Red Plonk

Recovering from a rather busy couple of days in and around Cambridge. Cousin Barbara gets an extra banana for superb driving there and back in her new car. We covered a lot of ground in only two days but on reflection it seems even more.

We started in rain, grey skies and then more rain. We had earlier booked rooms in a village inn north-east of Cambridge. A good choice and price. In the evening we visited nephew John and his family in Soham. I think it was my first visit but he said it was my second. He's wrong but I didn't argue!

Really warm welcome there and I was even offered copious amounts of red wine in a rather nice glass. See for yourself in this photo. Next day we went to Ely and said hello to the cathedral. It was Barbara's first visit there. She enjoyed it and plans to return to see more of the town and all it has to offer.

Onto Cambridge and lunch at a nice pub/restaurant at the end of the road where sister Pauline lives. She arrived just as we finished lunch in the garden. Yes, the sun was shining by then. She brought a warm smile to make the reunion even better as we caught up on news. I shall be posting more about these days in future blog posts.

After our goodbyes it was into the car and the long(ish) journey back to Silsden. Last night I couldn't sleep very well so I have felt 'groggy' all day. Tomorrow I shall be meeting nice people to enjoy Silsden Gala. Tell you about that later.

Settled into Silsden

After enjoying the grill party I returned to Silsden and my nephew's house for a period of settling into Silsden life. I notice that when I go out, talk to people in shops, post office, bus, on the street they smile and reply but I can see a flicker in their eyes of 'he's not from around here'.

Yes, I have now settled into life in Silsden. You just need time. I've been to Keighley and Skipton a few times, noticed that bus travellers during the day are mostly Oldies and have the same bus pass I have for free travel in the area. School holidays started last Monday so there are more kids and mothers on the street and in the shops.

I have learnt how to use the washing machine in the house, got washing powder from Barbara and even iron the clothes for I need a couple of things in my bag for tomorrow I am off to Cambridge for a couple of days. Barbara and I have booked rooms in an inn north-east of Cambridge. We could not book in the area we wanted for there is a Folks Festival starting tomorrow and all the places are booked out.

Today I went for a walk in the local park, noted that Silsden Gala will take place this Sunday, took photos of the locals doing different things in the park and had a talk to Donald Duck. Yes, the stream/beck area in front of the post office is full of them. The kids come there to feed them. Donald and his friends have settled there and just wait for the kids to arrive. Here is a photo.

Hope to post on Saturday on my return. Thanks to my regulars for we have just crossed 61,000 hits!

Grillen

I was invited to a grill party last Saturday. It was at Nick and Julie's welcoming and relaxing home in Sutton-in-Craven. This is a small town up the valley towards Skipton and not far from Kildwick. The non-Silsdeners are probably thinking, 'Er, who are they?'.

Nicholas is Dianne and Ian's second son. As a baby/child I always said I was going to steal him. We've made many jokes about this over the years as he grew up.

Even so, I made the right choice! He met the fair Lady Julie, married and they had two charming children. Laura and Matthew. I have visited them regularly and for me a visit to Silsden and area was never complete without seeing them.

You may remember that they came to Berlin last summer and I posted a report and photos on my blog. Have a look in the posts from a year ago! Since then Laura has started university, Matthew has finished school and is having a break before he decides on the next move. Julie still teaches and Nicholas is about to take on a new job. We talked about all these things during the grill session'.

Here is a photo of Matthew preparing a gin 'n tonic. He is now working part-time in a club/bar to earn some pocket money. I challenged him to prepare a classic G&T. He made a good job of it and can only get better. Practice makes perfect Matthew! I just had to take a photo of big sister Laura. I noted she was permanently checking her smart phone and did not talk a lot. We had an interesting discussion about that. She is not alone in 'smart phone obsession' and need to be permanently in contact.

I always enjoy meeting the family and relaxing over a drink and something to eat. They are very hospitable and I look forward to further grill sessions with them. Of course, future meetings may be without Laura and Matthew for they are starting on a phase when they will want to spend more time with friends. I was the same and I am sure you were.

Chester-le-Street

This town must have ancient French connections with a name like that. Peter and Freda live there and I visited them with Alan and Lynne last Friday. I took the train to Leeds then another to Castleford where Alan and Lynne were waiting for me. Our target is over an hours drive north east and towards the coast. It is south of Durham.

When I was 16 I travelled to Leeds to attend courses at Leeds Technical College. Peter and Alan were in my class so we got to know each other over time. We are the same age but I am the 'baby' in the trio! We have certainly gone in many different directions and tracks over the years but contact was always maintained. Peter inherited his family business but continued his love of music, and still plays in a local 'pop' band.

We caught up on news at their home over cups of tea before driving off to what is becoming our local restaurant there. Happily seated, we looked at the menu. I am not a great fan of 'red' meat so I ordered 'Yorkshire Chicken with Stuffing and Seasonal Vegetables' to accompany a cool glass of Chardonnay.

More catching up on news and then the meals were placed on the table.  When I saw my plate my 'eyes popped out like organ stops'!!

I'm sure you can see why. Staring back at me was a whole chicken. Yes, you read correctly. I thought there must be a mistake but my fellow eaters assured me there was not. I said that I had expected a couple of slices of chicken breast, as I would expect in Berlin, but not a whole chicken! They just smiled and told me to 'gerrit down yer'. I sliced off some meat then shared out the rest. The veg tasted nice though.

After lunch we drove to Durham. Peter and Freda's sons have opened a sports centre including lots of things for children to jump about, run and generally burn off energy. There is also a cafe/snack bar where Peter and Freda sometimes help out. Nice of them to do that. I really enjoyed seeing families  sharing in all kinds of activities. Pity they didn't have such a place in Silsden when I was a kid.

I particularly liked an area where children could jump onto a huge air bag. Some just jumped straight, some did back flips, some did somersaults. No matter how, they really enjoyed it. Each area of activity has a trainer to supervise what the children do and make sure they are safe. The next time I go there I shall distract the trainer then do a back flip onto the bag. Can't wait for that :-))  Thanks for a great day out to all.

Kildwick

Kildwick is a village a few miles to the west of Silsden. By road you can get to it via 'over the tops' road or drive along the valley bottom in the direction of Skipton. Last Wednesday I told Fran, Geoff and Warren to get into the family car (yes, it is new SUV!) so we could all go to Kildwick.

We took the valley road and I enjoyed the views. Parked at The White Lion and settled into the garden with a wide open view of the valley and hills opposite. They were my guests so I went into the bar to see what beers were on offer and was completely confused. The pub bears the name Tetley's which is the name of an old Yorkshire brewery. At the bar, I saw the names of types of beers I had never seen before.

We settled on a local Skipton based micro-brewery beer for me. You can see it on the right in the photo. You may be able to read Copper Dragon on the glass.

In the other glass, with the unusual face and name of Grey Hawk, was diet cola. Fran and Warren only drink that, but Geoff joined me in enjoying a glass of beer. The local beer tasted very good so I had a half pint of beer from another local brewery, but it didn't taste as good as the first beer.

I then walked around the pub and arrived at St. Andrew's Parish Church. From the architecture and stone it is typical of many churches in the area.  I walked slowly into the church garden and arrived at the old graveyard. Again, graves and gravestones all made from local stone. My Uncle Lionel is buried here. He died as a baby. I can't remember why. Perhaps of a virus for there was not the range of medicine and medical services available then. Infant mortality rates were much higher and not only in England.

I rejoined the family and we slowly drove back to Silsden. We had chatted about the family, future plans, holidays, food, friends and lots more over our drinks and enjoyed the late sun in the pub garden. A very nice evening.

Tigers v Wolves

Last Friday I took the train to Leeds then to Castleford. I visited Alan and Lynne at their home which over the years has become my second home. What memories that house holds for me.

My bedroom is on the right of the photo. When you open my Blog you see a photo of a bed and the sign that I have gone to Berlin. That is my bed and it is in this bedroom.

The back has a really large garden and a double garage. It has a very relaxing, homely atmosphere. A&L met me at the station and we soon caught up on family and other news. This included talking to Paul and family in New Zealand via Skype. Alan has been to a computer course and now has a laptop. Well done Alan!

On Sunday I met them at their local Baptist church. Nice friendly welcome and I sat with Alan at the front. Lynne played piano. As usual I paid attention to the preacher's sermon. This was very 'self enclosed' based on a quote from the Bible supported by other biblical sources. Critical analysis would have to start with the first quote. Alan likes how I interpret such things and says I seem to notice more that he does, but then I come with an atheist's perspective!

After lunch we went to see Castleford Tigers play Warrington Wolves. On my own I would never think to go to a rugby match but they are keen supporters of Cas Tigers. We met Linda and Lynne sat with her in the wheelchair-disabled section. Linda is also a keen fan and I enjoyed seeing her again.

I had to smile at the Yorkshire dialect used by all around me and the comments at players and particularly at the referee. Try these - 'Is tha blinnnnd ref', 'Nay, that's not reeeet', 'Thaaas a blitharin idiot ref'.  I even bought a small book called 'Yorkshire - English'. Should have fun with that back in Berlin with my students!

You can see the teams warming up helped by a team of ladies dancing and jumping about to very loud pop music. It certainly created a happy and friendly atmosphere. Sadly Cas lost by 32 to 44 against the Wolves. I always thought a tiger could eat/see off a pack of wolves. In this case, not. Even so, a great afternoon and weekend in Casland.

Whiskey Pie

I wonder if anyone has ever made a pork pie with whiskey in it. Not a bad idea. Perhaps I should stay in Brexitland and open a whiskey-pie business.

I've been here a week now. Landed at Leeds Airport where F,G, and W were waiting for me - plus two dogs! No surprise where we went to first. You guessed right. It was Harry Ramsden's Fish 'n Chips Palace.

I'm staying in Warren's house near 'ta beck' in Silsden. One of the first things I had to learn was when and where the reduced bus service went from/to. Silsden really is a dormitory town now with the streets full of cars, but the larger SUVs seem very popular.

I went to my local bank to see how much I could spend. Had a nice chat with my 'Personal Advisor' and she even increased the amount of interest I get on my saving account :-)) I had a gallop to Ilkley and Skipton to visit a number of jewellers. I was surprised at how much the price of gold has shot up since the Brexit vote.

I visited Beautiful Barbara. She is my cousin and you know she is one of the two people I write this blog for. We had a good chat over a glass of el vino. She reminded me that I had stored a rare bottle of whisky in Fran and Geoff's cellar. I had forgotten. She bought it for my 'special' birthday some years ago. It really is a special brew. I wonder if I should add it to a pork pie! I cannot take it back to Berlin, so I shall share it with friends on my travels. Na, Prost!

Blog Problem

Hello Blog Readers,
I am having problems to transfer photos from my camera to my laptop. Not sure where the problem is. I have a 'hama USB 2.Card Reader'. I connect that to my aging MacBook and no light comes on. When I put my camera SDHC card into the Card Reader............ nothing happens! Something is not compatible with something else.

I have some nice photos to share with you once I have sorted out this problem. Perhaps I need to buy a new Card Reader. It certainly is cheaper than buying a new laptop :-((

I'm okay and finding my feet in nephew Warren's house in the centre of the universe. It's called Silsden.  Will post when I have sorted out the photo transfer problem. Oh, to be in Brexitland now that summer is here. Yes, we had 32°C today. I couldn't believe it. Nor could the locals :-))

Back in Business. Thanks Geoff for the loan of your Card Reader. Here is a nice reminder of what the future may hold for the Brexiters :-)) 

Querflöte

Silsdeners will be scratching their heads and asking themselves what it means. It means 'transverse flute'. In my last post I said I was going to a concert. It was at Christkirche in Firlstrasse. It is one tram stop away from the training centre where I meet Kerstin and the Training Oldies each Friday morning. The weather was good so I cycled there.

I met Ulli and Petra who you will remember are members of The Muggelsee Gang. One of their daughters, Amina, was playing Querflöte in a concert at this church. She also plays two other instruments and is studying music. It was a concert based on the church choir called 'Jucantus' which sang a range of songs in German, Spanish and English. Some old, some not so old but all sung very professionally.

Amina played a piece by Carl Maria von Weber. She also accompanied a young lady playing a cello and the pianist in other works. She played effortlessly and with full control of the instrument and performance. I really enjoyed the evening and talking to them after.

We all them went our separate ways to spend the rest of the evening watching the final of the European Football Champion. I expected France to win against Portugal, but they didn't. Even so I enjoyed the play and the effort made by both teams. 

I have now packed my bag so the next post will be from Silsden, probably on Friday. Until then!

Oldies-Picnic-Refund-Hits

Busy at the moment. Just got back from Hönow where I checked Oldie H is okay. I spent all yesterday there standing in for his family, who have gone away for the weekend. We went to a local restaurant where Oldie H paid for my lunch! I then made him go for a slow walk in a nearby park.

He stopped for a breather next to a set of training equipment. A girl was there with her grandmother and we got talking. Grandma thought Oldie H was my father and I was taking him out for a walk from the nearby Home for Oldies!!

She told me that the equipment had been constructed for Oldies. I immediately tried every machine. Grandmother told me what to do and what part of the body each machine exercised. Great fun as I went back to being ten years of age and in the playground at Silsden.

Last Thursday morning I played host to Johanna and Jutta for Kaffee und Kuchen in my garden. Normally it is in the afternoon, but they had other plans so we started early. As we sipped a cool glass of sekt, after the K&K, I remembered that Marita (pics of her with me)  was moving things into her new flat opposite. I went over and shortly after she joined us. The ladies soon got chatting as if they had known each other for years. I looked on and smiled. Wonderful happy atmosphere. We agreed to repeat it on my return from Brexitland.

When I opened my computer a short time ago, I found an e-mail from easyJet saying they had processed the refund on 28th June = one day after they cancelled the Liverpool flight. I opened my Debit Card account and saw that they had paid the refund on 29th June. What a surprise! Even so, they are now on my Only Go With Them When No Other Airline Flies There.

As I opened my blog to write this post I noted I had 60,009 visits to my blog since I started it. Wow - was that a surprise. I still remember Neil's comment that I make the mundane interesting. Now to get ready and cycle to Firlstr in Oberschöneweide. There is a classic music concert in the local church at 6.00pm and one daughter of a couple in my Muggelsee Gang is playing.

Later there is the football final between France and Portugal. I shall be glued to the box for the final game. Perhaps you will too.

Glitters

There is a saying in British English that, 'Not all that glitters is gold'. True, as you can see from these photos of objects in my home. One of the silver objects goes back fifty years, others were collected over many years. All were stored in boxes and moved from cellar to cellar in different cities and countries.

How did they see the light of day? The short answer is: Daniel. He collects coins and talked to me about this. During our discussions I mentioned I had a number of silver objects in my cellar. He asked to see them. I finally found them and he said I should put them in my flat and not return them to the cellar. He could not understand how anyone could leave them in boxes/cellars for so many years.

I then told him I had other objects in the cellar and he wanted to see those. Finally I brought all the boxes into my flat. He was surprised at the number and range. He then started to reorganise my living room to make flat surfaces to display them. It also meant buying polish to clean the metal objects! He particularly likes all the silver objects with the large candle holder his favourite.

I have included a photo of three non-glitter-metal objects. They are carved from wood and represent different images of India. One of them is Daniel's wooden favourite. Guess which one? No idea? Okay, I shall tell you. It is the National Emblem of India. It is the smaller one at the front of the photo. It has a name and this is Satyameve Jayate which in English means Truth Alone Triumphs.

It represents the Lion Capital of Asoka at Sarnath and was adopted as the national symbol on 26 January 1950, the day India became a republic. Well done India! Pity that other countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand did not follow your example but remained subjects of the English Monarch as the Brexitlanders do!!

The words on the emblem are written in Hindi/Devnagari Script and is a quote taken from the Mundake Upanishad, which is the concluding part of the sacred Hindu Vedas. I'm sure you all know that. I happily learnt such things in the early-1970s to prepare me to live and work there. Ahhhh.... happy memories!

Brandenburg Skies

Yesterday I took the U-Bahn to Hönow to visit Oldie H. I also took my bicycle and rain jacket. The forecast was for showers in the afternoon but happily it didn't happen. I think all the rain and cold winds are in England at the moment!

I found Oldie H. relatively well. He was able to breathe and speak better after treatment during his last hospital stay. The sun emerged so we sat in his garden and enjoyed the warmth. We chatted and had 'Kaffee und Kuchen' before  I left to cycle to Altlandsberg.

It was a new experience for me. Normally I go there on the S-Bahn from Berlin. This time it was to find the roads linking Hönow and Altlandsberg. It took longer than expected, and I had to stop a couple of times to ask the way, but I made it.

My hosts were Peter and Andre. They were waiting for me in their garden. I enjoyed chatting with them and catching up on news, mainly about their recent holiday in Spain and Marocco. We talked our way into the evening, through a grilled meal, and a few glasses of wine! It was good to see them again and the first time this year.

I then cycled to Neuenhagen where I just missed the S-Bahn to Berlin. While waiting for the next one I took a shot of the early evening sky which included a rainbow. Two minutes after I took this shot it started to rain - but only for three minutes!. Earlier I had taken a shot of a field and sky in Hönow looking towards the east. I really like this area as it unfolds and eventually takes you to the Polish border.

One Year

Tomorrow will mark one year since Jan and Arancha married in Oviedo, which is in the far north of Spain. What a weekend and what a wedding that was! I could do it all over again. When I look at the wedding photos I relive every minute.

I flew to Madrid, then Oviedo and found Alan and Lynne waiting for me at the hotel. The wedding, reception and big party next day were incredible. I wonder how they are going to celebrate tomorrow.

Here is a photo of the happy couple. I took it when they later came to Berlin for his sister's wedding. I recently bought a couple of gold rimmed frames for photographs. They deserve to be framed in gold!

Tomorrow I am off to Hönow to visit Oldie H. Still having breathing problems but he agreed to go on a slow walk with me in the afternoon. He can only go on walks when he has someone with him. After that I shall get on my bike and cycle to Altlandsberg to enjoy an evening of grilling with friends there.  Have a nice Sunday no matter where you are :-))