I think ICRT should do this.
Every week someone is invited to record a very brief introduction to a particular song that reminds them of a special time of their life. The recording and the song are featured on the radio for a week, and there’s a worksheet and additional info on the website.
Here’s mine:
When I was 19 I travelled around Europe. It was my first great adventure, and I was really excited by the freedom and romance of it all. In Andalucia, the south of Spain, I stayed in a little pension - a kind of cheap guest house - with some other guys that I had met.
It wasn’t a fancy place but we loved it. It had an inner courtyard and a balcony! This was really exotic for three lads from the UK, and we sat out on the balcony at sunset with a bottle of Rioja to take in the sights and sounds of the street.
We were on the fourth floor, and on the other side of the street at the same level was a flamenco dancing school. There were maybe 10 girls practising inside and they all knew we were watching. We sat entranced for about an hour while they posed and twirled and flashed their eyes, putting on a great show for us. The light was fantastic and they looked incredible.
Compared to the rain and boring same old same old back home it seemed we were in paradise. This was what life should be all about!
We couldn’t hear the music the girls were dancing to because there was one song playing everywhere at that time. We heard it everywhere we went every day - La Isla Bonita, by Madonna.
That was nearly 20 years ago, but every time I hear that song it still takes me back to my first experience of independent travel.