The History Hour - Norway’s sushi contribution and Laurel and Hardy’s Christmas
Download Norway’s sushi contribution and Laurel and Hardy’s Christmas
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.
We learn about how a Norwegian businessman brought salmon sushi to Japan in the 1980s.
Our guest is cookbook author Nancy Singleton Hachisu, who tells us more about the history of sushi in Japan and around the world.
We hear about the first opera written for TV in 1950s America and how U.S Marshalls used fake NFL tickets to capture some of Washington DC’s most wanted.
Plus, how disability rights campaigners in India led to a change in the law in 1995 and when Scotland played hockey in Germany during the cold war.
Finally, the story of when Laurel and Hardy spent Christmas at an English country pub.
Contributors:
Bjørn-Eirik – Norwegian businessman who brought salmon sushi to Japan
Nancy Singleton Hachisu – cookbook author
Archive of Gian Carlo Menotti – Italian composer
Stacia Hylton – former U.S Marshall
Javed Abidi – Indian disability rights campaigner
Archive of customers at The Bull Inn – the pub that Laurel and Hardy visited in 1953
Valerie Sinclair – member of Scotland's hockey team who played West Germany in 1961
(Photo: Japanese demonstration to Norwegian royal family. Credit: Bjørn-Eirik Olson)
Published on Saturday, 20th December 2025.
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