My Life, My Music

Jure Godler is a writer, television presenter, comic and so much more. So easy to talk to and clearly a lover of British humour this conversation was the most enjoyable I’ve experienced in a long while. He may be only 40 but his understanding of the world of comedy and satire from the Goon Show (1950’s) via That Was the Week That Was (1960’s to 1980’s) to the whole Monte Python (1960’s) thing is very engaging. And currently he is the host of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. As a writer his spy novels featuring

One of the most interesting places in Maribor is the Botanical Gardens at Pivola, which is a key part of the University of Maribor, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Meta Šepic and her husband both work there and have a deep understanding of the environment, the plants the soil and the scientific aspects of this teaching facility. In this conversation you will find a host of information, not just of the horticulture but even the distant archaeological aspects of this fascinating region.

Mladen Delin is a musician in many senses. Taught originally to play accordian by his grandfather he loved music from a very early age, indeed he was too small to hold the instrument. In later life he tried guitar but at the age of 21 decided to take the opportunity to learn classical piano. He has never looked back. He lives in Ptui and from there his travels around the world made him wish to bring a whole world of music to his home. Festival Arsana, as his project is called, now takes 50 people to arrange and draws audiences from all around the region and beyond, not simply Slovenia.

Robert Kereži is a runner, not just marathons but ULTRA Marathons and Ultra Trail runs. It means he is very fit and focused on keeping that way. He is an ambassador for the English organisation Ultra X and this means he has travelled much of the world running and promoting! He somehow finds time to have a family and together with his wife will soon be publishing a book entitled “From Hell to Paradise”.

In the centre of Maribor there is a museum dedicated to some of the important social events of over 100 years. It’s major purpose to show how mankind’s lack of ability to understand the need to have empathy for others and negotiate instead of fight. From 2 world wars to the foundation of the sport of skateboarding the Museum of Liberation presents examples of both terror and understanding through a common goal. Uroš Dokl is a curator there and his commitment to a huge number of visiting school children as well as his history of skateboarding is inspirational.

Having met the Japanese delegation at the laying of the foundation for the Yaskawa factory extension and realising that Japan had a specila day event in Ljubljana coming I it was obviously a good time to invite Her Excellency to be a guest on the show. Her experiences in America as well as in the UK and now serving as Ambassador to Slovenia combine with some insights into Japanese cultures and music make an interesting programme.

Dr Emilija Stojmenova Duh is an engineer who has followed many roles, with a telecoms company, managing innovation networks, and is also an Associate Professor at the University of Ljubljana. Currently she is the Slovenian Minister for Digital Transformation and takes this role very seriously seeing the move to a digital world will be key to efficiency in the years to come.

When I attended a church service some weeks ago in Grosuplje I was really surprised by both the warmth of the service and the numbers in the congregation. Of course, after the service I asked the Reverend Martin Golob to be a guest on My Life, My Music and quickly discovered what was behind his popularity. Coming from a farming background he is very in touch with the land and its inhabitants. He does everything with a smile, everyone is his friend, as a result he is highly respected and in very involved with his local communities as he serves three parishes.

When I attended a church service some weeks ago in Grosuplje I was really surprised by both the warmth of the service and the numbers in the congregation. Of course, after the service I asked the Reverend Martin Golob to be a guest on My Life, My Music and quickly discovered what was behind his popularity. Coming from a farming background he is very in touch with the land and its inhabitants. He does everything with a smile, everyone is his friend, as a result he is highly respected and in very involved with his local communities as he serves three parishes.

When I asked the President of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, to be a guest on My Life, My Music I didn’t consider it would result in an invitation to the Presidential Palace. Of course I was delighted with the positive response. The conversation was a wonderful, a relaxed experience filled with clear positive answers which brought me to realise what an inspired and knowledgeful President Slovenia has. Here’s just one quote from The President: “If you’re not passionate about work, the work will not be of good enough quality.”

My guest on this show is a multi-talented musician having mastered the harp at music school, then studying vocal performance and now she is mastering some important roles in the Slovene National Opera. All this as well as writing, recording and releasing some amazing solo vocal tracks as well as duets with other artists. This year she has been chosen to represent Slovenia in the 68th Eurovision Song Contest. I wish her well.

Just after Christmas I was in the audience of a Šank Rock concert, a band I had heard but never seen. This was great music with compositions from 40 years ago and material right up to date. Such great showmanship as well as musicianship made me determined to hear the whole story. This conversation is with the vocalist Matjaž Jelen and was recorded in the bar where they first used to practice!

Urška Klakočar Zupančič is an inspiring and fascinating person to have a conversation with. Her life has taken her to many places around the world and her journey from lawyer to politician and now to the presidency of the Slovene National Assembly, clearly she has a broad view of the workings of democracy. There are many other skills to mention from horses to novelist and being a lover of rock music in its many forms.

Andrej Pompe was the founder of Panda with initial tracks being laid by himself using just his keyboard. Instruments were occasionally added and of course, vocals. It was only when more folk became involved and then a wish to do some live performances that a full band appeared. As of 2023 they have been active for more than three decades and this year have produced a new CD, Legenda. Their original compositions contain elements of rock, pop and jazz, with a pinch of hip-hop and rap, lyrics are lyrical and mainly about love. Andrej explains it all in detail in this conversation, as well as adding 6 favourite tracks of his from other artists..

Her Excellency Ambassador Simona Leskovar is coming to the end of her 4 years serving in the UK at the Slovene Embassy in London. She has also served in Japan, Korea, the United Nations in New York and held many other posts in her career as a diplomat. The Slovene Embassy in London is almost exactly in the middle of a line between Buckingham Palace and Westminster so I felt it a great opportunity to travel to London and record her experiences in the Embassy there. The Slovene Embassy in London is almost exactly in the middle of a line between Buckingham Palace and Westminster so I felt it a great opportunity to travel to London and record her experiences in the Embassy there.

TABU has been a part of the Slovenian music scene for a long time and have had successes both on the stage and with many hits. From May this year Katarina Samobor joined them as their lead singer. I asked her to join me in the studio to talk about this new role, and also about her career as a music teacher

Anton Mežan was born and brought up in Bled. He had a few choices as to what he wanted to be, follow in his father footsteps driving a tourist carriage perhaps, but his initial choice was rather unusual. Loving the area that he knows so well his journey to council member and on to being The Mayor is less of a surprise.

Mel Hitchcocks has only been in her role as Principal of the British International School of Ljubljana for a few months but has already settled in and understands what she can bring to a school that already has a great reputation. Her previous experiences have taken her from the UK to Egypt, Mongolia and most recently Russia so she has a very broad view of the world of teaching. Some very interesting and important areas of education are expressed in this conversation.

His Excellency, Ambassador Verboom has been here in Slovenia for 2 years and I was pleased when he accepted my invitation to join me in making this programme. He has served in various capacities from Argentina to Indonesia and of course in Europe. The conversation covers many areas but for me the most interesting was not simply his knowledge and experiences but the music he brought for us to enjoy. Some we all know well but others are of his homeland and are both inspiring and emotional.

Her Excellency Jamie Lindler Harpootlian was officially sworn in as United States Ambassador to the Republic of Slovenia at the very end of 2021. Originally from California she moved to South Carolina and later worked as an attorney in both private practice and public service in the Eastern District of Louisiana. As you will discover her journey to Slovenia as a diplomat very quickly gave her respect not only for this beautiful and diverse land but also for Slovene citizens particularly because of their respect for the land on which they live and depend. A broad range of mostly American music accompanies a fascinating conversation.