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Dimitra Dourouda:
Hello everyone from warm and sunny Greece!
I was very happy with my plans for this summer tour in Germany– thanks to my good friend
Hannelore B. – when the announcement for the Bundoran concert hit me! I have always
wanted to visit Ireland, being such a mystical and unique country, also the mother land
of so many prestigious artists, and of course, “our” Chris de Burgh. Moreover, my dream
was to combine this visit with a CdeB concert. So I said to myself “Go ahead, live for
the day”! After tackling several problems regarding flights, time schedules, B&B
research etc, I finally made it to Ireland and the Bundoran concert, thanks to the help,
support and hospitality of my dear friends, Stefan and Annette.
Dublin welcomed me with the seagulls howling on a windy and rather cool for my taste
after-midnight hour on Wednesday 16th. When I told an old friend here in Greece that I
would really love to have him with me in Dublin, sailing beside me in my lonely sky (as
I was traveling on my own) he replied that there should be plenty of interesting things
for me to do! And he was right! I spent the whole Thursday strolling, admiring the
architecture, the wonderful wide streets with the flowerbeds and enjoying the incredible
atmosphere of the city. Mind you, I had done some serious studying of my tourist guides
during my 4.5 hour flight from Athens, as our plane was racing with the moon (that was
so romantic).
So map in hand and all the traveller’s paraphernalia hanging around my neck (more about
this later) , I threw myself into the exploration of Dublin and its people, whom I find
extremely warm and kind and...a bit crazy! Yes, I love crazy people! I visited the
Trinity College and its famous library, the Irish Bank, the General Post Office. I
hopped on and off a double deck tourist bus passing by beautiful squares and districts
with Georgian Architecture buildings (yes, the ones bearing strong influences from
ancient Greek architectural styles, which are so evident all around Dublin!!!). The bus
tour though, was just the overture; because nothing can compare with a 4-5 hour walk
now, can it?? I saw the Dublin Castle, the Customs House, government buildings and
houses that were so beautiful, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and went through the historic
city center and the famous Temple Bar, known for its lively, hippy atmosphere. I
strolled up and down the quays of river Liffey that goes through Dublin and, of course,
I took a picture of one quay called “Burgh” . I also crossed the most popular bridges,
Ha’ penny and O’ Connell a few times.
During my late afternoon lunch break in a stunning mall called Powerscourt House, I was
so tempted by the presence of this grand piano…but too scared to approach . Then a guy
sat on it and played a children’s tune. So when he left, I just rushed over and played,
what else, “When Winter Comes”. But the guy returned with his friend, and applauded
together with a few people from the upper floor who were looking down to see where the
music was coming from. So I said: “this is your guy, actually; Chris de Burgh. You must
be so proud to have him living in your country. He is performing in Bundoran in two
days, and I’ve come to see him from Athens!” They recognized the “Winter” but they knew
nothing of Chris’ concert. After chatting a bit with the guy, I went back to my B&B
(Buried in a Box it should be called if you ask me!!! ) to get ready for the evening or
the night...
You see, I could almost hear Chris singing in my ears “I love the night… Don’t look back…
Shadows and Lights…” and I knew that I just HAD to go down to Temble Bar (something
like London Soho I guess??). Nothing to worry about, since I just ran into people of all
ages, cultures and nations, having fun, singing and drinking, and dancing and talking
loud. Also street musicians gave a special flavour with their music into the night. It
was like a big party. I entered a nice pub for a late dinner and a beer before saying
Dublin “Goodnight”.
Early on Friday morning, I met with Annette and her little daughter Siobhan, and started
our stroll in the light shower. During our walk in a lovely park, St Stephen’s Green,
some tragic news made me collapse on the lawn, as I received a call form work informing
me that my beloved boss had departed on his last journey! He was the one who had hired
me 8.5 years ago thus giving me the chance of a lifetime to develop both personally and
professionally. Being strongly attached to him and his wife, also my director, I felt
devastated. Still am. Anyway, there is no reason to depress you all now. After I somehow
recovered from the shock, Annette showed me “Captain America’s”, the pub where Chris
gave his first performances. That was thrilling. Then we walked around a bit, the three
of us girls, and in the late afternoon we met with Stefan, after his work. On our way
to Stefan and Annette’s place, I was given an extraordinary ride through Brey, Dalkey,
Dan Laoghaire, Enniskerry and other lovely places that I cannot remember. I will try to
upload the pertinent photos, but I’m not very capable of all that! We all had a quiet
evening, talking about our “fanship” and other issues, thus bringing a difficult day to
an end.
A lovely dawn on Saturday morning reminded me that a fantastic day and evening were
ahead of me: the Bundoran experience!!! I just love this name. Now that I think of it,
my surname could also qualify for an Irish village: Dourounda!!! So after a 3 hour
trip through beautiful Ireland we reached Ballyshannon, a seaside village near Bundoran.
We freshened up a bit and then went to Bundoran. Being a sea lover myself, I was so
excited to see the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.
Now I cannot complain one bit, because I tasted Ireland in all possible weather
conditions: sunshine and warmth, summer rain/shower (no raging storms thankfully, but
it should be called Rainland, not Ireland ), cold and windy! So much wind! It reminded
me of the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, where you get totally swept away. The marquee
was quite unusual and there was a fun-park near, too. Our fun-park, would be the
marquee itself of course, once the concert began – hehe! In the distant hill, a bit
further, you could see a hotel surrounded by gulf courts. No, we didn’t see CdeB playing
there, but we did see a white limo coming back and forth from that hotel and the venue,
so we realized that CdeB was actually staying there.
Then it was time that we entered the marquee. I was so happy to be there and meet with
“old friends” as C Williams wrote, especially with Claudia Busse, with whom I had such
a great time 10 years ago, in the UK at Penhurst Place; that had been quite an adventure.
I was really moved. Thanks to our friends who had entered the venue earlier, we were
privileged with great seats on the third row, centrally .
“When Winter Comes” gave us all the hint that Chris would soon get on stage. As I don’t
want to repeat what has already been described so nicely by C Williams, I will just add
a couple of my own memories.
The History Lesson given by CdeB: Bundoran was established by Spanish sailors and “Bun”
actually means something like “hidden or well protected” and “Dor”, means “Gold”. (Does
anyone remember Eldorado? No, you don’t need a history/mythology lesson from me right
now I guess!). So Bundoran could possibly mean, “Hidden gold”. And Barbados means having
two beards. I’m not quite sure, but I vaguely remember Chris joking about this. I didn’t
get it however!
I was happy that he mentioned Greece after the UK and Germany; I had to shout it and
wave my hand, too, to let him know that I had come from Greece. Then he said that it
would be a very special evening, which was indeed, because of the party atmosphere that
was created.
The lady running to the stage, asking for a kiss from Chris; well, she had been a bit
overjoyed I think, probably has had a few drinks, yes. But she didn’t try to approach
the stage for a second time, although the security guy was afraid of that. She actually
went to some of her friends who were sitting opposite to my seat, across the aisle, to
talk to them about something. Unfortunately, she lost her balance as she bent towards
them, and fell in the middle of the aisle!
That concert was really… a ladies’ night. Just as soon Patricia ripped the air, another
piece of cloth reached the stage, and it was not the white bra . It was a top, but I
cannot make it out, even now that I’m looking at the video. And then of course the bra
flew over our heads! My dear Chris W., what’s the point of having one in your pocket
unless it’s WARM?? Haha, sorry, I just felt like teasing you a bit!
Remember when I told you all about the traveller’s paraphernalia hanging on my neck
while walking around Dublin? I really had to laugh with CdeB’s preparation for the
“Spears walk”. As he was putting the headset on, his hair got totally messed, and so
did the wires and the stripe of his guitar. Chris even made a comment about his hair!
Now, I found this so hilarious, because during my staying in Ireland, I kept fighting
with my hair flying all over because of the wind, and I would always be so messed up
with the stripe of my handbag, the stripe of my camera’s case and the stripe of the
camera itself!!! Plus the two hoods, of my jacket and of my anorak!!! Quite frankly,
that wasn’t a pretty sight at all!!!!:zombie:
Then Chris started to sing the Lady in Red, walking around us, which I particularly
enjoyed. At some point, he approached his Lady to give her a kiss , however, I’m under
the impression that he tried to touch her hair, too, but got totally discouraged. That
was so funny indeed. Oh men, they simply don’t understand how crucial our hairstyle is.
You should have seen my hairstyle though: it was like the Medusa’s, an ancient Greek
monster with snakes on her head instead of hair!!!
The concert in Bundoran was merely fantastic, so full of energy, warmth and fun!
Chris’ singing was as amazing as ever; powerful and gentle – sweet and dynamic. I was
really craving for certain songs, such as “Carry me like a fire in your heart”, to
which I mourned for my boss, “The Same Sun”, “Lebanese Night”, “Lonely Sky”, “The
Tower”, “Patricia”, “Sailing Away” (to my satisfaction, Chris mentioned again how much
he loves the sea), “The Road to Freedom”, “Peaceful Waters”, “SoNY”. And then of course,
my old time favourite, “Ferryman”, that made the craziest of us spring up and go right
in front of the stage; time for me to become 10 years old again! It was a real party,
so intimate and vivid, and I feel so grateful to be participating! Chris also gave me
the impression of really enjoying this show, and on several occasions he would smile
widely or even laugh, especially when the Irish fans would call him “Chrissy”!
When it was over, I was left with a deep emotion of comfort and reassurance that
everything will be all right. I felt happy and peaceful. Stefan, Annette, Siobhan and
I, sharing the same bliss and gratitude, returned to Ballyshannon for the night.
Sunday was just perfect – weather speaking – and the mostly kind landlady of the lovely
B&B where we were staying said to me: “You have indeed brought the sunshine from Greece,
dear”! Stefan and Annette had one more surprise for me: we went back to their home town
through the Sally Gap, an extraordinary territory with small lakes, moors, valleys and
forests. In the evening we all sat to see CdeB live from Turkey, which made me realize
how excited I am for the German shows now! And then it was time to say goodbye to my
friends and head back to Dublin . With Chris’ voice in my head, and preparing myself
emotionally for the journey back home, I decided not to rest in my B&B, but go down to
the city centre…it was late at night, on the open road… The occasion would call for a
dark, bitter Guinness and some Irish “craig” (fun and togetherness). So I entered the
most popular pub with live music in Temple Bar, which was packed with younger and older
people having the time of their lives. I smiled in the thought that I had felt this way
– and even greater - the night before. So I just had a glass of Guinness and said to
myself: “this is for you, Ioulios” (my boss). The sounds of the city and of the wind
accompanied me back to my lodge for my last… windy night in Dublin!
Monday was a living proof that “now the sun is here to stay, the winter seems so far
away, in the summertime”! Oh if only Chris would sing Transmission Ends in his next
tour! The bright and warm day invited me for a last stroll in my beloved Dublin centre,
where I had the opportunity to buy a few souvenirs and gifts for my family, friends and
work associates.
I arrived in Ireland on a cold, windy night and I left it warm and sunny, with CdeB and
my good friends shining like a million suns in my heart of darkness. This can only be a
promise pledged to me by the fairies: “and like the same sun that’s rising with the
dawn, I will walk with your shadow and keep you warm”.
Take care everyone!
Dimitra
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