Your Story : How We Play the Game of Life

Back in July when I was staying with the wonderful Romy she would mention from time to time that during the summer months musicians would wander the streets filling the air with exotic carnival sounds looking for donations and adding to the general festive atmosphere that is Berlin during the these months.

Well, quite a few times she brought this up but they never arrived and I started to pay out on her that they didn’t really exist and that she said this just to make Berlin sound more interesting or to encourage people to come and stay with her. The same complaint was made by many of her friends as they had never seen them either when she mentioned that they were about which added more fuel to the fire of my good natured ribbing that I was giving her.

Then one day this happened…

So now we know.

Romy is correct and the added atmosphere that they give to the streets of Berlin is something that lingers in my memory as I look back on this video of my time with her in Berlin.

Thanks again Romy

 

 Your Story Ep 28 [81:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome To Episode 28 of Your Story.

Today we talk with Colin Kerr who is my sisters father in-law who generously shared some time with us about his early life in Britain, dealing with life as a teenager during the war years and the fascination that only a 15 year old can have in war time despite the dangers of the blitz. As a young man he spent time in compulsory military service in the early ‘50 and shares the wonderful life that could be had in the military during peace time.

Colin explains his experiences of understanding both the British and French cultures and how he feels to be primarily European rather than being specifically British. He shares his thoughts on the British attitude towards involvement in external affairs of other countries and the impact that has on life in the UK going back to the influx of migration from the fifties and the impact of the IRA through to the involvement in the affairs of Western Europe and the United States of America.

As is often the case when I record these episodes of Your Story the conversation that I have before and after I start recording is often interesting. In this case I turned the recorder back on and recorded a more casual conversation with Colin. At the time he didn’t realise that the recorder was on but when I mentioned it to him he was happy for me to use it in the show. I was originally going to edit it in but on reflection I feel that it is more valid as a postscript to the original conversation. I’ve simply added it onto the end of the episode as an Addendum to the main portion. I think the continuing chat we had has merit.

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Music is from iodaPROMONET

Backrow Politics (mp3)
Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album
Immergent
Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band

 

 Your Story Ep 27 [47:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome To Episode 27 of Your Story.

Today we talk with McConnie E. Providence who approached me while I was walking down Whitechapel Road in London. He had noticed my Matrix Crew Jacket that I was wearing while fumbling around in my bag to get my recorder out. He ask me a few things about my involvement in the Matrix Films and I mentioned that I had worked on them as a special effects technician when they were being made in Sydney.

Coincidentally McConnie had been involved with Keanu Reeves along with many other successful young students in Canada while running a Drama Youth Programme many years ago while as an undergraduate at York University in Toronto.

After a brief exchange I mentioned what I was doing and McConnie agreed to come on Your Story to  share his passion for music composition, conducting and performing. Where he came from in St Vincent in the Caribbean and the way music was a major part of his upbringing and the developed through his life in Canada and his travels around the world.

He describe how he feels about being a conductor and the importance of being involved in the music as an interperitor of the composers expression of what was wanted to be achieved when the music was originally composed. He helps to share what it is like to be deeply immersed in the composition as a conductor and the reverence that is required towards the composition.
email is edfordmconnie@hotmail.com

Below is the introduction of the episode that I videoed with the full episode available as the podcast.

To automatically receive this podcast freely to you, click on one of the links to the left or search in iTunes for “Your Story.”

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Support Your Story by giving it a Digg or Stumble from the links under the heading for this episode or writing a review on iTunes

 

 Your Story Ep 26 [42:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome To Episode 26 of Your Story.

It’s been some time since there has been a Your Story Episode, unfortunately the constraints to produce an episode while on the road travelling made it difficult to find the time required for the standard necessary to do justice to the wonderful people that I meet.

However now that I’ve returned to Australia it’s possible to finish the necessary work required to get an episode out and here it is.

Today we talk with Michael Kierans who in is a Canadian migrant living with his Czech wife in Prague, Czech Republic. He is established as a successful business owner of two cafes bars having moved from his successful life as a lawyer in Canada to Prague after the fall of Communism. Michael explains the difficulties of dealing with a different cultural and mental attitude that permeates all aspects of life in the Czech Republic from organising the necessities of running a business to the way that the government and politicians operate.

Michael explains the ever so subtle differences that he is able to be aware of now that he has been in Prague for a considerable period of time. He explains why the personality of the Czech people is the way it is, due to the long history of the Czech Lands and the impact that this history has had on the culture particularly during the communist era. Also he shows his enthiusium for this country and why there is an exciting time for the Czech Republic into the future as the next generations come through with their new and different mindset and continuation of their cultural heritages.

Impressively Michael explains what keeps him in Prague and why he loves it so much to make it his home.

His website is kava-coffee.cz

email is kava@mbox.vol.cz

To automatically receive this podcast freely to you, click on one of the links to the left or search in iTunes for “Your Story.”

Subscribe freely in iTunes by Clicking here.
If you use another Podcast software Get the feed here.

Support Your Story by giving it a Digg or Stumble from the links under the heading for this episode or writing a review on iTunes

I asked a few questions that I would apprediate a quick response to if you feel inclined to help me with understanding the direction to direct Your Story. Please send you thoughts to chat@yourstorypodcast.com.

• Am I hitting the mark and what is it that interests you about Your Story?

• What is it that you like or don’t like?

• What type of personalities would you like me to find and what interests you?

• Did you enjoy my addendum episodes or would you rather I just stick to the main Your Story episodes?

Music is from iodaPROMONET

Time Machine
“The Groove That Just Won’t Stop” (mp3)
from “Life Is Expensive”
(Glow In The Dark Records)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Napster
Stream from Rhapsody
More On This Album

 

 Your Story Addendum Ep 17 [9:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome To Episode Sixteen of Your Story Addendum.

I’ve been nearly eight weeks away from Australia experiencing all that I could of the culture, sights but particually the people that I met and had a chance to commune with as I drifted from home and country of one person into the life of another. It was an amazing trip as all trips that people do and it was a trip that will impact in ways that I cannot fathom yet. That and getting over a bit of jetlag is the reason that it’s taken a week to get this episode out but here it is.

It’s best to just let you listen to it. I thought about rerecording it but decided to leave it as it is as it shows the confusion that I have about a few things as I continue to settle back in.

I said it on the show but I’ll also say it here, Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who emailed me, connected with me on twitter or commented on the posts or my Flickr photos.

Particularly I want to thank the hospitality and friendships that I was shown from Claudia, Eve & Romy in Berlin. Adam Daniel Mezei in Prague. Todd & Rozzen in Vannes and Madeline in London.

Thanks all, you know what you mean to me.

I’m as interested as anyone to know where this is going so let’s hang on and see what happens. I’m already planning for the next trip but more later.

Links

Reichstag Fire

Kristallnacht

To automatically receive this podcast freely to you, click on one of the links to the left or search in iTunes for “Your Story.”

Subscribe freely in iTunes by Clicking here.
If you use another Podcast software Get the feed here.