Sunshine – Blogger And Weather

Posted on by

A few weeks ago Stevie Turner kindly nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. As you can see from her post, if you scroll to the end of the comments you’ll note that I thanked her but said that I didn’t normally do these award things. However, as Stevie is a long time supporter of my blog I said I would give it some thought. Having done so I have decided not to do a proper job of it, but to take it as a prompt in my own way for a different kind of post.

In view of the record-breaking temperatures we have been enjoying/enduring here this week I thought I’d play a few songs with sunshine in their title, and match them by answering some of the questions Stevie asked of her nominees. I’m playing seven tunes today, and answering seven of Stevie’s eleven questions, and I hope this works! In fairness to Stevie I won’t put the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in the right hand column of my site, but will drop it in here in case you haven’t seen it before:

 

The first question is “Is your cup of life half full or half empty?” I am 72, so I think I could be forgiven for thinking that my best years are probably behind me, but that doesn’t stop me from taking a positive approach to this. I have much in my life for which I am thankful: I was raised by two wonderful parents, who gave me love and support which I returned, and I have two beautiful daughters of my own, and three beautiful granddaughters. So how could my cup of life be anything but half full, if not more full than that? This tune fits that well, I think:

Katrina and the Waves, of course, with Walking on Sunshine. Unlike a regular post, I’m not giving you song info today, as I want to leave room for Stevie’s questions, but I’ve played most of these before anyway, so a visit to the search bar should fill you in!

Stevie’s next question is “Do you believe in an afterlife?” My honest answer is that I am agnostic: I just don’t know. I’d like to think that we continue in some form or another, but have insufficient imagination to comprehend what that might be. As my stepmother is an ordained Church of England vicar you can no doubt picture the interesting family conversations that have been held around that! For a song, at a bit of a stretch, how about this:

Next, I’m addressing Stevie’s “What is one thing you wish for?” This is the one which took me longest to decide on. I went through the usual material stuff, like sufficient money to bequeath to my daughters and their children, but in the end I came back to the, possibly trite, answer that I just wish people would be kinder to each other. I’m not alone in feeling that as a society we have become more unpleasant over the years, taking the lead from politicians who seem to think that being nasty and divisive somehow validates them. It doesn’t, in my view: it just makes them look like small-minded, hateful individuals who shouldn’t be in any positions of power and authority. But if it wins them votes, what do they care? I just want to be able to greet each day with this:

The Beatles with Good Day Sunshine, one of the many classic songs they gave us.

The next one of Stevie’s questions that I’m taking on is “What would you like politicians to ban?” There are many possible responses to this, though I think ‘telling lies’ might be a bit unrealistic. One thing which really needs banning is the ability for donors from outside our country, who don’t even live and vote here, to be allowed to donate huge sums to political parties in an attempt to buy the country. This part of the system is long overdue a reform (but not with a capital R!). I have no particular song for this, so I’m just playing this because I like it:

That was Osibisa with Sunshine Day, a big hit here in the UK. They were a fun band.

Stevie is a big music lover, like me, so it was no surprise that a couple of her questions were music-related. This is the first I’m taking on: “Would you rather go to a music festival where your favourite band is playing, or watch them play on TV instead?” Nowadays, my inability to get to a music festival would determine that for me. Stevie is a regular visitor to the Isle of Wight and has been to the festival there on a number of occasions, as well as to others like the Download Festival. But these have never really held any attraction for me, even in my concert-going days. Back in the Seventies the local council ran a series of free concerts in the town park and we went to a number of them, including coincidentally, Osibisa. We also saw Thin Lizzy. They were great but I always felt there was something lacking: outdoors, the acoustics just weren’t anywhere near as good as in a theatre. One of the musicians I really like is a regular performer at festivals during the summer months, and is gearing up for this year’s season. This is her in a ‘live’ indoor setting:

Elles Bailey, and Sunshine City. I’ve written about Elles several times before, with her incredible background, and I love her music.

The next one of Stevie’s questions is “What would you like to learn?” This is an easy one for me: I’d love to learn to play a musical instrument, given how much I love music, but it seems I’m doomed never to achieve that. Do you remember schooldays, when we all learned to play the recorder? In my case, they gave up, judging that I had no musical ability whatsoever. In hindsight that might feel a little harsh, but to be fair I think they had a point! I think this is how I’d probably be better off spending my time nowadays:

That was Free, with Lying In The Sunshine, despite what the video might say! It’s still a lovely song, though.

Just one more of Stevie’s questions to go now. This one: “Could you dance the cha-cha if your life depended on it?” This may come as no surprise but my dancing abilities are on a par with my musical talent, so if I were in this situation my life might be in danger! Given time and Dianne Buswell to teach me, perhaps I could do well enough to survive, but otherwise it’s a case of “wish me luck as you wave me goodbye!”  Or perhaps I could just do a runner, like these guys:

If you didn’t know them, that was OneRepublic and Sunshine. A fun song with which to round off this piece, I think.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this mix of music and my thoughts. If not, you have Stevie to thank for prompting it! My thanks again to Stevie for nominating me for the award, and I hope I’ve done her justice with the rather oddball way in which I have gone about accepting it.

See you again for Song Lyric Sunday, I trust? It wouldn’t be the same without you 😊

52 thoughts on “Sunshine – Blogger And Weather”

  1. A warm, thoughtful, and creative take on the Sunshine Blogger Award, blending personal reflections with uplifting “sunshine” themed music. It feels honest, light-hearted, and engaging, with a nice balance of gratitude, humor, and meaningful life perspectives woven through the songs and answers.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Yahoo. Love the sunshine and the sunshine songs you provided. It’s one of the main reasons we moved to Arizona. Thanks for sharing at SSPS#413. Please look for my posts there too (#68 tru 72). Happy June and be well. Nancy Andres @ Colors 4 Health.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. Osibisa took me back. I had that debut album when I was 19, in 1971. Played it all the time for a few weeks, then forgot about it. I noticed I still had it in a box of vinyls during a house move in 1991, but have never seen it since.

    Best wishes, Pete.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  9. Pingback: Reblog: Clive’s Sunshine Blogger Award Answers | Stevie Turner

  10. More of your well thought out choices Clive. Today now feels like a bright bright sunshiney day.

    As I commented I like the Free song. That’s going on one of my my Laid Back playlists.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  12. Very cool way to answer Stevie’s questions, partially through music. I had to smile when I saw that Stevie nominated us both, and the song I chose for my philosophy was “Walking on Sunshine.” Great minds think alike, Clive. At least, that’s the line I’m going with. 🤣

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you, Pete, I’m pleased you liked the way I did this. I’d forgotten you went with that song too, but it wouldn’t have stopped me even if I’d remembered! It’s such a good fit.

      I also prefer that line to the alternative 🤣

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  18. Congratulations on the award, Clive. Lately, Hugh and I talked about the award mania in 2014 – 2016. It was crazy. So, I get your point not to participate anymore, since neither would I, but it was worth it this time. Thanks for the additional sunshine you brought with the songs.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you, Erika. I remember those days too: I was nominated for this and a couple of others back then, but found them hard to keep up with.

      I didn’t want to let Stevie down, as she and I have been following each other’s blogs for ages, and this seemed a good way to do it. I’m pleased you liked it 👍

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  19. What a well-thought out post, Clive! Thanks very much for answering my questions and adding the songs. I’d never heard of that song by Free, and I thought I knew all their music. I’ll re-blog this post tomorrow because I like it!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thank you so much, Stevie, I’m pleased you liked what I did with this and am grateful for your nomination.

      The Free track is on their second album, which was just called ‘Free.’ Their first three, before ‘Fire And Water,’ have gone under the radar for many.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  20. Clive, great theme and selections. And, what is nice is you could fill up another blogpost with “sunshine” with the likes of Clapton, Wonder, Denver, and an old classic my wife would sing to her Alzheimer’s stricken mother on the phone as she sang with her – “You are my sunshine.” Keith

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  21. Very cool, Clive. We can’t have enough sunshine these days! My favorite Beatles sun song is John’s “Sun King.”

    Is there a “Speaking Truth to Power Award” out there somewhere? Probably not. That’s okay, might give me something to do! 🤣

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks, Pete, though we’ve been having a lot of sunshine recently!

      And don’t forget George’s little masterpiece. But I was staying strictly with ‘sunshine’ for this.

      I’d Google that if I were you – it may well exist!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  22. Great songs, Clive, and they all go so well with Stevie’s questions. Nicely done and congrats winning the Sunshine Blogger Award.
    As a music lover and musician, something I feel very strongly about is learning how to play an instrument. Pardon my cliché, but “it’s never too late” and if this is something you would really like to do, then you should. By not taking a chance, you will definitely fail. Try something small and manageable; I recommend the recorder. People think it’s just a toy for kids, but it definitely is not. Recorders are standard instruments in Baroque orchestras and can readily be heard in pieces by Bach and Handel. It’s not terribly demanding of your time, it won’t take up room in your place and you won’t disturb the neighbors! And you can even get lessons on YouTube! 🎶

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you, Nancy, I’m pleased you liked these. It was kind of Stevie to nominate me for the award, and this seemed a good way of recognising that in my own style.

      Having failed miserably at school with the recorder it isn’t an obvious choice for now, but I did buy myself a ukulele some years ago, and really need to get it out of its case and work out how to tune it. I can’t sing like Tiny Tim though 🤣

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Please leave a reply, I'd like to know what you think