Hannah Fielding's Blog, page 150

The most romantic love song

I recently ran a question survey via SurveyMonkey and Goodreads to discover people’s ‘most romantics’. For the question ‘What is the most romantic love song?’, the results were as follows:

‘I Will Always Love You’ – 36%
‘Make You Feel My Love’ – 29%
‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ – 18%
‘Fix You’ (Coldplay) – 7%
‘Wonderful Tonight’ – 5%
‘Come What May’ (Moulin Rouge) – 5%

Of course, music taste is a very individual choice, but I can see why the top three songs were so popular. Each is a classic, each has a simplicity and clarity that is touching, and each spans musical genres to achieve a timeless quality. Put the lyrics of the three songs together, and you get endless love, commitment, promise, tenderness, faith, sacrifice and a bursting-at-the-seams expression of the joy and exhilaration of new love. A powerful mix!

‘I Will Always Love You’ (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWTaaS7LdU) was written by country singer Dolly Parton, and the version by Whitney Houston is the best-selling single of all time by a female singer and topped the UK charts for a record-breaking ten weeks.

‘Make You Feel My Love’ (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0put0_a–Ng) was written by Bob Dylan, and has been covered by Billy Joel, Garth Brooks and Kelly Clarkson, among others. But it is Adele’s recent version that most sticks in my mind – haunting and pure.

‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxREN8JUdI0) was a hit for Frankie Valli back in 1967. It has been covered an amazing 200 times since, by artists as diverse as Andy Williams, Lauryn Hill, the Manic Street Preachers and Muse.

So each of these love songs has been immensely popular worldwide. No wonder they feature in most top ten lists of favourite first dance songs for weddings.

What’s interesting about these love songs leading the poll is that each is not sung by a person already secure in their love. In ‘I Will Always Love You’, the singer is letting go of her love; in ‘Make You Feel My Love’, the singer is trying to convince someone to let love in; and in ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ the singer is wooing with words: ‘You’d be like heaven to touch’ says ‘I haven’t touched you yet, but oh how I want to’! The best love songs, it seems, touch on heartache and longing too. This quote by James Matthew Barrie, author of Peter Pan, springs to mind: ‘Let no one who loves be unhappy… even love unreturned has its rainbow.’

Montmatre and painter Maurice Utrillo

There is something inherently inspirational about the Montmatre in Paris, which gives its name to the surrounding district. On a clear, sunny day, climb the many steps to the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur at the summit, sit with a baguette de jambon et fromage (cheese and ham baguette) and gaze out over the rooftops of Paris. Drink in the history all around – here, in the church of Saint Pierre de Montmartre, the Jesuit order of priests was founded; here Henry IV’s  artillery rained down fire on the city during the French Wars of Religion of 1562–98.

But what you will no doubt most associate with this place is liberté – here, at the end of the nineteenth century, outside of the Paris city limits, alcohol flowed and cabaret, such as that at the Moulin Rouge and Cabaret au Lapin Agile (Nimble Rabbit Cabaret) boomed. No wonder artists flocked to the area for its bohemian atmosphere and wonderful vantage point over the city atop the hill – from  Salvador Dalí to Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet to Piet Mondrian, Henri Matisse to Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso to Vincent van Gogh, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec to my personal favourite, Maurice Utrillo.

Unlike many of the artists who were inspired by the area, Utrillo (1883–1955) was born in Montmatre, and his works embody the colour and vibrancy and artistic sensitivity of the place. Utrillo’s mother was a circus acrobat turned self-taught painter who had learnt her craft posing for artists like Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec, and then from her mentor, Degas. It is unclear who his father is, but the following appears in an article in the New York Times.

After Maurice was born illegitimately to Suzanne Valadon, she went to Renoir, for whom she had modeled nine months previously. Renoir looked at the baby and said, “He can’t be mine, the color is terrible!” Next she went to Degas, for whom she had also modeled. He said, “He can’t be mine, the form is terrible!” At a cafe, Valadon saw an artist she knew named Utrillo, to whom she spilled her woes. The man told her to call the baby Utrillo: “I would be glad to put my name to the work of either Renoir or Degas!”

With such an artistic heritage, it is little wonder Utrillo was so talented. Sadly, he grew to be a man plagued by mental illness and was a regular occupant of the mental asylum. Still, he was recognised in his lifetime for his artistic achievements, and was awarded the National Order of the Legion of Honour before his death.

If you get the chance to visit Montmatre, do make time to pop into the Musée de Montmartre. The building is where Utrillo lived and worked in a second-floor studio.

To view some Utrillo paintings, I recommend visiting http://www.utrilloexperts.com/gallery.php.

An article about me in the Dover Express

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A theatrical house on the beach

This house, in St Margaret’s Bay, near my Kentish home, used to belong to actor Noel Coward. I often walk along the beach there.

The most romantic nationality

I recently ran a question survey via SurveyMonkey and Goodreads to discover people’s ‘most romantics’. For the question ‘Which nationality most says “romantic” to you?’, the results were as follows:

Italian: 42%
French: 33%
Spanish: 20%
British: 4%
American:  1%

I was not surprised to see Italy, France and Spain top the poll. There is a reason, after all, that I choose to live part of the year in France – and that my second novel is set in Spain, and my most recent one in Italy. And the international news provider CNN thinks along similar lines; in February this year it published an article declaring that Spain was the most romantic nation, followed by Argentina, and then Italy and France. I think, though, that Italy is the most favoured in general; after all, the word ‘romance’ literally means ‘from or of Rome’.

What is it about these Mediterranean countries that at once make us think of passion and romance? Without wishing to overly stereotype, here are my thoughts:

Climate: The heat, I think, plays a part – we spend more time outdoors in the Med, surrounded by inspiring nature, sitting in pavement cafes and watching the world go by. And of course we dress differently given the climate – more relaxed, more romantic. Then you have the fiery storms that spring up, which are dramatic and atmospheric.
Fashion: The French, the Italians and the Spanish have a wonderful fashion sense. Chic, elegant, colourful, vibrant, sensual. Think of Milan and Paris and Madrid, capitals of fashion. Across the world courting couples dress to impress; in the Med, many continue to dress this way for life.
Cuisine: Delicious and full of aphrodisiacs. Not heavy, and weighing one down. Healthy, energising. And meals are leisurely affairs, taken with friends and family. They are sociable, and engender intimacy and connection.
Culture: The operas, the literature, the music, the plays, the movies – these are countries with varied, long-standing cultures that draw you in. The flamenco dance of Spain. Le Louvre in Paris. Italy: birthplace of opera and ballet and Casanova. There is so much to see in these countries, and so much passion embodied all around in art.
Setting: These are countries with a rich heritage. The land and the buildings are stunning and fascinating, providing a wonderful backdrop to a romantic mood – think of provincial French farmhouses set amid fields of sunflowers in the vivid yellows of Van Gogh; gliding down ancient Venetian waterways on a gondola; exploring the flamboyant Gaudi architecture of Barcelona. These are beautiful places to be, and it is so much easier to be passionate in love when your surroundings feed the soul.
Language: French is famously the language of love, but Italian and Spanish are similarly evocative and sensual. Love becomes amour, amor, amore. Passion becomes passion (say it with a French accent; so much more beautiful), pasión, passione. Romantic becomes romantique, romántico, romantico. Even something as mundane as a town hall is transformed into a romantic-sounding place: mairie, ayuntamiento, municipio!

Above all, what characterises these countries, I think, is one word: passion. What is most romantic is people who are really alive and in the moment; people who are positive and who love life and who want to experience every moment. When we think of French, Italian and Spanish people, we think of vibrancy, vitality, virility, joie de vivre, va va voom!

If reading this has put you in the mood, here are some films I recommend for a taste of Mediterranean passion:

French: Amélie (2001), Jules and Jim (1962), Cyrano de Bergerac (1950), Beauty and the Beast (1946), The Story of Adele H (1975)
Italian: Life Is Beautiful (1998), La Dolce Vita (1960), Eight and a Half (1963), Il Postino (1994)

Spanish: The Age of Beauty (1992), Talk to Her (2002), Jamón, Jamón (1992 – beware, it’s rather steamy!)

Me, in a nutshell

Some months ago now I discovered word clouds. I love words and I love art, so combining the two is perfect.

I regularly visit Terri Guillemets’ website, Quote Garden, because, like her, I love quotations and use them often in my writing. While browsing the site this week I came across Terri’s ‘About’ page, and my eye was at once drawn to the word cloud she has created to share a little about herself. Such a fabulous idea – so I decided to have a go.

A friend recommended the website Tagxedo to me; oh, what a discovery! Below, you’ll find some ‘Hannah Fielding in a nutshell’ word artworks, created with Tagxedo. If you have a spare moment I highly recommend visiting the site and having a play. You can make word artworks in all kinds of colours and fonts and shapes, save them or publish them to the internet – and even have them printed onto gifts like mugs and t-shirts.

As well as being a fun activity, I think this is a really useful tool for writers. You can summarise the main elements of a book – for example, character names, setting, plot points, themes, climaxes –make them up in an artwork, and then print out the artwork and stick it up on the wall in your writing space for inspiration.

 

Spectacular, spectacular: The Olympics opening ceremony

“Serious and silly, subversive and mainstream, high and low: Danny Boyle’s bonkers Olympics opening ceremony could only have been made by a British artist.” – Guardian

“Leftie multi-cultural rubbish” – Conservative MP Aidan Burley

“Brilliant but bonkers…” – Australian TV commentator

“It’s corny, cheesy, altogether over the top. And it works! […] This is awesome.” – Washington Post

“The Queen acting, JK Rowling reading in public, can you top this?” LA Times reporter

These are just some of the many public reactions to the opening ceremony of the Olympics. What did you think?

I was blown away by the sheer magnitude of the show – so much going on, and so streamlined. Did you know that the three-and-a-half hour show was rehearsed more than 200 times, with each of the 7,500 volunteers spending on average 150 hours practising? Now that’s commitment!

I think Danny Boyle had a Herculean task to perform – producing a show that was reflective of the whole nation (and bear in mind the nation comprises very different countries with very different histories and cultures) and that would please the majority. For of course he could not please everyone, given our eclectic cultural and political persuasions. What he did beautifully, I thought, was encapsulate the British sense of humour and quirkiness. The Queen! I was on the edge of my seat; so pleased that she was such a good sport. And I loved Mr Bean as well – the simplicity of the humour.

I don’t think I have ever watched a show in which I was so unsure of what would happen next – such a medley of different genres of music and acts. It was good to see much-loved British personalities incorporated into the evening, like Sir Kenneth Branagh, JK Rowling and Sir Tim Berners-Lee. And the inclusion of British culture was wonderful; I especially liked the nod to children’s literature like Mary Poppins, Harry Potter and The Wind in the Willows. And then the homage to television and film related to Britain – such a quickfire montage. How many were you able to spot?

For me, the best part of the evening was the culmination of the long weeks of Olympic torch relay that has had the British media in a frenzy. In the two-hour lead-up to the ceremony the BBC was still speculating on who would light the flame; Sir Steve Redgrave was tight-lipped on the matter. I thought it was poignant, after such a grand show of the nation’s celebrities, that it was the next generation, relatively unknown young athletes, who were given the job of lighting the flame in the end. After the frenetic showbiz glamour and opulence of the ceremony, it was grounding to see these athletes complete the final stage of the journey, and it pulled my attention back to the actual point of the ceremony – to open the games, rather than celebrate Great Britain.

What a year we have had, with the Royal Wedding, the Jubilee celebrations and now the Olympics. It is at times like this that I feel glad that I choose to call England home.

Book review: Giovanna’s Dilemma by Ingrid Michaels

I enjoy reading Ingrid’s blog at http://ingridmichaelsromance.blogspot.co.uk, and so was keen to read some of her writing. I picked Giovanna’s Dilemma for my first read because the romantic cover drew me in, and I was intrigued by the blurb:

When JP takes Karen out to celebrate their four-month dating anniversary, he wines and dines her at Jean Q’s, London’s best restaurant. After a wonderful meal, he has another surprise for her: his prepared lecture at the National Gallery, where he presents Karen with a unique and entertaining interpretation of the love story between feisty Giovanna Cenami and Pieter Baes, Jan van Eyck’s young assistant at the time van Eyck painted the famous Arnolfini Betrothal Portrait.

This is a charming, well-crafted novella. Split between a modern-day story and one set in yesteryear Bruges, I loved the contrast between the two worlds, and how the writing is adapted to be true to each era. The relationships are intriguing, and the central dilemma in the story is poignant and powerful.

Being a keen art lover, what I most enjoyed in the story was its exploration of the Jan van Eyck oil painting The Arnolfini Portrait. What a wonderful combination of a love story and an art history lesson! After reading the book I was compelled to look up the painting on the internet and examine it closely for evidence laid down in Giovanna’s Dilemma, and was amazed at what I found.

I highly recommend the novella for readers who love romance – particularly historical – and have an interest in art.

Giovanna’s Dilemma is available via Ingrid’s website at http://ingridmichaelsromance.blogspot.co.uk .

Win one of ten £10/$15 Amazon gift cards and a copy of my novel…

My August competition is now open. I’m giving away:

10 x £10/$15 Amazon gift cards
20 x copies of my novel, Burning Embers

To enter, simply leave a comment on this page (don’t forget to tell me your email), explaining why you’d like to read Burning Embers, or email me on burning-embers@hotmail.co.uk.

Good luck!

Hannah x

A stroll on the beach followed by a seafood pub lunch; heavenly!

The Zetland Arms Pub, at the end of the shingle beach near Deal. We often go there for lunch. They serve excellent seafood and locally caught fish. On a clear day you can see the ferries to France.