Takarazuka special performance.

Takarazuka special performance.

Takarazuka special performance.

A cynical city dweller returns to his hometown to sell his family home, but becomes unexpectedly nostalgic.

Mauritius wants to make it to the 2014 FIFA World Cup(TM). Well, if we could with our national football team, it would have been a dream come true. But until our football gets to shape to face such a competition, we'll have to find other ways to keep the enthusiasm of our football supporters in Mauritius alive.

Andrew O'Hagan looks at a critical point in the life of Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac. In 1956 he spent spent 63 soul-searching days as a fire-watcher on Washington state's Desolation Peak. After this stint he was never the same creative force again.

This Traveltalk series short visits three cities in Mexico. We start in the village of San Miguel de Allende, known for its churches. A monastery has been converted to a school of arts. The second stop is Queréaro, where a 5-mile-long aqueduct built hundreds of years ago is still functional. It was near this city that Emperor Maximilian was executed in 1867. Then it is on to Monterrey, the large industrial city whose nickname is the Pittsburgh of Mexico. Here are steel mills, other factories, and the largest brewery in Latin America.

Takarazuka special performance.

Special performance.

Model Reiko Higa is injured after being hit by a car pursued by motorcycle cop Tomishima. Tomishima's supervisor refuses his request to apologize to Reiko, as it would be an admission of police responsibility. Forced to give up her career, Reiko leaves Tokyo to return to her hometown on Okinawa, travelling by road up to Kagoshima, and Tomishima pursues her in order to apologize.