Cavalcata Sarda, the festival of beauty is held in the Sardinia city of Sassari, on the second last Sunday in May. Communities from all over the island come together and demonstrate their talents and skills. Sassari is the second largest city on the island of Sardinia and has its origins in the 12th century. In …
Category Archives: Europe
In Amsterdam’s Port, there are Sailors ….
The title for this post comes from the English translation of the first line of each verse of Jacques Brel’s “Amsterdam” that was released in 1964 in French. When the song was written it was supposed to be based on the port of Antwerp, but “Dans le port D’Anvers” did not fit the meter. We …
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From Bruges to Gent
In his 1961 hit song “Marieke”, the Belgian singer, Jacques Brel sings about a Flemish girl, Marieke, whom he once loved and lived “between the towers of Bruges and Gent. It is the only song where he sings both in his native French language and in Flemish. Towers played an important part in medieval life. …
Chariots of Fire
This edition we will be visiting the birthplace of the Greek composer Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou, otherwise known as Vangellis. He is probably best known in the UK as the composer of the soundtrack for the film “Chariots of Fire”. The 1981 film is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 …
Formentera Lady
Houses iced in whitewash guard a pale shore-lineCornered by the cactus and the pineHere I wander where sweet sage and strange herbs growDown a sun-baked crumpled stony road. These opening lyrics to the 1969 song “Formentera Lady” by British band, King Crimson helps to explain why many musicians have found inspiration on the tiny island …
Solsbury Hill
Solsbury Hill was written and performed by former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel. It was his debut single after his split from the band, and it is widely acknowledged that the song is about his thoughts around his decision to leave them. Solsbury Hill itself is a small flat-topped hill, that was once an iron age …
Porto
This official video for the track Porto by the French DJ and musician Kevin Rodrigues, who is better known as Worakls gives a really good flavour of the city of Porto. There are no lyrics the images say it all. Porto is the second largest city in Portugal and lies along the Douro River estuary …
Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
Jules Verne’s 1864 novel “Journey to the Centre of the Earth” tells the story of a German scientist and his nephew who believe that they can journey to the centre of the earth by descending into Iceland’s inactive volcano “Snæfellsjökull”. Snæfellsjökull can sometimes be seen from the Icelandic capital of Reykjavík, a distance of 120 …
Tenerife Sea
Ed Sheeran’s 2014 song “Tenerife Sea”, is a reference to the island of Tenerife which according to Sheeran, the blue colour of the sea, matched the colour of the eyes of his girlfriend at that time. Tenerife is the largest and most heavily populated of the Canary Islands which are located off the north-west coast …
Viva Malta
The track below is entitled Viva Malta and is performed by the Maltese singer Freddie Portelli. As well as writing songs and performing in a number of bands, Freddie represented his country at Waterpolo. The song is a patriotic one, written on his return to the island after a worldwide tour. The lyrics sing of …