Wanderlust of a Flâneur: 2009

I applied for and then was chosen to be part of a volunteer work at Ashburnham Place, a Christian Trust which uses an area with classic buildings and nature for a retreat place for Christian groups from Britain and abroad. Apart from the permanent work force, they run this volunteering program which I took part in. People from all over the world apply to stay there for a period, doing the typical hotel like jobs. We had accommodation and food and used to get a weekly pocket money for our extra expenses. We also participated in various Christian related activities in the place. It was an amazing year and apart from making many friends, I had the idea of recording those who had music abilities. The result of my idea is this kind of album in which my friends from different countries are performing. Although all the recordings were made in 2009, I finished the project in 2010.

Matleena Sirén - I Can't Ever (Finland)

Yulia Mikhaylova - Песня номер два (Russia)

Rojina - क्रिश्चियन गीत (Nepal)

Michael Zopf - Kleine Geige Song (Germany)

Oana - Tu Ma Cercetezi (Romania)

Yulia Mikhaylova - Песня номер три (Russia)

Rojina - क्रिश्चियन गीत (Nepal) (1 For Life remix)

Oana - Tu Ma Cercetezi (Romania) (1 For Life remix)

BONUS

Below there are some other videos I recorded of our music moments in Ashburnham Place

Together my friends Anna Maria and Santosh, both from Germany, an idea came up of us singing, once Santosh could play the organ and Anna and I could sing. We made a quite varied repertorie including Laudate Omnes Gentes (Taizé) and some songs in German.

Before meeting my German friends, I actually had a group with my Romanian friends (they left after summer so I had to stop playing). This video is the first rehearsal with Oana and Ligia.

Practising with my Chilean friend Sarah, once we were asked to play for the elderly.

Worship moment (now I'm playing the drums)

Another recording of worship: I'm playing drums with mostly Brazilian musicians: Silas (bass), Rebeca (vocals), Nanda (piano) and the British Doug (vocals and acoustic guitar)

Matleena Sirén playing and singing live the song "I Can't Ever" which she herself composed.

City: Dublin
Province: Leinster
Country: Ireland

Interesting Facts

- Dublin in Irish is "Baile Átha Cliath" and it's largest city in Ireland

- It's believed that at first Dublin was a Scandinavian settlement and then became a Christian ecclesiastical place

- During the 9th and 10th centuries the trade of white slaves was an important factor of the economy in the region

- Dublin has the youngest population in all of Europe. Approximately 50-percent of the population is less than 25-years of age.

- Dublin’s oldest known pub is the Brazen Head, established in 1198 AD as a coach house.

- None of the so-called Dublin Mountains is high enough to meet the criteria required to claim mountain status. Even the tallest mountain rises up just 423 meters high.

- The Temple Bar area is so called because it housed the first Jewish temple built in Ireland. The word ‘bar’ refers to the refusal of Catholics to allow the Jewish community to enter any of the adjoining commercial premises.

- In 1761 A Family Of Itinerants from Navan were refused entry to Dublin. The family settled on the outskirts of the city and created the town of Rush. Two hundred and fifty years later, almost the entire population of Rush can still trace their roots back to this one family.

- There Was Once A Large Statue Of Queen Victoria in the Garden outside Leinster House. It was taken away when the Republic of Ireland became independent and in 1988 was given as a present to the city of Sydney, Australia to mark that city’s 200th anniversary.

My Photos in Dublin (December 2009)