missing for more than 300 years.

by Nina Golgowski Trends reporter, The Huffington Post

After more than 300 years resting on the Caribbean floor, a sunken Spanish galleon believed to be carrying as much as $17 billion in treasure has been found, Colombia's president announced Friday.

"Great news: We found the galleon San Jose!” President Juan Manuel Santos tweeted.

The 1,066-ton ship was sunk by the British Navy in 1708 while carrying gold and silver bound for Europe during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Santos’ office shared underwater photos of cannons, ceramic and porcelain vases and a sword hilt nestled on the ocean floor on Saturday. Santos also tweeted a video showing a search team at sea.

The president called the find, located off Cartagena's coast, “a milestone for our underwater cultural heritage."

Though the war behind the ship’s downfall may be history, a modern-day legal battle over the shipwreck’s booty has been ongoing for several decades.

U.S.-based salvage company Sea Search Armada has been actively searching for the legendary treasure since the early 1980s. When it sank, the ship was carrying between $4 billion and $17 billion in gold and silver meant to help fund France's ongoing war against Britain, according to SSA. 

Between 1980 and 1983, SSA Managing Director Jack Harbeston claims the company spent more than $10 million on surveying the ocean floor -- in addition to $2 million to $3 million over the next 28 years to "defend" the company's rights to it.

Harbeston, in an email to The Huffington Post, said the legal trouble began when the company made a pact with the Colombian government, promising that they would split any treasure collected from the wreckage.

When SSA later found what it believed to be the shipwreck's location and shared its coordinates with government officials, he says the government went back on that promise and further prohibited the company from visiting the site, going so far as to threaten "military force" should investigators return.

SSA consequently filed a lawsuit against the government in 1989, asserting its claim to the wreckage.

"Our thirty years of fighting for our rights in Colombia has led us to conclude that you can't believe a single thing the [Colombian government] says about the San Jose and our rights to it," Harbeston said.

In a major blow to the determined treasure hunters, a U.S. court in 2011 ruled that the SSA had missed the statute of limitations to sue for its right to the treasure. The group has since appealed that ruling.

According to Santos' office, the ship was discovered on Nov. 27 in an area that was not referenced by previous studies and searches.

Harbeston argues that if that's the case, why block the company from returning to the sites it previously visited?

"If, as the [Colombian government] claims, there is nothing at the sites disclosed to it by SSA, why wouldn't it let us visit the sites?  If we visited our sites and found nothing then the game was over for SSA; we would fold our tent and leave. The [Colombian government] would be rid of us," he said.

Stonehenge May Have Been Built Somewhere Else First, Then Moved

"Stonehenge is a second-hand monument."

• Ed MazzaOvernight Editor, The Huffington Post
• 
  
• 
• Stonehenge may not look very portable, but scientists say part of the massive ancient monument may have been first built somewhere else before being moved hundreds of years later.

  The new finding, published on Monday in the journal Antiquity, traces the bluestones -- or the smaller stones used at the 5,000-year-old monument -- to two quarries in Wales. 

  But while the mystery of where the stones came from may have been solved, a new one has just emerged: Those stones were pulled from the quarries some five centuries before Stonehenge itself was built in what is now Wiltshire, 140 miles away.

  "It could have taken those Neolithic stone-draggers nearly 500 years to get them to Stonehenge, but that’s pretty improbable in my view," Professor Mike Parker Pearson of UCL Institute of Archaeology and director the research team behind the study said in a news release. "It's more likely that the stones were first used in a local monument, somewhere near the quarries, that was then dismantled and dragged off to Wiltshire."

  Stonehenge's large "sarsen" standing stones, which weigh about 25 tons each, are from a quarry relatively close to the the monument. Researchers have long believed the smaller two-ton bluestones came from the Preseli Hills in Wales, but the team of geologists and archaeologists behind the new study says they've found the exact locations in Carn Goedog and Craig Rhos-y-felin. The research team uncovered an ancient "loading bay" from which the stones were pulled as well as the remains of burnt hazelnuts and charcoal from the quarry workers' campfires.

  Radiocarbon dating on the hazelnuts and charcoal puts the Craig Rhos-y-felin quarry at 3400 BC and Carn Goedog at 3200 BC. 

  Work on Stonehenge is believed to have begun in 2900 BC. 

  It's possible Stonehenge is simply hundreds of years older than previously estimated, but Parker Pearson told the Guardian he doesn't think that's the case.

  "We think it's more likely that they were building their own monument [in Wales], that somewhere near the quarries there is the first Stonehenge and that what we’re seeing at Stonehenge is a second-hand monument," he told the newspaper. 

  The research team has narrowed down the possible site of the original monument to a spot between the two Welsh quarries.  

  "We’ve been conducting geophysical surveys, trial excavations and aerial photographic analysis throughout the area and we think we have the most likely spot," Professor Kate Welham of Bournemouth University said in a news release. "The results are very promising -- we may find something big in 2016." 
• 
  

Suspected Burglar Hides From Cops In Pond, Is Killed By Alligator

"He hid in the wrong place."

by Lee Moran

Trends Editor, The Huffington Post

A suspected burglar was killed by an alligator while hiding in a Florida pond to avoid arrest, police believe.

The body of Matthew Riggins, 22, was discovered floating in a lake in Barefoot Bay, Brevard County, on Nov. 23, according to multiple reports.

The lower sections of his legs and a part of one arm were missing, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

The 11-foot-long alligator was so ferocious it had to be euthanized by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trapper as Riggins' corpse was being recovered, according to Florida Today.

"He hid in the wrong place," local resident Laura Farris told Bay News 9.

Brevard County deputies were called to the locality on Nov. 13 after receiving reports of two men hiding behind homes, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Officers searched the area with the help of K-9 units and a sheriff’s helicopter.

Riggins, from Palm Bay, managed to evade capture and called his girlfriend to say he was being chased, according to the reports. He'd previously told her he was going to break into homes with another unidentified man.

The search for the pair proved unsuccessful and was later called off. Riggins was not heard from again, and his family reported him missing to the Palm Bay Police Department the following day, reports WFTV.

Maj. Tod Goodyear from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office told Bay News 9 that Riggins "probably went into the lake to hide from the officers and the dog, and came across that gator."

"To hide somewhere to try and get away, and then meeting up with an animal like that, no, I've never had that happen before," he added.

Riggins' alleged accomplice was arrested soon after, but is refusing to cooperate with deputies, according to WFTV.

You Can Now Study Pizza At College

Students won't just debate the merits of thin versus sausage

by 

Lee Moran

• Trends Editor, The Huffington Post

Love pizza? Then this college major will be as easy as pie.

Students in England will learn how to make the perfect pie as part of a new degree.

Manchester Metropolitan University has teamed up with the Pizza Hut restaurant chain to offer the course, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Candidates won't just be topping flatbread with tomato sauce and cheese before slamming it in the oven, or debating the merits of thin versus sausage crusts, however.

They'll also learn everything needed to run their own successful business, from health and safety aspects to financial analysis, according to the Express Star.

The news has gone down well with students on Twitter.

"Over the next few years we will work hard to provide our apprentices and team members with the best training and development so that we can equip them with skills for life, not just for working in a restaurant,” Pizza Hut's HR director Kathryn Austin said.

More than 1,500 students will be enrolled in the next five years. KFC and McDonald's also offer similar apprenticeships in the United Kingdom.

Other unconventional degree courses currently on offer in the U.K. include Ethical Hacking at the University of Abertay in Dundee and Baking Technology Management at London's South Bank University, reports the Evening Standard.

Father And Son Cooks Accused Of Stealing $40,000 Of Chicken Wings

Paul and Joshua Rojek allegedly took the wings from the restaurant they worked at.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say a father and son stole more than $40,000 worth of chicken wings from a New York restaurant where they worked and sold them on the street or to other businesses.

The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office says 56-year-old Paul Rojek and 33-year-old Joshua Rojek, both of Syracuse, were caught stealing wings from the Twin Trees Too Restaurant in Syracuse.

Deputies say both men were employed as cooks when they placed numerous chicken wing orders with the restaurant's wholesaler. Officials say the Rojeks would later pick up the orders and resell them at a reduced price.

Deputies say the men billed about $41,000 worth of wing orders to the restaurant's account between last February and Nov. 21.

Both have been charged with grand larceny and falsifying business records. It couldn't be determined if they have lawyers.

Too Shy To Pee In A Public Bathroom?

Courtesy of Plumbworld

Urine Luck

The Privi-Pee aims to make your fear of peeing in public go down the drain.

by Whitney Meers

Trends Writer, The Huffington Post

If you're a guy who freezes up when you're shoulder-to-shoulder with a stranger at a public urinal, the Privi-Pee may one day be your No. 1 solution.

This device, not yet commercially released, is designed to help men hide their goodies as they do their business.

Online bathroom retailer Plumbworld unveiled the Privi-Pee prototype after a company survey reflected the anxiety some have over public toilets. 

However, if these images look strange to you, please note that this device is still in its planning stages. And while many people agree that bathroom anxiety can be a serious issue, the company is not ruling out selling this product as a novelty item, too.

"We’re not sure when we’ll sell them yet, but we’re thinking about it being some sort of funny novelty product," Thomas Mulrooney, a Plumbworld marketing assistant, told The Huffington Post via email.

Mulrooney posted about the Privi-Pee in a Nov. 25 blog, explaining how the Plumbworld team invented the cover in an attempt to make public urination easier for the pee shy.

"The idea was based on a survey .... We found that 75 percent of male respondents said they would rather use a toilet cubicle/stall if a urinal adjacent to a free one was already occupied," Mulrooney said.

"Thirty percent said they got ‘stage fright’ when trying to urinate next to someone, which means that they couldn’t urinate at all."

When people suffer from paruresis, otherwise known as "shy bladder syndrome," they find it difficult or impossible to urinate in the presence of others, according to the International Paruresis Association website.

To use the Privi-Pee, a man must fasten the cape-like cover under his neck as he stands above the urinal. Suction cups at the end of the fabric adhere to the wall, creating a confined private space. 

The device fits inside a backpack. 

Daniel Cartland of Plumbworld tested the Privi-Pee and told Mulrooney's team he felt more comfortable using the urinal.

Members of the public who witnessed the testing found the concept a "genuinely funny idea," according to Mulrooney. "One man wondered if Daniel was some sort of bathroom superhero" because of the cape.

However, as fashion-forward and functional as it may seem, the Privi-Pee may not actually be all that effective in practice for those who struggle with a shy bladder.

"The problem is, people are concerned about other people paying attention to them, so if you pull out a cape, that is going to draw more attention to you," said Steve Soifer, CEO of the IPA and a University of Memphis professor.

Soifer also noted proximity is an issue, as people grow concerned when others are too close to them when they urinate.

"The product isn't useful for most people," he  said, adding that it could potentially help one in a thousand individuals.

Those having trouble overcoming the issue of public urination can consider cognitive behavioral psychology, a standard treatment in the field, to help them get over their fears, he said.

Businessman makes £6k a MONTH launching firm which sends POTATOES in the post

His girlfriend called it "the stupidest idea" she'd ever heard of, but this young Texas entrepreneur claims demand is soaring for potatoes scribbled on.

The Grannies Who Had Never Seen The Sea

By Alison Gee

BBC News Magazine
A group of elderly women from a village in the Italian Alps have returned home after their first holiday - which for most of them was the first time they had seen the sea, let alone put a toe in it.

Many of the women, as the Magazine reportedearlier this month, had never left the valley surrounding their village, Daone, until they set off on the 12-hour coach trip to the Croatian island of Ugljan.

"They were like little kids in a way, they were very emotional. They sang during all the trip," says Davide Valentini, who went along as part of a team making a documentary about the women.

"They played in the water and some of them, the most brave, literally jumped in the sea so it was a pretty intense emotion."

"As I saw the sea, the first thing I wanted to do was to put my foot in the water," says Iolanda Pellizzari, who at 73 was one of the youngest on the trip. "I'm not able to swim, but I felt a great sense of liberation."

"Despite the infirmities of age, swollen legs and the great heat, we will never forget the thrill of getting all together in the sea, holding hands," says Armida Brisaghella.

But what made the biggest impression on the women was a procession to celebrate the Madonna of the Snow.

The group chose Ugljan as a destination because the island has the Madonna of the Snow as its patron saint, just like their own village of Daone. On 5 August the islanders decorated a statue of the Madonna and took it by boat from one church to another.

"Taking part in the procession of the Madonna of the Snow and singing our hymn on the boat has been the strongest emotion I've ever experienced, after giving birth. I will never forget it," says Erminia Losa.

But although the funne, as they call themselves - the word for women in their local dialect - were treated like celebrities, not everything went smoothly.

"Sometimes they had issues with the food because they are not used to fish," says Valentini. "The Croatians wanted them to try all their beautiful fish so we had some problems."

Fortunately the women were prepared. "They had some polenta in their bags," Valentini reveals.

Many of the women had dreamed about a trip to the sea for years, but had never been able to afford it. An attempt to raise money by posing for a calendar came to nothing. In the end they resorted to crowd-funding - but were determined to send postcards to all their sponsors.

"It took us almost one entire day to personally write all the postcards," says Armida Brisaghella. "But every one of them deserved that. They made our dream possible and we are all extremely touched by the reaction of people." They sent nearly 200 postcards in all.

"One special postcard is the one they sent to the Pope," says Valentini. "When the whole crowd-funding thing happened they were called by Vatican Radio and they promised to send a postcard, so the very first one they wrote is the one to Pope Francis."

If they get invited to the Vatican next, the film will be called Funne 2, he jokes.

Reaction to the women in the world's media has been overwhelmingly positive, Valentini says, and a great help to the women in answering critics at home.

"People saw a story of hope and strength but what happened in their small village is the opposite, because these women are considered rebels so they needed to have the accomplishment of their mission to be recognised."

Katia Bernardi's documentaryFunne - sea dreaming girlswill be released at the start of 2016.