The unloved....

At my breakfast table this morning with my two guests, our conversation somehow meandered towards the subject of 'love'! And I flippantly quoted something I heard in some melodramatic Malay film that "the most difficult person to love is the person you love most!". Well, that had a sudden impact on one of my guests; did I hit a nail? Maaf la!

But worst than that must surely be to be trapped in love, to love someone and not be loved in return. Or to be in a loveless marriage. What can be more painful than to be in a marriage, to have children together, needy of your love, and yet not to love each other - or one is not in love with the other! I believe there are couples who go through this, worst still if the husband is the philandering sort and the wife just cannot get out of the marriage for the sake of the children or for fear of the stigma of being divorced etc. How sad and painful that must be!

A man is lucky if he is the first love of a woman,
A woman is lucky if she is the last love of a man…

Another quotation on love I like very much is:
"Give your heart to another person and he/she will break it.
Give your broken heart to God and He will heal it!"

Alhamdullilah, always grateful for all the love (whatever) surrounding me!

PS: To all men, I would say how mistaken they are when they think they stop falling in love when they grow old, without realising that they grow old when they stop falling in love...
Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Of wrist-slitting days and art auctions

After many days of what a friend described as 'wrist-slitting' weather (dark and grey, cold, wet and oh so depressive), the sun is finally out albeit it is so cold! It's mid November and there are still red and golden leaves in some trees in my garden. And my rose bush is still green, with many huge buds which will not open into full blooms as the weather is just too cold. Alain came yesterday and swept all the fallen leaves from the lawn. I actually like them on the ground though! He also put in hundred of tulip bulbs in the ground and they will come out in April. The boys are out - one for his 'bharata natyam' Indian classical dance class, and the other window-shopping or with his friends (I am never privy!). I will join Diana latter for an art auction - there are three paintings I want to bid for. Yesterday one of my paintings I put up for auction made 70% of the maximum price estimate! Not bad - I can now buy that gold Omega De Ville! I have had that painting for 21 years and there is no way I can hang it in my house when I am back in Malaysia due to its subject! Gunawan was with me at the auction and he could not get over that a small 14th century painting was sold at CH57,ooo (about RM175,000). I kept reminding him that it was from the 14th century and the maximum estimate price was actually CH90,000. So it was not such a good sale after all (not as good as my 70% at least)!

I invited four Malaysian officials attending a meeting here to dinner in my house last night and two did not show up and did not even have the courtesy to inform me! What is happening to manners among Malaysians? One of the guests who showed up, pleasant as he was, dressed so badly - in a short-sleeved collared t-shirt, wearing a 'kopiah' (white skull cap) on his head! And he was attending an international meeting! What signal/impression was he trying to make?

A friend from Holland arrives tomorrow for a short visit until I leave for Spain on Friday for a week's holiday to spend Hari Raya Haji with my friend there, and also to celebrate his birthday. He has lined up a good programme for me with visits to Salamanca, Toledo, Segovia and Valencia and I am looking forward to be away from future possible 'wrist-slitting' weather here!

My days in this wonderful country are numbered I guess. Soon it will be time to head home. So while I can I am going to travel as much as I can. December to Yemen with Fadzil, as I had promised him when he was badly recovering from his heart operation in February.

I hope I get those three paintings at the auction today!

Kartina Dahari again

Exactly a year ago I posted a write up on Kartina Dahari and it seems to be one of the most read postings in this blog. I also had a few days before that uploaded on YouTube a video I made for her song 'Seruling Senja' recorded in 1976, using photos I took of the scenes of early autumn around the river behind my house. That video was for a long time the most viewed of Kartina Dahari's videos on Youtube, having reached almost half a million (495,0130) hits to date (17/07//2011)!

Kartina Dahari's Facebook indicates that her birthday is on 12 November (today) - so HAPPY BIRTHDAY Biduanita Kartina Dahari! God bless and thank you for the songs!

See video : http://youtu.be/m14xWc3mqig

5 March 2012 - Kartina 's videos on YouTube have reached 713,784 views and the figure keeps climbing. Her most popular video today is ' Budi Setahun Segunung Intan' with over 175,000 hits, having so quickly overtaken over 'Seruling Senja' which has now reached almost 40,000 hits.

Autumn Sunday morning - of Prokofiev & Beethoven

I woke up very early yesterday fully-sated by only just over six hours of sleep (must be the age). My two boys were still fast asleep so I would not be getting my breakfast for sometime yet. The autumn sun was just peeking out and I decided to go for a walk by the river behind my house. I took my camera along and was happily shooting dozens of pictures in that amazing light and colours until the sun suddenly disappeared behind the clouds. My hands were freezing from the cold morning air but I got some beautiful pictures nevertheless.

Sunday morning now and it's wet and the sun is playing hide and seek. I went for a short walk after breakfast and took a few more pictures (must get another camera!) and returned home as it was just too cold and I was rather under dressed.

A friend is taking the boys out to a matinee of the Prokofiev's ballet 'Romeo and Juliet'. I thought for a second if I should join them. But I have seen the very same ballet at the London Convent Garden many years ago with Rudolf Nureyev no less in it, and I did not want to spoil my memory by what would certainly be an amateurish local production -I sat through 90 minutes of a wishy-washy performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis on Thursday in the same concert hall, and that was enough for now!

Tom Jones in Zurich

I had the pleasure of watching the legendary Tom Jones at a concert in Zurich last night. And what a treat that was, worthy of that almost two hour drive in the pouring rain.

For a 69-year old Mr Jones was still full of energy, charisma and sex-appeal, and had the very same voice I used to listen to in my school days some 40 years ago! Not once did he lose a beat or forgot his lyric during the 90 minutes non-stop concert and the 12 minutes encore. How phenomenal!

His warm friendly banters with the audience were well-received. The strong crowd, clapped, cheered and danced especially to the familiar songs. He interspersed his repertoire with songs from his new album '24 Hours' with his well-known hits like Delilah, Thunderball, I'll Never Fall In Love Again (which was as powerful and dramatic as when I saw him perform it in 'The Dusty Springfield Show' some forty years ago) and others.

My favourite segment was the 'country and western' one when he sang a soulful rendition of Jim Reeves' 'He'll Have To Go', his evergreen 'The Green, Green, Grass of Home' and my favourite 'Save The Last Dance For Me' in a most catchy and danceable tempo with only stand-up musical accompaniment.

Yes Mr Jones, do save your last dance for us.

Bravo, bravo, bravissimmo!