Today I have decided to do something different with my PaD. Instead of taking (or working on) an image, and then writing a few words that may or may not have anything to do with said picture, I decided to think about the words then trawl through my archive to find an appropriate photograph to go with them. However, since the words are about the time I shared a flat in Lisbon with an Italian called Rafaello (Raffa for short), who taught me the song 'Bella Ciao', and since I have no images of Italy (having never set foot there), I found myself struggling. Not to be deterred, I looked into the song's lyrics, and decided that a solitary flower would be an appropriate accompanying image. The only difficulty remaining was deciding which flower image to choose. In the end, this one seemed to fit the bill better than any of the others. So, back to the story of Lisbon, Raffa and 'Bella Ciao'. Back in the spring and early summer of 1996, myself and several of my friends rented a flat on Lisbon's Largo da Graça. There were six of us: myself, Raffa (Italian), Manel (Catalan), Pere (Catalan), Carmen (Spanish) and Heike (German). The common language was Portuguese, and the common theme was food, music and parties. We used to invite all of our friends up for meals, earning the place the moniker 'Cervejaria Erasmus da Graça'. At the weekends, the meals transformed into parties, during which I (in pre-sciatica days) often ended up dancing on the kitchen worktops to Blur's 'Boys and Girls'. As the night turned into morning, the survivors would often congregate in one room, where Raffa would produce his guitar. After a few minutes messing about he would almost always begin playing 'Bella Ciao', and we would all join in with the refrain of 'Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao'. It didn't take too long for it to become a bit of a tradition, and a way of signalling to the guests that it was time to go home or fall asleep where they lay - whichever was easier. As for the song, it is about the Italian resistance to Fascism and Nazism. That's as may be; to me, however, it is a reminder of long ago hot Lisbon nights.

Click here to listen to Yves Montand singing 'Bella Ciao'