December 2008

What is happening in December 2008

Birthdays in December - I always feel sorry for those with a birthday in December for it gets overshadowed by Christmas. Who has a birthday this month?

Michael Nixdorf will be 45 on the 5th December, my brother-in-law Geoffrey will be one year older on the 13th :-), the lovely Jördis will be 29 on the 17th (Jördis - when are we going to the cinema again?), and ending the month is Ian Maxwell who will be celebrating his 47th on the 30 December with Birgit, and on a ski slope somewhere in Austria.

Have fun on your big day to all of you!

Other things in December. Lots of food! I am going to parties on the 10th, the 11th, the 13th the 22nd December. I shall be taking Hans to various Christmas events this month starting on the 10th. My Spanish classes finish this month and I plan to continue next year. I feel I have made progress with these teachers and so want to learn more with them.

I may even get in a concert or two with Angelika and the Komische Oper starting with a show I have a ticket for next Thursday. I usually end the month with her and her 'band' at the opera house and hope to do the same this year.

I also have two walks planned with the 'Sporty Oldies' starting on the 6th with a modest 12 klm walk near Berlin. My Thursday afternoon Adobe Photoshop course will end in the middle of the month but I plan to do the next level course starting in January 2009. I have agreed to stand in for teachers in six classes at the Institute this month as well as take on a student with special needs. Should be interesting.

The big event for me is Jan arriving on Wednesday 17th December from Rhode Island. I also hope to see Peter, for I have a lot of books for him, and who knows, perhaps Itzak and Stefan will turn up with Jan and Peter. Jan is flying to Spain on the 27th December to spend the rest of his time with Arancha before he returns to Rhode Island.

I am not sure where I shall be spending the Christmas holiday period. I am waiting for news from Marga and Teresa to see if we are going to meet again to have an 'Ignore the Christmas Hoohaa' evening or with Ziya, Anne-Marie and Franziska. I have also got an invitation from Oldie Hermann to spend the time with his group of Oldies. Nice to have a choice.

We are all atheists and stand at a distance from this religious event for it is difficult to escape the commercialism of it all - to the point where it really is becoming meaningless if you are not shopping. Well you can live outside it to some respect and that is what we try to do.

You can have fun and enjoy good food with interesting people each day of the year without believing in such fairy stories. And you can buy children presents and be very loving and supportive to them each day - and not just at the end of December. I think you have got my point so I shall not continue.

More Books

The month ended with more books

Yes, I know I should not stop and look at special offers in bookshops but there is one near to Friedrichstrasse Station and I made the mistake of entering.

At least I reduced my purchase to only two books. One to make me smile and one for me to learn more about the history, and development of the English language.

You can see for yourself, and if you pass a bookshop and see them, have a look and think about buying a copy. I think you will not regret it! Now back to reading my Einstein biography.

The Happy Gang

I saw the Happy Gang this morning
I haven't seen them for five or more years. What a nice surprise. I met Werner B. recently and then he called me and invited me to meet The Happy Gang again.

Who are they? Many years ago, when Hobbits and Gremlins ruled the earth, I arrived in Berlin and started teaching at the VHS-Marzahn. I advertised an advanced English course each Wednesday morning, and that was the start of a group I later called The Happy Gang.

They became so good that they didn't need a teacher anymore and I moved onto other contracts. Fortunately, Werner B. kept the group together and they meet twice a month at a Community Centre and continue to improve their English skills.

When I arrived, Werner R. was in mid flow about his recent trip to Dresden and other places in Saxony where he grew up, so I took a photo of him presenting his report. On the left of this photo is Werner B.. Werner R. is an expert on Adobe Photoshop so I hope to see him again to get some tips. As you know, I go to a course each Thursday afternoon to learn this programme.

In the other photos you can see Rita trying to work out which end of her camera to use :-) and then I got a shot of the group. I must say that many of them have not aged at all. I felt very happy to be back with my best 'Oldie' group. I think my sister, Pauline, would like to meet them when she visits next March. I think she and Rita will have a great time talking about dusting and housework in general!

Snow and Bond

It snowed and Jan and I saw Bond

Nice to see snow falling in Berlin for it looks very clean. I have put the heating on for the first time and we can expect snow and near freezing temperatures for the next few days. This shot is of my 'back garden'.

In addition to all my other things and doing some more relief teaching last week I went to the early show of the new James Bond film at the Sony Centre in Potsdamer Platz. All films are shown in the original language so that I why I go there.

I liked the film but Jan didn't. This is what Jan posted on his blog two days ago ---
"Furthermore we had at the new James Bond. I must warn everybody: DO NOT GO!!!! to this movie. It is nothing special and not comparable to any other 007 movies before. "

Go and see it yourself. The story follows on from the last film and is much shorter. Heike yesterday said she had heard people complaining that it not like the older films with Roger Moore as Bond. Good for I never went to see those, but Bond as a harder character portrayed by Daniel Graig gets my vote each time. Have fun at the cinema.

Sad and Happy

Yesterday was both sad and happy

It was sad to go to Birgit's family grave where we put fir leaves and winter flowers onto the grave. Today is 'Totensonntag' when people visit family graves and put special winter displays onto the grave, as we did. From sad to happy when we saw Birgit's son Robert again, with Heike and Dr. Birgit. Marita was not in Berlin so could not come but sent her commiserations.

We met in a restaurant near my place and caught up on news. I took these photos. Heike brought back a scarf and hat for Robert from her trip to New Zealand and so I couldn't resist a shot of him trying them on. I also got a shot of Heike with smiling eyes in a very good photos of her.

We are next going to meet just before Christmas at my place which I am looking forward to.

Later I went to a Kaffee und Kuchen session in Kreuzberg and here is a photo of the delicious cakes we had with our coffee. Both were home made. Mmmm tasty!

English with K+S

English with Katrin and Steffen
They came for their usual English lesson last Friday, but this time I had fitted up computers and my projector to work with them on writing. I can see each working by switching input on the projector. We hadn't done a writing session for some time so I was pleased to note a lot of progress - and it was fun for them, which is very important.

Here they are working out the problems of writing in English. Yes, it is hard for English has separated spelling and sounds over the centuries. Here are the photos I took of my hard working students.

Linux and Expolingua

Linux and Expolingua
After the workshop I found a shop selling a booklet about changing your operation system to Linux. It was recommended by Jan when we recently talked over Skype.

I have screwed up my Baby Asus again and need to learn something about Linux to try to avoid doing it again. I really need to brush up my German to read such stuff. The Windows 98 booklet was for Micha.

I then went to the Expolingua exhibition and collected material about Spain and Spanish courses in a number of countries. I was even given a t-shirt, pens, CDs, a book in addition to course material. I took some photos so you can see how much material I got.

Busy Week

I had a busy week - almost as busy as the week before

Regular visits to my Spanish classes, to Hans, and to a new student at the Institute, my private students all back and visits to the doctors. I am now on one 'beta-blocker' tablet a day because my blood pressure is too high and last Friday I gave samples for testing at a laboratory. I had my last visit to my skin-allergy doctor and injection this year. Next appointment is mid January.

The week ended on a happy note as I went to one of our teacher association workshops yesterday morning. It was titled 'Ten Ways to Teach Grammar', and given by Dominic, one of our active members. I really enjoyed the event and being with so many other teachers to swap stories with in the break.

I took a few photos to send to members which I also post here. Some of you may remember Teresa who is above, on the right, wearing a red top.

Potsdam with Peter

I met Peter in Potsdam yesterday
A gray and chilly day opened as I boarded a train and headed off to Potsdam. I had arranged to meet Peter, who some of you know I call Peter von Longlegs because he is tall! I hadn't seen him since last Christmas when he had a break in Berlin from studying in Chicago. He is busy writing a paper for his 'Diplom' in Economics. He also has a part-time job and still has some lectures to attend.

It was really great to see him again and chat as he took me around the old Holland Quarter near the centre of Potsdam. We continued some very interesting discussions over a 'deftiges' lunch and beer.

One photo we took for Jan in Rhode Island. It is of an empty glass of Wernesgrüne just to remind him that the beer really is better here! The others are of the old areas we were in including Peter in front of his favourite pub which features Heavy Metal Music!

He will complete his degree work by Easter and then he plans to study for a doctorate. Very nice Peter and I am just waiting to be able to call you Dr. von Longlegs!

Booming Batesons

Great news to start the month!

The Batesons are 'Booming'. Congratulations to Peter and Rebecca in Australia on the news that Rebecca is pregnant. Here is a photo taken when they married. The happy couple are in the middle. Alan and Lynne will not be there for the birth but plan to fly over later that year.

Congratulations also to Paul and Beth who announced their engagement over their Facebook accounts. Modern technology! There will certainly be a big party when Paul arrives home at the end of this month.

My Events in November

So what shall I be doing in November?

Each Monday I shall be visiting Hans to check that he has showered and shaved, put clean clothes on and cleaned his room before I take him out. He choses a restaurant and so we try to get him back into 'normal' society. Not always easy for he has virtually stopped communicating with anyone. I sometimes think this is simply that he has nothing to say.

I understand this for when I had to leave India and landed in a completely strange England, I also had nothing to say. Talking about my life in India was like speaking Chinese to a deaf person, and I did not understand, or accept, the neo-liberal, selfish, money-only-value society the English had built in my absence. I sometimes think he senses this and so I am the only one he accepts.

I shall continue with my Spanish lessons each Monday evening and Thursday afternoon. Also with my Photoshop course each Thursday afternoon. I will also teach some private students this month as well as take on a 1:1 student at the Institute. I have also agreed to deputize there in December.

I also have my appointments each week for injections for my allergies and skin problem. Talking of health: I notice I have more pains on the right part of my heart and that since I stopped training at the end of June, that my upper body is expanding although I have lost 1 kilo. I put this down to muscle changing to fat and will watch this carefully until the end of the year and then decide to return to training, or not.

There are some teacher association events this month, mainly workshops for which I have booked a place. There is also a walk with the Sporty Oldies this month which I plan to join. I'm meeting Heike at the end of the month to take flowers to Birgit's grave for it is 'Totensonntag' then.

And so I shall end the month with lots of reports and photos from some of you to share with other members of my family and friends - for that is what this blog is all about.

Birthdays in November

Who has a birthday in November?

The famous three in The Netherlands will be celebrating birthdays on 19th November. They are Jeff - hitting 53 - and Rob and Annie who are somewhere near that number. Have a great time and I shall toast you and remember happy times with you in Balk and Amersfoort in the past.

Computer Mathias will be having a beer or three on Thursday 20th November to celebrate his 41st - with his lovely Jördis, of course! And that is all for this month.

Nice picture from Hubble

Ending the month on a BANG!

I know I am reporting on the first of November but I found this wonderful image at the end of October. Isn't it superb?

It was taken by the 18 year old space telescope called 'Hubble', when scientists on earth activated its two back up cameras, after the main ones failed a couple of weeks ago.

The picture has been described as a pair of interacting galaxies that appear to form the number 10. I wonder what other wonderful sights Hubble will send before its batteries finally empty.

Micha on the keys

Key hitting at Micha's

From this last lesson, I went to Micha's flat to help him with his computer. I got him to install a speaker system so that he could hear the woman's voice saying, ' fff , space-bar, jjj. spacebar' etc. This time I made sure he was practicing with the correct fingers, as I had just learnt. We had a problem changing the font on his writing programme.
Meanwhile, Micha is doing his 'fff - jjj' practice each day and has put his name down for a Computer Course for Seniors starting soon. Keep practicing Micha and thanks for my supper!


Nach der letzten Stunde fuhr ich zu Michas Wohnung, um ihm mit seinem Computer zu helfen. Es gelang uns, eine Lautsprechersystem auf seinem Computer zu installieren, so daß er eine Frau konnte sagen hören 'fff. Leertaste, jjj. Lehrtaste' usw. Dieses Mal stellte ich sicher, daß er mit den richtigen Fingern trainierte, wie ich es gelernt hatte. Wir hatten ein Problem, die Schriftart auf seinem Schreibprogramm zu ändern.
Inzwischen trainiert Micha seine 'fff - jjj'-Übung jeden Tag und hat sich für einen Senioren-Computerkurs eingeschrieben, der demnächst beginnt. Schön weiter üben, Micha, und danke für mein Abendessen!

Typed out

And so we survived another course to improve our typing skills.
This course took us through the problems and use of all the non-alphabet keys on the keyboard. At one time I thought I would have to become a contortionist to get to some of the keys on the outer areas of the keyboard, but I somehow managed to get my fingers there even with mistakes. We also learnt about lay-out rules and grammar points for commercial German. I had never heard this before and found it very informative.

Und somit haben wir einen weiteren Kurs überlebt, um unsere Tastaturfertigkeiten zu verbessern. Dieser Kurs führte uns durch all die Probleme und den Gebrauch der nichtalphabetischen Tasten an der Tastatur. An einer Stelle dachte ich, ich würde ein Schlangenmensch werden, um an einige der äußeren Tasten auf der Tastatur zu reichen, aber irgendwie gelang es mir dann doch, meine Finger, wenn auch mit Fehlern, dort hinzubringen. Wir lernten auch etwas über Layout-Regeln und grammatische Aspekte für kommerzielles Deutsch. Ich hatte davon noch nie gehört und fand es äußerst informativ.

The teacher was very professional, coming from years of experience, and I liked her method with jokes, a smile and those warm-up, fingers-fit exercises. I am typing this now without looking at the keyboard and using all the fingers in the right place - as I learnt over the last two weeks. I notice how easier it is than before.

Die Lehrerin war auf Grund ihrer langjährigen Erfahrung sehr professionell, und mir gefiel ihre Methode mit Späßen, einem Lächeln und den Fingeraufwärmübungen. Ich schreibe das nun, ohne auf die Tastatur zu schauen, mit allen Fingern an der richtigen Stelle - so wie ich es in den letzten zwei Wochen gelernt habe. Und mir fällt auf, um wieviel leichter als früher es doch ist.

We had some new students in this group. Three were secretaries and very skilled. The were getting over 500 hits per minute, which is very fast. Perhaps one day I shall be as good as they are. I have a photo of them in a row and one of the group. Our teacher is in the middle with my favourite 'wand' (longer than Harry Potter's) with the red end. I shall practice over winter and look for another course next year to see if I have made progress and take a test. Thanks to all.

We hatten einige neue Teilnehmer in der Gruppe. Drei von ihnen waren sehr befähigte Sekretärinnen. Sie schafften mehr als 500 Anschläge pro Minute, was sehr schnell ist. Vielleicht bin ich ja eines Tages genauso gut wie sie. Ich habe ein Foto von ihnen in einer Reihe und eins von der Gruppe. Unsere Lehrerin ist in der Mitte mit meinem Lieblings"zauberstab" (länger als der Harry Potters) mit seiner roten Spitze. Im Winter werde ich weiterüben und mich nächstes Jahr nach einem weiteren Kurs umschauen um zu sehen, ob ich Fortschritte gemacht habe, und dann einen Test absolvieren. Allen einen herzlichen Dank.