BRUSSELS

 

 My next bussines trip will be to Brussels
 

Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the administrative centre of the European Union. This has earned the city the title of the Capital of Europe. Brussels has been given its character by the coexistence of French and Flemish culture, and it is nowadays home to nationalities around the world, adding a cosmopolitan flavour to its atmosphere. The vibrant atmosphere of Brussels is further enhanced by picturesque medieval streets, lively squares, beautiful boulevards, impressive monuments, spacious parks, cosy cafés, interesting restaurands and an active cultural life.

THE STORY BEHIND SPRING

The Return of Persephone, Frederic Leighton 1891

Ancient civilizations seem to have the answer for everything, even the seasons. Why is there a difference in seasons? Why is there spring?   ° The child for whom Demeter had unconditional love was Persephone – her daughter with Zeus. She is also known as the Goddess of Grain and Spring because while still young, she has accompanied her mother on Earth to make sure that there is abundant vegetation for all mankind. Both attractive and amiable, it did not take long until Hades, the God of the Underworld, heard of her, thought of making her his queen and abducted her. Demeter tried to follow Persephone, until it was too late. Eventually, Hades and her daughter were already in the underworld where no other god was allowed to go.

°Demeter was angry and went to Zeus to ask for his help. But instead of getting comfort, she got more furious when she learned that Zeus allowed Hades to kidnap Persephone. Not expecting a quick and fair resolution to her misery, Demeter went down to Earth dressed like an old woman, stopped the crops from growing causing hunger and drought.

° Demeter wandered through the dying earth searching for her daughter.Eventually, Persephone was restored to her mother for part of each year, and with Demeter's joy, Spring came again. °

The moment when Persephone leaves for the Underworld, the leaves fallout from the trees and the earth dries out. So when we welcome the coming of the spring, that means another thing – Persephone is once again reunited with Demeter.

°

Ne-yo launched a European tour

Ne-yo launched a European tour in  February

Cities such as Brussels, London, Amsterdam or Copenhagen were part of  Ne-Yo‘s tour in Europe, but  in addition  Bratislava as well.

Talented R & B singer, dancer and producer of its European cord pass in February and then be issued to other continents. Expected Slovak concert should take place on Saturday 20th February in NTC Sibamac Arena...

Unfortunately  American  singer Ne-Yo has not arrived to Bratislava tonight. Reason for cancellation of the concert is not known yet.

Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), better known by his stage name  Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B  singer-songwriter record producer, actor, and occasional rapper.

NOTES

 

 

 

“Smile at each other, smile at your wife,

smile at your husband, smile at your children,

smile at each other-it doesn’t matter

who it is-and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other.”

 

Mother Teresa

ST. VALENTINE'S STORY

St. Valentine's Story

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.

Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!

 

Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.  

One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

 

One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."    

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!

I wish you a lovely

VALENTINE'S DAY

MY FIRST LOVE

My first love...

~♥~~♥~~♥~

My first love? Mmmmm, that always puts tears in  my eyes...There isn't a day when I don't think about him and worry whether or not he's doing okay for himself in the world...

      Do I remember my first love?

~♥~~♥~~♥~

You bet I do, like it was yesterday -- and it's been so many years, but I still remember what he looked like and how much I loved him...

We were passionate about everything - loving each other, fighting with each other, even passionate when we were trying to hurt each other...

My first love made my heart beat faster, gave me butterflies in my stomach and played the part of the bad girl, but he had a heart of gold underneath, which is what made me fall in love with him. It made me feel so wonderful...

   Do you remember your first love?

Almost a silly question! Of course we do, intensely, passionately, maybe just a little sadly. Whether he's still by your side or just a memory that causes a sweet ache in your heart when you think about him,

After so many years, just thinking about our first loves seems to send our hearts a-flutter. What is it about our first loves that grips our imaginations, even five, ten, twenty years past the fact? Whatever the cause and whoever it was, the one we first loved seems to be a permanent part of our consciousness.

We can't forget him -- and who would want to?

The Smart Blonde

The Smart Blonde

A blonde woman boards an airplane. She is extremely exhausted and just wants to take a nap. She finally finds her seat and sits down next to a very curious young man.

He wants to test the whole dub blonde thing and possibly make some money out of it. "Hey, wanna play a game?" he asks her. "No thank you, i just want to take a nap." "Please, its really easy, all you have to do is answer the questions that i ask you. If you don't know the answer, then you give me five dollars, and if I don't know the answer to your question, then Ill give you five dollars."

"I really don't want to do this. I just want to take a nap."

"Oh but PLEASE pretty please. Okay, how about if I don't know the answer to your question, I'll give you five hundred dollars." The blonde woman became interested and decided to play the game.

"Okay. How many moons does jupiter have?" the young man asked. The woman reached into her purse and took out a five dollar bill. "What goes up the mountain with three legs and comes back down with four?".

The young man, determined not to lose, gets out his laptop and searches all over the internet for an answered. Flustered and confused, the young man hand the blonde five hundred dollars.

After a few hours, the young man was itching to know the answer to the question."What was the answer to the riddle?" the blonde woman reached into her purse and handed the young man a five dollar bill.