Kathleen F.

Mr Postie has just delivered something to make my day:-) It is a book containing a collection of letters and diary entries written by Kathleen Ferrier. Can I hear any of you asking who she is? In answer let me quote from the back of the book.

"In 1953, at the age of 41, Kathleen Ferrier, England's greatest lyric contralto, lost her courageous battle with breast cancer. Her huge appeal to a wide audience has ensured her name endures to this day, despite a career which lasted barely ten years."

I heard an interview with the compiler of the book on BBC Radio 3 some time ago. I contacted cousin Barbara and she organised the delivery. Many thanks Barbara, I owe you tea at Betty's next summer!

Kathleen Ferrier is part of my childhood and one of a few happy memories. My mother was musical and encouraged me to play piano. I also sang in the school choir led by the music teacher, Mr Skull. He knew my mother well musically, and politically for both were active in the local Labour Party.

Mr Skull introduced me to Kathleen Ferrier's voice and I fell in love with her immediately. I still am. The first LP I ever bought many years later was of her singing a collection of English folk songs. Mr Skull also guided me to appreciate the music of Britten, Mahler, Bruckner and Wagner in addition to a wide range of songs and choir music. Thanks Mr Skull. I shall think about you as I read the book.

Mother

My mother died on this day at 6.00pm in 1967. It was a Sunday and happened in Keighley General Hospital. I sat by her bed, held her hand, chatted, then kissed her goodbye and left at 5.00pm to drive to Nottingham. She died as  I was driving south. I was the last to see her. I was 24 and she was 49. I have missed her sharing the ups and downs of my life since then

I left home at 16 when I went to Leeds to study. Later I passed my driving test and left for Nottingham.  She died two weeks and one day after I had seen her at sister Frances' 21 Birthday. When I left the day after, she was doing the family wash and looked both tired and ill.  She always embraced me and cried when I left. She did the same then. I didn't know she only had another 15 days to live. Here is a flower for her.

New Camera

I found Jan and Arancha sipping a beer, or three, in the bar they had told me. Warm embraces and questions about health and happiness. They looked very well and happy. That made me in turn feel well and happy!
We caught up on news in more detail. Jan is not known for being too verbose in his e-mails and communication. That is an understatement! We joked about this and his preference of looking at the photos on my blog rather than the text. I have recently discovered that Marcel does the same. Are my words/texts so difficult to read/understand? Mmmmh!

Perhaps I should stop posting photos :-)  Talking of which, I was allowed to open Jan's new mystery box. Here is a photo of his new camera emerging into daylight. I have been e-mailing him recently about cameras and offers available in Berlin.

He called me just after he arrived to ask me about an offer in a chain of electrical stores. I told him that he should buy it immediately if he had the money. He said he had. I told him to get moving and buy it before the stock was sold.

What did he buy? A Canon DSLR, same model as mine, BUT, for the same price as mine he got an additional 300mm lens! Amazing, for alone it would cost an extra €200 plus. I said I would keep his camera and he could have mine. He declined my offer with a big smile.

I am very pleased that he bought this camera and has now entered the world of photography rather than snapping something with a mobile phone camera or small digital camera. I think we shall have many hours of discussion about this in the near future.

We wandered through the centre for some time and ended up at a restaurant specialising in food and beer from Cologne. Drinks and light food with more talk and exchanging information before we walked around the corner to Friedrichstr. Station. I jumped onto my regional train and they took an S-Bahn to the centre to meet friends and enjoy the rest of the evening.

As I write this, I guess they are relaxing after a long night, have had a late lunch and are packing a bag for the flight to Den Haag later this evening. Bon Voyage and see you again in mid-December.

A Walk

Yesterday I went for a walk. All organised quickly as we got weather reports that the weekend would be sunny, cool but no rain. Our meeting point was a Protestant Church centre called Johannesstift. Where is that? It is north of Spandau which in turn is in the north-west of Berlin. Tegel Airport is not too far away. Yes, it is still in operation!

A mixture of Oldies and middle-aged met up on time, but without me. Why? Because after making two additional changes due to work on the line, I finally arrived at Ostbahnhof to pick up my regional train. I waited, and waited. It arrived late so that meant I would miss my connection at Spandau to meet the gang at Johannesstift.

A couple of calls to the tour leader to explain the situation. Messages onto the answering machine and then off I went hoping they would wait for me. I got to Spandau and set off in search of the stop for bus M45. I finally found it and two minutes later the bus arrived. I met the gang and apologised but they all said it was not a problem for they knew the situation too well.


We set off at a pleasant pace. Ilka's dog jumped about with pleasure as we entered the forest and he was set off the leash. We followed a water route into the forest and had a rest with coffee. Off again and another route back to our starting point.

On arrival we looked at the interesting buildings at Johannesstift. They were built in 1908. The architecture is certainly superior to that of the 1960s/70s, which elevated a box to an architectural style! We finally arrived at 'Heidis Landgasthaus'. Heidi was a wonderful hostess. The food was traditional German, well cooked, presented and tasty!

While eating, I got a call on my mobile. It was Jan. We agreed to meet in the centre of Berlin later that afternoon. We later set off for the S-Regional Train Station in Spandau. From there I reached Alexander Platz and called Jan again. We agreed to meet in a bar in Nicholai Viertal. Off I went.

New Kunst

I started the day with Kerstin and my Keep-Fit Oldies. I felt much better after lots of stretching and relaxation. I then headed to Stefan's Photoshop Gang. Surprised to see only two others with Stefan. It was a really good session.

Stefan said that it was different when there was only a small group. We certainly got more personal attention as we struggled to work through the tasks. After pressing the wrong buttons we finally got the desired result.  We did two tasks. One is of Strausberer Platz not far from Alexander Platz in the centre of Berlin.

There is, however, a strange jetty and lake running into Strausberger Platz! The other is of a flower which should be part of the black and white picture. How did we do it?  Or should the background be in colour as is the flower?

Happy Gang

Last Wednesday morning I jumped into two trams and ended up at a Community Centre in Marzahn. This is a district in the north-east of Berlin where I lived when I arrived in Berlin, many years ago. I was very happy there and had the largest and cheapest flat I have ever had in Berlin.

My third job was working at Marzahn VHS, which translates as Adult Education College. One of courses I was asked to take over was a group on a Wednesday morning. I shortly afterwards gave them the name of  'Happy Gang'. I think you can work out why I called them that.

Their level of English was/is high and they did not need to translate many words. I remember they were very active in the classroom and always did their homework.  After 19 - or 20 years, for we have differing memories - they are still together. They meet twice a month in Marzahn in this centre, and are as busy and 'Happy' as they were when I worked with them

 It was nice to be invited to their meeting as a guest. Always honoured and happy to meet them. They allowed me to take a few photos. Here are two for these photos show them with/and without me.  Thanks to all for the invitation.

Schwedt - 2

I decided to share more images of Schwedt with you. My first post had a number of photos of the bridge. Here are a few more showing different aspects of the town and river Oder.

I talked to a number of people yesterday about my Sunday in Schwedt. Some were surprised and asked why we had gone there. Their question arose from knowing that the town only has the petrol/gas pipeline and little else to interest visitors. Even so, it was pleasant to travel through the autumn scenery and see the changing colours of trees and fields.

As I did, I thought about my friends in Australia and New Zealand who are waking each morning to Spring bursting into their bedrooms. I think I should spend half a year there and half a year in Europe. That would be the perfect solution!

Yesterday, I had a wonderful late afternoon with Marita to celebrate her birthday. Light, tasty food with healthy drinks. Later we added a glass of sekt! It was nice to see her again and looking so well. She has had a couple of years of health problems but seems to be emerging into better times now.

I have had unexpected time on my hands. Frau Fox called this morning to say she had an unexpected appointment so we could not meet for my German lesson. I interpret that to mean she had to go to the Doc's urgently. She has had a series of health problems recently. Even so, I did my homework like a good little boy and she can check it next Tuesday afternoon!

I've been invited to meet my old 'Happy Gang' tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to it and shall take my camera. Perhaps I can get a few good shots to support a post to my blog.

Schwedt - 1

 I have just returned for my first visit to Schwedt. Can I hear you asking where it is? You go to the main railway station in Berlin and get into a train that goes there. There is one every two hours so plan your travel.

Nice journey to the north through lots of woods and fields. The train then veers east until the final station. It is Schwedt.


 Get out and walk 15  minutes until you reach the old centre. From there you can also walk to a bridge that will take you into Poland.


What is Schwedt famous for? It appears to be famous for nothing. It had a palace in which lived some sort of Duke, but that is more than some time ago. Both he and the palace have disappeared.

 In the GDR period it was the end station of a pipeline that brought oil/petrol from the then USSR. There is still a large refinery, but the number of workers is much less.

I arrived in the mist fighting against the power of the rising sun. The sun later won, as you can see from comparing my first two photos of the bridge leading to Poland. Another photo is of the Market Square and of the river which forms the border.

It was relaxing to get out of Berlin and enjoy what may be the last of the late summer/autumn days of sun and blue sky. I also had an excellent traditional meal at a local hostelry. Very nice day!

Civics

There was an interesting coincidence yesterday.  I went to my cellar to look for a series of English Language books for beginners. I didn't find them which means I either gave them away, or threw them into the recycling bin. I did, however, find a nice book about Civics from the GDR.

When I was at school this subject was called Civics so I have translated it as such. My course was designed to prepare we new teenagers for the wonderful world of politics, parties, voting, rights and responsibilities. The GDR book was designed to do the same. I find this a positive thing to do no matter which country, or political system.

As I emerged from the cellar with my GDR book in my hand, I opened my postbox. There I found a really interesting letter from Alan, and a package from Stefan. If you scroll down enough you will find a post about Stefan's visit to Berlin in summer -  before he left for Maine to visit Melanie. Of course you remember!

He sent me a book about German law and regulations in all its wonderful forms and shapes :-) Thanks Stefan. I shall read it when I travel on the U-Bahn and S-Bahn systems to see how the locals respond to seeing me reading this material. Should be interesting!

Both are about Civics with the latter heavily based on law and legal responsibility of the collective in the guise of The State and the individual in the guise of you and me! I have a whole new world of German to discover. I wonder what Frau Fox, my German teacher, will say about this when we meet next Tuesday afternoon.

Lights - 2

And so we finally arrived at Brandenburg Gate. It must be in the list of top ten tourist places to visit in Europe. There were thousands of people there when we arrived.

Since 1989, the Berlin government has promoted the restoration of the area to its original appearance. It now looks almost like it did in the early 1900's - given architectural licence :-)

Not far from the Gate is the famous Adlon Hotel. It was famous until 1939, then it disappeared like a lot of central Berlin as a result of bombing raids. I am not sure what was on the site during the GDR. I think it was left empty. The hotel has now been re-built and you can see it lit up in the photograph on the left.

Just around the corner is the British Embassy. It was re-built about the same time. I remember when I worked at the British Council I got an invitation to go to the opening ceremony - by Queen Liz 2. I turned down the offer.

Those of you who know me well should not be surprised. I am totally opposed to monarchy in all its forms and shapes! I went there two weeks later with no pomp and circumstance - and enjoyed my visit.

I returned a number of times until some idiot with a beard, wearing a turban, and shouting Allah threatened to blow it up along with a number of other buildings. Since then security has almost ruled out approaching the building - even the street in front of it is blocked to traffic!

I decided not to even enter the street and stayed with the mass of locals and tourists in front of the Adlon Hotel and Brandenburg Gate. I took some really interesting shots, which due to the lighting made it almost appear to be a different building. What do you thing?

Lights - 1

This week there was an event in Berlin called 'The Festival of Lights'. It has been held for a number of years, and I remember Liebe Andrea sending me photos a couple of years ago.

This time it was Sylke, and not Andrea, who told me about the event. Sylke suggested we meet last Wednesday and go to the city centre to take photographs. About seventy buildings are illuminated with different colours and patterns for a ten day period.

As I write these words it is the last day. Thousands of people will be watching the final display of lights on large buildings.  Sylke and I walked to Berlin Cathedral. On the way we took some shots of the Museum Island. There were thousands of people watching the displays.

I also saw hundreds of hobby photographers with quality cameras and tripods. I have never seen so many people with tripods before. Sylke had her 'Rolls-Royce' equivalent tripod. I came along with my small 'Trabbi' equivalent version.

I quickly decided to throw it into the nearest rubbish bin, but Sylke advised me to take it home and offer it to someone else. Anyone want a tripod designed for a dwarf? If so, contact me! Here are a number of photographs taken on route to Brandenburg Gate.

My next post will be only about the photos I took there.

Nice company

 For the next three weeks the 'works of art' created by me and other talented members of the Photoshop Gang are on display in the 'Oldie' Centre.

I smiled at my priceless contributions to Kunst as I walked to the main room which then doubled as a dining room.

I spotted Ziya sitting with two nice ladies. I know he has a lot of lady friends but these looked new to me. I wondered how many women he was dating as I joined them. We were introduced and so polite dinner conversations took place as we sipped fruit juice and waited for the food to be grilled.

I took the opportunity to walk into the front garden where the grills were doing their work. I snapped a couple of photos so you can see how 'we' Germans grill and enjoy such a meal.  It was very tasty and even included 'real' Thüringer Brat Wurst! Well, they were claimed to be 'real'!

After the meal,  a couple of musicians played Greek/Turkish music. Those who could danced to the music. More than half of the members of this Centre come from Turkey, with those from Greece forming a smaller group. They seem to share some music and dance styles.

The ladies danced and enjoyed it although they do not come from Turkey or Greece. When catching their breath between dancing, I took a few photographs to send to them via e-mail.

I really enjoyed my time there. I look forward to the next event which I think is planned for just before Christmas. Now you know how I 'waste' some of my time in Berlin :-)

To the Grill event

 Last Tuesday I went to the Senior Community Centre, where I have my Photoshop course. Stefan had called me earlier to ask if I wanted to join just over one hundred other 'Oldies' for a nice 'grilled' meal, music and dance. I said, 'Yes' to the former. I can't dance so I was not interested in that part of the event.

I dutifully showered and changed into casual, but smart clothes, and headed for Falckensteinstraße. It was a sunny, warm day and I was happy to go there.

I took the S-Bahn to Warschauer Straße. There I have to change to the U-Bahn and travel one stop over the River Spree into Kreuzberg. A short walk takes me to the 'Oldie' Centre.

I had my camera in my case so decided to take a couple of photos of 'work-in-progress' at Warschauer Straße S-Bahn station. It really is a desolate and unfriendly place. I cannot remember when there was not some kind of digging and construction and it never seems to look better or be customer friendly.

One of the shots is towards the east where I travelled from. The other is towards the centre of the city. You can see the big 02 Centre on the left of the photograph. When I arrived at the 'Oldie' Centre, I took another couple of photos to the left and right as you enter the building.

I also took one of the building which now has lots of graffiti on the front. It was cleaned up earlier in the year, but thanks to the tasteless yobs with spray cans and no concept of art, the front has been sprayed again with their sub-mental fantasies.

More Kunst

Last Friday, the Photoshop Gang met after a very loooooooong summer break to start another course of learning how to use Photoshop and edit photos. The technological multi-talented Stefan was again leading the group.

He had prepared some photographs, and printed out a detailed list of step-by-step thinsg we had to do. He also used a screen attached to his computer to take us through the stages. Very good planning and teaching method Stefan. You get an extra banana for that!

He took us through it to see if we had forgotten everything during the long summer break. We hadn't but his method made it easier to remember. We then had to remove everything and start again. A test of short term memory!

 So here is my result. Another work of art and available for purchase at the amazing price of only €100,00. A snip at that price !

Britz revisited

On Friday afternoon I met my Photoshop Gang led by Stefan. It was really nice to see them again, but three were not present for different reasons. Helga is recovering from an operation on her left knee so get well soon Helga! (She is in the bottom left photo)

We last met for a 'photo-shoot' in Britzer Garten a couple of weeks ago. See my blog for details. I saw some photos taken by Stefan then. I had not seen them before. We all looked at them again and they made us laugh.

Why? I told you in my earlier report that we had a bottle of sekt, but no glasses. We solved the problem by drinking the sekt out of dishes. This made me think of a dog (This will start Marcel smiling!).

 In Germany the standard name for a dog is 'Bello',  so I imitated Bello drinking out of his dish. This caused lots of laughter  --- but then the others began to imitate me:-) See the photos of some nice people acting like teenagers. Why should teenagers have all the fun!

More animals

I could continue with photos of the animals we photographed in Tierpark, but I am not going to.

I have an entry pass so I can visit when I want and take photos of Freddie and his friends when I want and then post to my blog.


For now, here are a few photos of some animals I shall visit again. I am interested in photographing them again in different seasons, such as in winter with snow.

I didn't get to photograph the new leopard twins, but I am sure I shall get them on a later visit.

For Shirley

These photos are for Shirley. She can share them with Judy, Modesta and her family. They remind me of a wonderful day last May, towards the end of my stay with her in St. Augustine.

We went on a long drive south, to an area famous for its park and source of a river which emerges into the bottom of a lake. The park was used to shoot all the Tarzan films.  I told you about it on my blog when I returned to Berlin.

I was lucky enough to photograph some flamingos there. I was surprised that they made a noise like an agitated Donald Duck, so you can imagine the noise when I came upon so many in Tierpark.

Nice to see so many and return to happy memories of my time in Florida. Thanks Shirley!

Affen für Baz

These photos are for cousin Barry in Liverpool. I can imagine him laughing out loud when he sees them. Actually, we humans automatically start to smile, and even laugh, when we see monkeys jumping around.

Fortunately, Sylke and I found a family with young monkeys. The latter were full of life and jumping around all over the compound.

Their parents largely ignored them and just kept inspecting each other for lice. The lucky ones found one and ate it immediately. Tasty!

I defy you to look at these photos and not start to smile. Go on.....smile :-))))