My adoration of music

I always find it amazing how much music moves me. I know that may sound corny but I'm writing this sat on a flight to Southampton listening to my iPod and in the space of 3 songs I've been back to my teens, then to my uni days and then to my mid twenties. It only takes a few notes of a song to transport me back to a particular time in my life, or a particular place.

Music can massively affect my mood and can turn me from feeling somewhat down trodden to smiling and remembering the fun times in my life. Of course, it also has the opposite effect and can make me feel quite melancholy in some respects.

Seven Nation army has just kicked in my iPod..... I'm 21 again, skipping down my university hall corridor singing 'I'm going to Wichita'! I thought at the time that it was a fab line, and I still do. It's something about the way he pronounces the word 'Wichita' I think. One of my best friends has this memory of me too and it never fails to raise a smile from us.

An ex of mine used to tease me about the fact that I'd have a story or association with almost every song, but I do. My family is very musical...

Alice Cooper's Poison is on now. I'm about 7 years old, sitting on my grandparents bed listening to my older sisters Million Dollar Babies album on vinyl. Martika Toy Soldiers has the same association!

But back to my families musicality. My father has sung in choirs since I can remember and I used to go along as a child. To this end there are a lot of traditional songs that invoke very strong memories of my childhood, On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at being one!

I have two older sisters and all three of us girls were made to learn an instrument at school. Mine started with the recorder, much to my unhappiness. I'd hidden the letter from the school from my dad as I didn't want to learn it, but they sent a reminder and I didn't have the common sense to hide this too....I was only 6 or 7 after all! I remember him sitting me down in the garden of my grandparents house and telling me how he believed that learning an instrument enhanced a persons musical awareness. I remember thinking that I really didn't care a jot at the time, but 22 years later, the conversation has stayed with me, and he was spot on. I progressed from the recorder to the trumpet, and although I enjoyed it initially I soon tired of it, I was a teenager by then and well, frankly, I had better things to do with my time! I changed schools at 14 and took up the trumpet in the new school, partly because my grandad had bought me a trumpet for my birthday. It's a truly beautiful instrument, with very ornate and stunning decoration on the bell. But, and I'm slightly sorry to say this, my heart just wasn't in it and I soon put the trumpet down, never to pick it up again. It's still at my dads, in its lovely leather case, gathering dust in the loft. I need to sell it to a good home really, to someone who'd give it the care and attention I never did.

But even though I was never really that interested in taking the instruments I learnt further, I can still read sheet music and have, what I think, is a good ear for music. I can pick up pitch and tone, and i can hold a tune relatively well. But beyond this, when I listen to music, I pick up on a myriad of things in the song or piece I'm listening to. I can't just listen to the lyrics, a song is so much more than that for me.

As kids we used to go to Scotland a lot on holiday, and we used to listen to Jeff Wayne's War of The Worlds. When I was a teen I bought the cd knowing I knew it from my childhood, and the first time I listened to it when I was that bit older, well, it blew me away. For those of you that don't know it, I recommend you source a copy, set aside a few hours and listen to it, end to end. I guarantee you'll know some music from it, and you may well know the story, it is a classic after all. But the musical itself is amazing. It's so unbelievably evocative and descriptive, it's a work of pure genius in my opinion. It sends shivers down my spine whenever I hear it, and I must have listened to it a thousand times throughout my life. I'll never tire of it and I'll pass it onto my children.

The second track has a spoken description of an alien rising from a ship, then the music kicks in and the description you've just heard is brought to life, the music is the alien. The melody rises and falls and is all gloopy and clumsy, like the alien it describes. (I realise that anyone reading this will be thinking I'm off my rocker now, but honestly, once you hear it, you'll understand how descriptive the music is!) I went to see the live show of the musical last year, with a full orchestra playing the music, and it moved me to tears. Again, corny, but that's how much I can be affected by music, especially live music.

Disney's Fantasia is a fabulous example of how descriptive music can be. Beethoven's pastoral symphony being a key one for me. I remember listening to it as a child and my dad telling me about the rabbits playing in the sunshine, then the thunder coming and all the animals running away. Years later when I watched Fantasia, everything he said made sense.Music really can paint a picture and tell a tale, even without lyrics.

My dad was 60 last year and my sisters and I bought him an MP3 player, pre loaded with songs & music from our childhood that reminded us of him. There was all sorts on there; Abba, Chopin, Thin Lizzy, Adam and the Ants and War of the Worlds to name a few. Every song made me smile as it brought memories of my childhood flooding back.

But as I said earlier, music can make me quite melancholy.

Robbie Williams Angels is one, and before you all roll your eyes, hear me out!! My grandad bought me the album for my 16th birthday, but died 5 days later. The whole album reminds me of my grandad really, but that song still brings a lump to my throat.

Kylie and Jason, All I Wanna Do brings mixed feelings. It reminds me of being a kid and being with my sisters, but it also reminds me of my stepfathers funeral. My eldest sister had found the tape the day before and played it in the car to me and my other sister whilst driving to my mums. We were all smiling at the memories, but we were all also upset because of the day it was.

I have a massive appreciation for music, both modern and classical. I have rather eclectic tastes and have everything from Marilyn Manson and Eminen to Abba and Lady Gaga in my music collection. I'll listen to pretty much anything and am always open to new artists or pieces.

Music plays a huge part in my life and it's an appreciation I'll certainly pass onto my children.

But I've waffled on enough, I'm off to immerse myself in War of the Worlds on my way home from Dublin Airport. Prob not too much of a wise idea, seeing as it's dark, quite late and I get scared easily.....uuuuuuuulaaaaahhhh! (You'll understand when you listen to WOTW. Seriously, find it!!)

Much love.

X

Teasing buses!

What is with people and buses? There'll be 12 of you at a bus stop and the right bus approaches for 5 of them, one puts their arm out and the bus starts to indicate......but, just in case the bus is just teasing them and will not really pull in, the other 4 people put their arm out too. Do they thing that the bus driver will stop to let one on, then move to the next person and pick them up and so on? What's the point of more than one person flagging the bus down, esp once the bus is indicating to show it's pulling in? Is there any need? Really, is there?
My morning bus is full of school kids, and I mean full. About 50 of the beggars pile off at one stop half way through the journey. All the people standing up on the bus move to fill the seats downstairs and a few upstairs. But what gets me me is that the people waiting at the bus stop for all the kids to pile off, get on the bus but seeing the downstairs bit is full....just stand up! They've just seen LOADS of kids get off the bus from upstairs so they know there are seats, so why not take them?! Why stand up, crowding the bus when there is no need because there are seats upstairs?! Come on people!!

Walking to work t'other day and was getting seriously fecked off with the rain. It would spit, then stop then spit some more, then stop. I was fed up of putting my brolly up and down every 2 minutes like something out of Mary Poppins so I just gave it up as a bad job and put the umbrella away. My hair's curly anyway so it's no real bother if it gets wet. But no sooner had I put the umbrella away, it started to rain, hard. I was optimistic and thought "Ah sure, it'll stop in a minute..." but it carried on.....and I got wetter......finally sucummbed and got my brolly out.....and it fucking stopped!!!! Excuse my language there but I was less than impressed! I need to invest in a proper waterproof coat so I just have a hood to negotiate. Bloody Irish weather.

I'm a great lover of music and couldn't live without my iPod. Music can change my mood instantly and always continues to propel me back to a specific place or time with such clarity that I sometimes find myself getting quite emotional. I've had an interesting week for various reasons and something has happened that's affected me quite profoundly. I swear my iPod is psychic because it keeps giving me songs that take are linked to the event that's happened. It's almost provided some closure though, and I've listened to the songs as they've shuffled through, having a bit of a smile to myself about things that have passed but at the same time moving on. I'm a very emotional person, always have been and I tend to live my life through music. I was made a lovely mixed CD recently (very retro I know!) of songs I'd never heard. These songs have become part of my musical loves now and will always make me smile with nice memories of the person who gave them to me.

Right, well I'm off to pack for my week away at home in the UK. Off to Most Haunted Live on Saturday, proper looking forward to that. I'm genuinely intrigued to find out whether it's all set up or not. Watch this space!

Keep Smiling!

x

Greenfly, Rainbows and Buses!

Well, hi there. Not really sure where to start with this, I only decided this afternoon to start a blog so this is a bit off the cuff! I've been told a few times that I should write a book about the events in my life, and I don't quite have the inclination for that but I think I can manage to keep this up! What do I want to get out of this? Well, I suppose I want to share my various experiences as an English Girl living in Dublin, alongside my pet hates, grievances and random rants! Whether anyone will read or follow this is another matter, but I can but try!

Life in Dublin can be very interesting, I've been here almost 3 years now and I'm still surprised by some of the stuff I experience. Now in fairness, not all of the stuff I encounter is Irish specific, but this being the first city I've lived in it seems heightened somehow!

It always amazes me how much Dublin grinds to a halt when it rains. For a city that seems to experience a fair bit of rain, you'd expect that the inhabitants would be used to a bit of wet every now and then. Apparently not! I woke up this morning to driving rain and crawling traffic on the road into work. What a joyful journey.....at least I wasn't soaked by a passing car like I was last week! Merrily walking along singing away to my iPod when whoosh, a wave of water hits me full on. It was a true comedy moment, I swore very loudly whilst kind of half crouched down, dripping with water as the car sped on its merry way! Then I laughed, straightened up and carried on my way to work, giggling to myself for most of the journey actually whilst obviously soaked to the bone, getting a few funny looks from passers by! Figured there was nothing I could do but laugh, I knew the guys in work would laugh when I told them so I may as well beat them to it! Well, I did have one wet bum cheek and one dry one, quite obviously so! I think I dried off about lunchtime....!

And what's with all the greenfly around at the moment?! I seem to end up covered in them on my way home on an evening now, shouldn't they all have died out now? Or maybe they're just hanging around to piss me off. Tonight I failed to notice that the bus shelter had a fair few of the buggers on it and leant on it as normal, trying to look nonchalant whilst waiting for the bus....well, every car that seems to go by has a good nosy at the people at the bus stop, I feel very exposed! Then there's the people on the actual buses that stop at the bus stop, all having a good gawk at the people still waiting for their bus. I suppose I should just stare them out but I don't, although I may do going forward.....I'll try it and let you know how I get on! Anyway, I digress, back to the greenfly. I notice a little fellow casually walking across my chest, so I flick him off, then I spot another on my arm, so I flick him off too. Only then do I take stock of the bus shelter I'm leant on and realise there's lots of greenfly on it, now happily transferring themselves to me! I now start a frenzied attack on said greenfly on my person, flicking away like a woman possessed and stomping my feet to get the hitchhikers off my trousers. This procures some rather funny looks from the people round me and I swear to god one women actually took a step away from me! I spent the rest of my journey home paranoid that I was still infested and couldn't shake off that tickly feeling, in fact it's back now as I write this, arrggh!

On the upside, I get off the bus to an absolutely gorgeous rainbow, a full one too, clear as anything against the blue sky, it makes me smile as I wait to cross the road to home. Watching the ever present game of "will I risk crossing now whilst the lights are red or will I wait till the green man in case the lights changes as I'm halfway across..." of everyone around me. I play this game myself and today decide I'll wait for the green man. The girls on the opposite side of the road don't and start to cross whilst immersed in an apparently thrilling conversation before being blasted loudly by the bus' horn as they dawdle across the road as the lights turn green, then seem surprised as to the drivers reaction! Lets not get me started on ranting about this, that's for another time!

Wow, writing this has been strangely therapeutic! I could get used to this! Until next time my friends.....take it easy!