Everybody loves the soleil
Ok so I’ve been playing truant… again… and you’re cntrl-f5’ing, wondering whereTF I am right? Well thanks faithful representahs, this time round I have a valid alibi. Confession… it was the SUNLIGHT. You see sunshine in Europe is just not the same as sunshine in South Africa – here it’s a timid, elusive creature whose presence should always be celebrated and never taken for granted. And that’s exactly what I came to realise in 2008 when I spent my first full summer here in Belgium (ok bar the one in 93 but I was a youngun then and weather didn’t matter) Sunshine is a commodity, and one that I sadly traded when I got here. But in every trade there is an exchange and the upside of the trade off has been
1. the opportunity to learn what it is to have 4 clear-cut seasons (and rock the winter coats and boots for real)
2. the realisation that I took sunshine for granted
So in summary, when the sun called, I answered.
This stay in Europe is exactly that, a stay – it has been a mind-opening, earth-shifting experience that has enlightened moi in so many ways and definitely upped my French levels. I’ve been here for 2.5 years now and on Saturday night at a Brazilian friend’s crazy wild party, I got all blushed up and shy due to a bunch of Frenchies digging my francais… I smiled and nodded and had another drink, making sure to offer them one too… knowing it was the lubrication of the tongue that let the French words flow as they did, in both directions, vous voyez. But yeah, I do suddenly feel like the language and I are merging into one sweet mashup. I’ve always believed it takes at least two years to settle into a new city or country, to feel that the streets are yours, the beats are yours and the summer is yours for the taking. The point is, this summer has been sublime and even if my premonition two weeks ago that we were seeing the last of the very brief heatwave is turning out to be supa-accurate, a summer that lasts 6 weeks or not, I’m sucking up every drop of sunshine I can find. In Nice, France next week 😉 Sorry, had to drop that in.
SO… for those of you in winter… here are three summer songs for you – the first one is 3 of my favourite bands remixed into one sweet track, the second one is ROCKING EUROPE this summer as the official summer anthem and the third… well who can’t love a white boy with so much soul 😉 – je vous adore, spread the love and let’s keep on representing. I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaaack! xxx Editorista.
– You got the love – The Very Best/Florence & the Machine/The xx
– Breakbot – Baby I’m yours
– Mayer Hawthorne – I wish it would rain
