Things I’ve been in love with – Lilacs and Ivor Novello.

Way back in a part of the sixties that wasn’t the Beatles or Flower Power, I fell in love with the Lilacs.

At the time I was living and working in a large country house in the South East of England.

Everything was new and fresh for me – the girl from the West Midlands who was just beginning to explore what might be out there! Of yes we had Lilacs in Walsall. But nothing like these great luxuriant trees.

I can remember standing by an open window in the early evening with a glass of wine in my hand. There had been a shower of rain. The deep scent of the earth and the smell of Lilacs filled the air. Somewhere in the back ground someone was playing an Ivor Novello song on a piano.

I've loved Ivor Novello ever since and I’ve always loved Lilacs.

And here is a rather lovely version of that famous song from Alexander Duliba, a classically trained baritone trying to make his mark in the world of Opera.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAtP2dgUaeE]

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