On the Stage

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Sunday night we spent at the Mediterranean Conference Center in Valletta, to listen to……Ben Portsmouth, “The World’s Number One Elvis Tribute Artist” who for the first time visited Malta. Above, some images from the intro of the show. Below, the artist himself.I usually never shoot under these lighting conditions, thus the quality is not the best.

But most important, it was a great night, taking a walk down memory lane. Good old tunes and also a bit challenging to try to take pictures of the artist and his band on the stage. Click on an images to enlarge.
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In August 2012, Ben Portsmouth made history when he won the Elvis Presley Enterprises ‘Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest’ which took place in Memphis, crowning Ben as the ‘Worldwide Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist’, the only artist from outside the USA to ever win this prestigious title.
There was only one Elvis but Ben is the closest you will ever get in terms of Elvis’s looks, his singing voice and on stage charisma. Hope you enjoyed!

At the End of the Road

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“At the end of the road is the beginning of a new adventure““Life is a journey, not a destination”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson –

Frank Jansen’s Tuesday Photo Challenge – Road

The Beauty of Thistles

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“If your thoughts is a rose, you are a rose garden; and if it is a thistle, you are fuel for the fire”
– Rumi –

“All my life I’ve tried to pluck a thistle and plant a flower
wherever the flower would grow in thought and mind”
– Abraham Lincoln –“Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it”
– Confucius –

Dog life

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My lovely Fanny! Here she completely ignores me while looking for something exciting to play with.

She loves to play hide and seek in the hight grass.Exhausted after running very fast. She needs to run a lot to feel happy and satisfied, like all hunting dogs.Although she turns two in July she still acts like a puppy.
She knows that chewing on a slipper is totally forbidden!

Looks like Fanny whispers a secret in the other dog’s ear and then sniffs where there is nothing to find.Do not disturb me when I play with my best friend Kimbo. We are both of the same breed originally bred in Africa. We are very intelligent and tough dogs and are often nicknamed the “barkless dog”. Guess why…?  …because we belong to the very few breeds in the whole world that do not bark.
Other basenji may yodel or howl when they are excited but I’m very quiet.
Besides that I’m also playful, cuddly and I needs a lot of love, which I also give back.
💖💖💖💖💖

Delicata’s Art Exhibition – 10 artists, 10 barrels…

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Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit an exciting art exhibition in Valletta. The exhibition was organized by the Delicata winery which is the most awarded winery of Malta with over 100 international awards. Ten artists were collectively exhibiting their so called ‘bettija’rt’, which is an artwork made from a decommissioned wine barrel or ‘bettija’ as they are called in Maltese.

Some of the works explore unconventional techniques such as multi-patterned paintings with shape and line being driving forces. For the majority of artists, the use of color is important and often explosive. In some cases, color has been stripped away, leaving the barrel bare but covered with ingenuity and hard graft. Each finished piece reflects “the joys of wine, art and good living in Malta today and through the ages”. The following artists participated:
Surrealist Joseph Barbara.
Talented painter and model Claire Attard Vella.
Multi-media artist David Xuereb.
Globetrotting artist Caroline Said Lawrence.
Expressionist Carmel Bonello.
Palette-knife virtuoso Francis Galea.
Up-and-coming artist Priscilla Gatt.
Ceramist and painter Donald Camilleri.
Multi-talented artist Sara Pace.
Creative illustrator Zack Ritchie.

Hope you enjoyed this exhibition as much as I did. Cheers!!

Which Way…

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Nerja, Andalusia, Spain.
Il-Majjistral Nature & History Park in Il-Mellieħa late afternoon.
Harmony Bridge in Kuching, Sarawak.
The foot bridge in Tigne, Sliema from where you can watch the view of Malta’s capital Valletta on the other side.

This is my entry for this week’s Which Way Photo Challenge

Same blue sky…

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As soon as we fly back to Spain, Fanny will come along.
The Mediterranean Sea has the same blue and clear water here as there.
It’s low season for tourists in April, same here as there.
Andalusia with its mile-long coastal strip and its warm climate while snow-covered mountains in the Sierra Nevada are seen behind. Not at all the same here as there.

Back in Malta, back to my longed-for Fanny and back to the fantastic world of bloggers. I’ve been in Andalusia, Spain, a lovely place. Same blue sky here as there but in other ways, so totally different.White houses everywhere and many narrow alleys to find in the small town of Frigiliana.A menu in both Spanish and English is perfect if you can’t speak Spanish and I don’t, yet.I love the atmosphere……and I love the colors!!

Bee, Yellow, Blue & Jump to Pink…

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The mimosa flowers shines like small suns.A grasshopper rests on a blade of grass……while a bee searches for nectar among some flowers.Spring is here after a winter that has been too long and too cold.

Another weekend is waiting, on Monday I fly to Spain. It feels like it’s time to move on…

Harmony Bridge – Kuching

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Back in Kuching and to the new foot bridge “Harmony Bridge” which connect the North with the South City. Well, I’m not back in reality but in my thoughts when I look at my pictures.

I came back home with lots of images of this amazing bridge which is designed from the idea of Yin and Yang. It’s S-shaped and curved with two masts inclined in opposite directions.The shape of the bridge symbolizes the balance of cultures living together in harmony.
This is Sarawak in Borneo, this is Kuching and I’ll hopefully be back soon.

A day in Marsaxlokk

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Last Sunday we went to Malta’s largest fishing village Marsaxlokk.

Sundays are most crowded when many people flock to the Sunday market where street hawkers set up their stalls selling souvenirs, clothes and all kinds of things. And of course they sell lots of fresh fish.

But we were not here mainly for the market but for the colorful boats……and the genuine and lovely atmosphere among the locals.

We also found a dog friendly beach but it was quite small and rocky. Fanny just relaxed and enjoyed being in a new place while she was curiously looking at what happened in the harbor among the colorful boats.Before heading back home we stopped at Ta Qali Park to let Fanny have fun and run freely. Lucky me found spring’s first Poppy, my favorite and no, I didn’t pick it but needed a helping hand because of the wind.

Balance & Harmony

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You may not feel or see any balance between these two images,
but I tried to put some harmony in both of them, then I found a balance.

“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony”
– Thomas Merton –

Spring is in the air…

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Back home and back to my usual routines here in Malta.

Last Saturday we spent the whole day in Majjistral National Park.It’s not often that I see mushrooms growing here in Malta, but here is one.

Snart blommar Mimosan / Soon the mimosa blooms.

The nature, the plants, everything are so different from what you find in the rainforest in Sarawak, Borneo. Very soon the mimosa blooms as seen in one of the image above. The very best about coming home is to be close to Fanny again. Away is good but home is best.

Greetings from Sarawak!

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Just some images from where I’m now……in Sarawak.

 

Sarawak is located in Borneo, Malaysia and we are now in Kuching. The playful children was taken in 2016 while the rest are all new.
The children may represent the joy and harmony found here in amazing Borneo.

I haven’t had much time left to create new posts or to visit You but next week I’m back to my everyday life in Malta and my lovely Basenji dog Fanny. Take care out there!!