Song of the Day: 'Pale' by Within Temptation

Heard this being played during the interlude between the support band and Magnum at Manchester Ritz in late April earlier this year, and, for the life of me, couldn't remember who it was. 

Then, I asked my good friend Simon Cusick if he knew who it was and he said that he thought it was one of the 'symphonic' bands I like, to which the penny dropped, it was Within Temptation at their very best.  Absolutely love this song.

Warsaw: The Sleeping Lovers' Motif

Love this sleeping lovers' motif which has turned up outside the small kiosks (small newsagent-type huts) in Warsaw this summer. This motif just kind of offers an uplift whenever I see it around the city.

Horse and Carriage Going through Warsaw Citadel

Was a little shocked to see this scene of a horse and carriage passing through Warsaw Citadel yesterday.  Only had my mobile with me, unfortunately, so the shot isn't the best in the world, but, still, it almost has a watercolour-type effect. 

Warsaw Old Town Street Theatre

Was out for a quick drink with my friend Tom last Friday evening, and came across this interesting street theatre in the 'New Town Square' of Warsaw Old Town:

There was some kind of esoteric-type music playing, and a large crowd of people were watching the mainly young performers:

This particular street theatre was also making frequent use of shop window dummies:

Was nice to run into this kind of thing while out for a gentle stroll through the Old Town.

Song of the Day: 'Dry Land' by Marillion

For a couple of days, this wonderful tune was buzzing round my head, cheering me up when the underground was overcrowded (or when I was experiencing something similarly annoying). 

Then suddenly, it just occurred to me:  "It's 'Dry Land' by Marillion!".  This is how my mental jukebox operates:  sometimes I'm fully conscious of the tunes buzzing round there, and other times only half conscious of them, as I may've not played or heard them for a long time.

With 'Dry Land', it was a case of playing it for the first time in ages a few days before, and then the beautiful melodies of the song were magically buzzing round my head a few days later.  This is the beauty of the mental jukebox.

Warsaw: Back with the Streetlamp Motif

Back with the streetlamp motif here.  Warsaw has lots of beautiful streetlamps, although these two are dominated by an interesting sky in the background.

Warsaw: The Lazienki Chopin Concert (at 4pm on Sunday 29th June)

At 4pm on Sunday 29th June 2014, I finally got round to seeing one of the Sunday afternoon Chopin concerts in Lazienki Park:

According to the schedule below, the pianist was Elzbieta Karaś-Krasztel who was fantastic:

Many particularly younger people just came to the event to lie on the grass and  relax to the music:

Before each piece of music, the compere below explained (in Polish and English) what it was:

Of course, after each piece of music and especially at the end, the extremely talented pianist  took fully deserved rounds of applause: