"Caros audiophiles, I have this last week been celebrating my 50th birthday. Actually I am still buzzing inside. Several days of dinner parties and champagne, pub lunches and theatre with friends, and a big family dinner, people arriving from Portugal and Belgium as well as England. For a few days I became the centre of attention, and felt privileged, appreciated and loved.
Of course, everybody who has reached this 'etapa' (hopefully not my 'meta') knows that 50 is really the new 30. We do not feel middle aged. Anyway, it seems a significant point in life to reflect on past achievements, and regrets, and to think of fresh hopes and to set new ambitions.
I am currently creating a list of "50 Things To Do @ 50": some are very personal goals, others are fun new challenges like skydiving and scuba diving and running a half marathon, some are philanthropic such as volunteering work for a social needs or environmental charities, others are learning new skills such as playing the piano and dancing the tango and magic tricks and creative mosaic, and writing a book or a film screenplay, and some others are travel destinations like Iceland Antarctica and Aurora Borealis.
Some friends have suggested that I compile a list of my 50 Favourite Films (and then watch them all again)...well, this could be an interesting topic of discussion at dinner parties.
I have an idea also to compile my 50 Favourite Songs, and then send them to all my friends as a CD gift. This is proving to be a problem: how can I choose just 50? Every day/week, depending on my mood, I can choose almost a completely different list, from pop/rock/jazz/folk/blues/classical/opera genres!
But gradually I am realising that there are some songs or pieces of music that, whatever my mood, are essential to my well-being or which mean something to my psyche or my musical development through the years.
Some of these I have already posted to this blog during the past 18 months. I am sure I will post some others in the future.The song I present today has to be in my top 50, because it carries a sentiment in the words that always resonates with me. If I have a passion in life, then probably it is music:
Music was my first love and it will be my last,
music of the future, and music of the past.
To live without my music would be impossible to do,
because in this world of troubles
my music pulls me through.
A proxima.
PO
10 comentários:
Well, P, what can I say? ... Beautiful and generous text, song ok - although a landmark in my life too (for different reasons). Happy 50's! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. pcp
So, pcp, we cats are of course now curious about your different reasons why this was a landmark song!?!?
Speaking of cats, apparently Pope Gregory IX denounced them as diabolical and so they were persecuted for many decades; as a result, when the Black Death Plague arrived from the Far East there were not enough cats to keep the rat population down, and so human food storage was severely affected; consequently the Plague became a terrible epidemic. In England it is estimated that 20-50%of the population died. Was Portugal badly affected, or did the Moors like cats? PO
Well, P, it is a landmark song because it reminds me of the first years in which I started to go out at night! And I used to go out with a group of friends who happened to love this song and kept on playing it (to my occasional annoyance) ... I hardly see them nowadays, but when I think of this song, my mind goes back to when I was 14-15-16... Nice years, those were! As for the bubonic plague, I don't have specific figures, but we were badly affected, yes. However, we did not have any Moors with us anymore. They were all in the South of Spain! Don't you know that Portugal has the oldest stabilized frontiers in the whole of Europe? Since 1249!!! Bjs. pcp
pcp, thank you for sharing your nostalgic annoyance of this song! ... How do you define 'stabilised'? I believe the borders of England, Scotland, Wales have not changed since the
11th Century. Maybe you refer to continental Europe? PO
I told you before, P! I find this song OK, not terrific! I love your musical taste in general, I admire your immense musical knowledge, but, I'm sorry, I don't ADORE all your choices! But I am sure others do, I am the odd one out. As for the stabilised borders: yes, don't know about you lot, but in Continental Europe, that's the case...Bjs. pcp
Philip, Dear Philip,
Thanks for all that you gave to us - you are a generous person, and yet I know that you don't realize that. Yes, perhaps that sometimes you may hurt people, never happened to me though. I like your comments, even when they are provocative - it puts the monotony away:)
Bjs e de novo muitos parabéns!
pcp, there is no need to be defensive about your musical likes / dislikes. I was not attacking or trying to provoke you. I am sure you are not alone in not liking my choices sometimes. After all, most of the time very few readers /listeners leave any comment at all. PO
Philip: I know of many people who like, more than your choices, your musical knowledge. Very few readers leave their comments. It's true with you, with me, with the rest of the bloggers. After all, I'm the owner of the space and I often leave any comment at all. How rude of me...
Hi PO, welcome to the club (50's, I mean) it doesn't hurt a bit, so you don't have to be afraid.... just relax and be happy. May I suggest you include in your 50-items-list doing something really wild and unexpected, like kissing 50 totally strangers young women on the street.... lololol
Happy birthday.
Maf
Oh my goodness, MAF, perhaps you should be at the front of the queue?! I promise it won't hurt a bit!! Mmmm, PO
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