Blues to Bop: Gospel concert

The San Lorenzo cathedral in Lugano was the venue for a beautiful gospel concert with the Fierson Brothers, Bill Sims Jr., Woody Mann, and members of the Imani 7.

Blues to Bop: Dave Keyes & Bill Sims Jr.

Before going home I stopped by Piazza Riforma once more to listen to Dave Keyes and Bill Sims, accomonied by a drummer.

Blues to Bop: The Lugano SMUM Guitar Quartet & Woody Mann

I wanted to see and hear more of The Lugano SMUM Guitar Quartet & Woody Mann and went to Piazza San Rocco for this.

Blues to Bop: Luna Blues Big Band

Coming back late from dinner in Italy, I missed the first part of tonight's shows. In Piazza Riforma, I recorded the Luna Blues Big Band.

Blues to Bop: Guido Melone & The Down Town Blues Band

The Swiss group Guido Melone & The Down Town Blues Band played in Piazza Dante.

Blues to Bop: Bill Sims Jr.

My next stop was Piazza Cioccaro, Where Bill Sims Jr. was on the stage.

Blues to Bop: The Frierson Brothers

On stage in Piazza Riforma: The Frieson Brothers.

Blues to Bop: Dave Keys & Woody Mann

I started the second evening of Blues to Bop in Lugano in Piazza San Rocco, listening to Dave Keys & Woody Mann.

Blues to Bop: Imani 7

Just before the battery ran out I managed to record the group Imani 7 on the stage in Piazza Cioccaro.

Blues to Bop: The Frierson Brothers

In Piazza San Rocco, The Frierson Brothers took over the stage.

Blues to Bop: The Lugano Harlem Blues & Soul Review

My next stop was Piazza Cioccaro, where The Lugano Harlem Blues and Soul Review were on stage.

Blues to Bop: The Lugano SMUM Guitar Quartet & Woody Mann

In Piazza San Rocco, The Lugano SMUM Guitar Quartet & Woody Mann were performing. These are four students of the Scuala di Musica Moderna (School of Modern Music) in Lugano, joined on stage by their artistic director Woody Mann.

Blues to Bop: The Flag

Imani 7 left the stage and The Flag played on their own.

Blues to Bop: Imani 7 & The Flag

On this first evening of Blues to Bop in Lugano I stopped at Piazza Riforma and filmed the Imani 7 on stage together with the local group The Flag.

Hike in Lucomagno area

The whole family went for a hike of 10 km in the area of Lucomagno, starting from Acquacalda. Sunny weather.


View 20100822 Acquacalda in a larger map

estivaLugano: Sandy Muller

I missed out on a few weekends of music in Lugano but but finally made it there again today, to listen to Sandy Muller and her group.

Short hike near Arosio

With a friend I went for a short hike in the region of Arosio, mostly through forests:


View 20100803 Arosio in a larger map

estivaLugano: 77 Bombay Street

On the way back to the car park I stopped in Piazza Riforma and recorded this performance of the Swiss band 77 Bombay Street.

estivaLugano: Djangomania

Lugano is host to the Swiss Harley Days as part of estivaLugano, hundreds of glorious Harley-Davidson machines in all squares and streets, but it was Djangomania that lured me into town tonight. This is what the festival program says about them:

“Djangomania” offers an original performance, a tribute of Django Reinhardt, traditional manouche music and popular italian songs from the fifties. Fresh, dynamic and intense.

 Amore, baciami Instrumental piece 

The last two songs:

Making like Pan

Lying in a hammock in the garden, I listen to the sound of water running in the brook and a bird – a chaffinch – singing in the tree.

Concert in Lugano

The duo Labirinto performed a most beautiful concert as part of estivaLugano this evening. Chiara Pedrazzetti played the celtic harp, Sean Lanigan the electric guitar. Exploring and mixing their skills, they form a unique duo combining these two instruments, showing that the harp can rock and the guitar can roll!

San Clemente

San Clemente is a little mountain near Lugano with a church of the same name at its top. With friends, I hiked there today, in sunny weather, and put the track on Google Maps, together with some photos I took along the way.


View 20100623 San Clemente in a larger map

estivaLugano 2010: Sienna Dahlen

Under the title of estiva Lugano, the city of Lugano offers its residents and visitors musical and theatrical performances by international artists in various squares and parks every weekend from 18 June to 29 August. The opening day saw the Candadian singer Sienna Dahlen give a concert for over one hour, accompanied by the guitarist Roberto Pianca. A most enjoyable performance, of which I filmed one minute.

Cademario: Musica in piazza

In conjunction with a procession of the the statue of St. Anthony of Padua of the Catholic church in Cademario the Filarmonica Alto Malcontone, conducted by Rama Bozzini, performed a concert in the town square.

And here is a slideshow of ten photos taken on my excursion today:

Bye-bye, frogs

The frogs made too much noise, so I transferred them to the neaby Lago di Muzzano.

View Lago di Muzzano in a larger map

FIFA World Cup and wine

The hype about this year's FIFA World Cup in South Africa prompted me to go and buy six bottles of a South African wine.

The wine is still young, vintage 2009. I will probably drink it during the next World Cup in 2014.

I already had a Pinotage once, vintage 2007 of the Kaapdal winery, and I liked it when I drank it earlier this year. It will be interesting to see what this new wine, a mixture of Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon, tastes like.

Hello, frogs

Today, I see two frogs sitting on the plank in the pond in the garden. I figure the bigger one of the two must be male, the other female. They have been sitting there, immobile, for a long time.

Had a visit

My brother Franz and his wife Elsbeth are vacationing in the region and I had them over for a merenda (snack) this afternoon and to drink with me the bottle of wine their daughter Gabriela brought me years ago on a visit, a Brestenberger, vintage 2000. Decanted several hours before consumption, it was excellent.

The vinyard from which this wine comes belongs to the castle Brestenberg in Switzerland, which is now operated as a hotel, undergoing renovation at the moment, I believe.

Frog in my pond

Looking out of the upper-floor window I see a frog sitting on the plank I put in the pond for his – or is it her? – convenience. Is there a way of knowing a frog's gender just by looking at him, ie without a close physical exmination?

Follow me on Twitter

I started my Twitter account yesterday, with the member name Snowbird756. Click here to go to my account and if you like what you see, follow me.

Mama bear shows her offspring who is the boss

When I saw this video clip today I knew I had to share it with you people. These bears were filmed in the bear park in Bern, the capital of Switzerland, a week ago, on 29 April 2010. One of these days I shall go and see them live.

The mother is called Björk, the twins are Urs (male) and Berna (female). I don't know which one of the twins is on the tree. The father, Finn, is not in the picture.

Flight is booked

My flight to Thailand is booked, at Girair in Agno. Eastward bound early in December, return flight last week of January.

I am a Snowbird

The term Snowbird is used to describe people who spend a large portion of winter in warmer locales. Resident in Switzerland and Thailand, I like to spend much of winter in Thailand whenever I can manage it.

In this blog, I will talk about my life in these two countries, trips I make, people I meet, places where I eat, etc. I meant to do this blog on Google Sites but unfortunately they do not allow comments by readers. I shall be happy to receive comments from everybody, in any language (if it is a language I don't understand, I will use translate.google.com to translate it)