29/07/2006
First Day
It was 11.30 a. m. and we all were at Brindisi airport with our families waiting to check in our luggage.
Exactly at 12.45 a. m. we left and after a hour we were at the Linate airport of Milan.
When our flight was called we had to wait. We had a problem with the police because of two students who are not of Italian nationality.
Finally at 5.00 p. m. we arrived at Heathrow airport. We went to Queen Mary College by bus. When we arrived there we were given the keys of our rooms and after having a shower we decided to have dinner out. We ate kebab in a Turkish fast-food. At last we returned to the college and went to bed.

30/07/2006
Second Day
We were so exited that morning. We woke up early and after having a very good breakfast at the college canteen we went to bye our travel cards. We also had lunch at the college canteen. In the afternoon we visited Piccadilly Circus and had dinner at Porter’s Restaurant near Convent Garden. After having a walk we returned to our college.

31/07/2006
Third Day
That morning the weather was windy and the sky was cloudy. However we went to a post office in Liverpool Street to change our money and to buy the international phone cards so we could call our families. Then we had lunch at the college canteen and afterwards we went to visit Tower of London and Tower Bridge. It was wonderful!!! We had dinner at Liverpool Street and in the end returned to Mile End.

01/08/2006
Fourth Day
After having breakfast at college we went to East Ham, to New Ham College of Further Education and there we met Mrs. Joyce Damato and Mr. Taylor. We were very pleased to meet them. Together we discussed about Fair Trade. When we had the break we went to Cafédirect, which is on the ground floor of the college.
Cafédirect is the UK’s largest Fairtrade hot drinks company; it was formed in 1991 to provide a fairer deal for coffee growers. Cafédirect puts 86% of its profits back into tailor-made Producer Partnership Programme (PPP) initiatives to support a wide range of activities.
At the heart of its inspiration has been the principle of establishing direct relationships with farmers, demonstrating an alternative approach to trading which balances the business of making lives better. It is a way of working that benefits everyone.
Millions of people around the world depend on global trade; many are small farmers or plantation workers who are poor because they receive an unfair share of the benefits of trade. The aim of Cafédirect is to see Fair Trade become a widespread business practice. Cafédirect sell a lot of fair trade products like coffee, tea, chocolate:

Coffee
Coffee is the fifth most widely traded commodity in the world. Many of the estimated 20 million people who are involved in growing coffee beans live in extreme poverty; this is because small producers rarely have direct access to the international markets and sell their coffee at local level. Since the collapse of the International Coffee Agreement in 1989, there has been no means of supporting coffee prices. Now, with extremely low world coffee prices Cafédirect’s work is more important than ever.
Tea
In 1991 world tea production levels stood at 2,847,000 tonnes. The UK tea market in 2001 was worth £ 523.6 million with 72% of the UK Population regularly drinking tea. The tea is traded in a variety of ways but is most commonly sold by auction. Tea prices fluctuate according to the time of year, availability, quality and demand.
Instead, the tea in Teadirect is bought direct from the producers and not from auctions.
At lunch time we went to Miller’s Pub. In the afternoon we spent our free time shopping. We had dinner at the college canteen.

02/08/2006
Fifth Day
We went again to New Ham College then with Mr. Taylor we visited Supermarkets in East Ham looking for Fair Trade Products.
We had lunch at Miller’s Pub and then we went to visit a Fair Trade Shop in London
Ganesha
…Ganesha, which has a shop in London as well as whole sale and mail order businesses describes its product range as “fabulous furnishings and eclectic accessories co-operatively produced in India”. The company is a member of the British Association for Fair Trade for Peace and it adheres to strict ethical and environmental guidelines. Many of Ganesha’s products are sourced from small village co-operatives and women’s groups in India.
Everything at this colourful little shop is fairly traded, and many items are made from recycled goods. Ganesha has recently branched out, and now includes two neighbouring shops selling accessories and clothes. Among the beautiful stock are paper made bowls (from £ 7.99) produced by the Wola Nani project in Cape Town, which gives an income to women living with HIV, and mats from Dakar, Senegal, woven from recycled plastic (£ 10-£ 30). Also for sale are colourful hats, bed linen, Bollywood CDs, and notebooks made of recycled carrier-bag covers. Ganesha imports fair trade textiles and artefacts sourced from co-operatives and cottage industries all over India. It also features an extensive, unusual collection of hand-produced home furnishings from the simple to the extravagant, and an eclectic range of artefacts from natural materials, leaf plates, reed mattresses and items made from reused/recycled post-consumer waste. Most things are sourced at origin, supporting local and rural economies and are so attractive that the shop is regularly featured in design magazines. We also interviewed to the shopkeeper.

We had dinner at college and since we were very tired we went to bed early.

03/08/2006
Sixth day
Even if we had not to go to New Ham College we decided to work anyway. Some of us made a survey at Mile End zone. The others elaborated the data of our Italian surveys. After having lunch at the college we went to Camden town and to Marks & Spencers looking for fair trade products as usual. In the end we went to Oxford Street, to Soho and for dinner we ate in a Chinese Restaurant there.

04/08/2006
Seventh Day
It was a very interesting day because we visited New Ham College of Further Education. We had lunch with Mr. Taylor at Miller’s Pub.
In the afternoon we went to see The Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Then some of us went for a walk to Tower Bridge, the others remaining there.

05/08/2006
Eighth Day
It was Saturday, the weather was good so we went to St. James’s Park. We saw the changing of The Royal Guards at Buckingham Palace. Then some of us went to visit Westminster Cathedral and Abbey and others went to buy a gift for one of our friend. We had lunch in a pub near Westminster Abbey. In the afternoon because of a demonstration against the war in Lebanon we couldn’t go to The London Eye. As planed we went to Piccadilly Circus shopping. In the evening we celebrated Miriam’s 18th birthday.


06/08/2006
Ninth Day
It was Sunday so we could get up late. Since the college canteen was closed we had lunch at Liverpool Street and then we met Mr. Taylor. Together we visited two markets looking for fair trade products.
Around 6.00 p. m. finally we managed to go to The London Eye. It was great!!!
In the evening we had dinner at Leicester Square and when we returned to college we ate Miriam’s birthday cake.

07/08/2006
Tenth Day
That was a day of very intensive work. We all tried to complete our project-work. So we stayed at the college and had lunch and dinner there.

08/08/2006
Eleventh Day
In the morning after having breakfast we went to Leytonstone to visit Tesco Supermarket with Mr. Taylor and there we looked for fair trade products and we also talked with one of the people in charge of the supermarket’s fruit and vegetable department. Then we went to have lunch in a pub and in the afternoon we returned to the college.

09/08/2006
Twelfth Day
In the morning instead of the underground we took the bus and went to visit Hyde Park. There we had a walk and at lunch time we went to eat at an Angus Steak House. After lunch we went shopping on Oxford Street and Carnaby Street. In the evening we returned to the college.

10/08/2006
Thirteenth Day
In the morning we went to Stratford and there we met up with Mr. Taylor. With him we went to another part of New Ham College and there we met an expert on Fair Trade and we talked to her. After a couple of hour we decided to return to the college and in the afternoon we went to visit a fair trade local street market.

11/08/2006
Fourteenth Day
On the last day but one we completed our project-work and we were free to go out if we wanted to.

12/08/2006
Fifteenth Day
On the last day the weather was bad so we remained in the college and packed our suitcases. And since it rained, in the evening we decided to spend the last night in the college

13/08/2006
Sixteenth Day
This was what we could call a very stressful day! We arrived in Milan airport at 8:30 p. m. after having spent the whole day at Heathrow airport, but our plane was late because of bad weather. So we took it at 11:45 p. m. and we arrived in Brindisi airport at 01:00 a. m. Home sweet home!!! All in all it was a very wonderful experience!!!