September 2016 Things

Tomorrow takes us into the 1st September and the forecast here is for sun, blue skies, more sun and temperature 30-32°C. Isn't that great? What a pity we didn't have this weather as early as June, but then better late than never!

It's been an interesting summer for me, particularly the last  two months taking in Brexitland, local places in and around Berlin and the southern area of Bremen. It looks like a regular pattern will return from next Monday. I never got to Venice so that goes onto my 'Things To Do Later' list. I recently got an offer for a winter holiday next January. Have to get that sorted out and shall share it with you via blog updates.

As today cools, most of the population will reach for a cool bier - or three -- then turn on a TV. At 9.00 pm German Time the national football team will play the national team of Finland.  I shall be following every move but with low volume. I find it hard to listen to the banal comments of the commentators! Here is an example: "He's kicked the ball".

Who has a birthday in September? Three people share the 6th - Charlotte in London will be 25, Nevand in Berlin will be 9 and a special lady called Arancha will be 32! Milady Andrea will celebrate her 31st on the 8th with family and friends in Berlin. We then jump to the 22nd and to Cambridge where Stephen will celebrate his 46th, Robert Gast in Berlin will be 38 on the 23rd. Lew in Cambridge will have a birthday on the 27th but he keeps his age a secret. My camera friend Sylke will be 46 on the 28th, my nephew Jefferson will be 43 on the 29th and ends our month of birthday celebrations. Wherever you are ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY !!

There are a few other dates of note. Our dear Birgit died on the 15th September 2004. Is it really so long ago. Cousin Jean died on the 16th. Birgit would have been 64 on the 30th and that is a day she shares with my father. He died on that day in 2004 aged 92. It is also important to remember those who were part of our lives.

Angelika

Angelika is on her way home after a weeks holiday in the north of Italy. My regular readers know who she is. My new readers will not. Many years ago this very nice lady appeared in one of my VHS classes to improve her English.

In the introductions she said her name was Angelika, lived locally and was a musician. I asked about her job and she said she was a 'Bratscherin' = viola player in the orchestra of the Komische Oper. This is one of three opera houses is Berlin.  Yes, we have three opera houses here :-))

That was the start of a long and interesting relationship. This included invitations to the Friday morning rehearsals where I learnt a lot about how the conductor and players come together. Lots of concerts and operas followed.

We also enjoyed sitting together in the canteen after rehearsals, or concerts, and talking about the performance. As we get to know each other better we met for parties and birthdays. I have posted reports about having a great time at the family house/garden near to the biggest lake in Berlin.

She's coming to my place on Thursday morning at 10.00 am to sit in my garden while sipping a cuppa coffee and enjoying a cake or two. I look forward to hearing all about her recent trip to the north of Italy between sipping the coffee.

She sent me a few photos of the trip and I share them here. The first shows crossing the mountains into Italy - just look at the clouds on the hills. The next is a great shot of Lake Como. The third is of Angelika posing with a nice friendly looking animal called Ricardo!

Laptop

This post is a follow on from the report called "Family OK". Scroll down 4 posts and you will find it. I told you about meeting The Family after my return from Bremen and giving them clothes sent by Gabi and Holger. I ended with a comment that I was looking for a laptop for them.

Move forward a short time which included a visit to a gentleman called Thomas. His father is in my Oldie Fitness Gang and told me his son had an old laptop. I invited myself round for coffee and cakes in a shot. Nice time and then I asked for the laptop. He just gave it to me with a big smile.

I gave him a small amount of money so he could buy an electrical gadget for his new laptop.We were both happy with the exchange. The amount was the same as that donated by Gabi and Holger in addition to the clothes. BIG thanks to you both :-))

By chance, I was shopping in the centre yesterday afternoon and who did I see? Yes, Father F, Mother P and daughter P. I bought some cakes and told them to come to the garden at my place. All now have bicycles so it was not difficult. We settled into the garden with 'only' 32°C (Same as today!) for kaffee und kuchen.

After that I got Daughter P to play along with me. She told Papa to close his eyes. He obeyed. Mother looked on with a big smile. I then gave Daughter P a bag to give to Papa. She did just that and then told him he could open his eyes. I think his smile was even larger than his eyes when he opened it to find a laptop in his hands.

What I really liked, and it made me smile a lot, was how Daughter P took control of the event after Papa had opened the laptop. She immediately looked for games to open but there are none on this laptop. I'm sure Papa will add some for her. Just look at how happy she is. That smile could melt an iceberg!

 Meanwhile. I am searching for another old laptop for the children. There are a lot of language and school subject learning programmes that would help them. Any of you got an old laptop gathering dust somewhere??

Der Brandanschlag

Der Brandanschlag in English means an arson attack. It happened last night to a SPD van being used in the current election campaign. The voters of Berlin go to the polls on Sunday 18th September to elect a new parliament which will then form the government. This is for the Federal State of Berlin. Do not confuse it with election to the National Parliament which also sits in Berlin.

The SPD van was being rented and a replacement will be offered tomorrow. The local SPD office has sent out details to all members. The local Lichtenberg Party rented it and it was parked outside the local party office when it was set on fire last night. The office is not far from Lichtenberg Town Hall where the local government sits. We are told that the police are investigating. I'm not sure that tells us a lot!

Who did it? We don't know but there is more than one political suspect. I am doing a lot of work for the SPD in the next few days/weeks. I wonder if I should look over my shoulder more?

A Special Breakfast

I've just had what can only be described as the perfect, lazy, tasty and entertaining breakfast. I agreed to play host some weeks ago and watched the weather open the week with dull grey skies, cool temperatures and some rain. Then things began to look up yesterday..

It is now 29°C and with not a cloud in a picture book blue sky. The good news is that it will get even hotter over the next four days. Endlich Sommer!! Breakfast was scheduled for 10.00 am and I had already covered the tables and benches in the garden by then,
including adding soft cushions!

My guests duly arrived on time. Jutta came with Johanna and Colin. The latter are cousins and Colin is visiting from the south east of Australia. Shortly after, Marita arrived with a couple of cool bottles of sparkling wine of the best quality. Time to start breakfast!

We sipped, chewed, swallowed, talked, made jokes, laughed and just enjoyed every moment and being with each other. The event lasted four hours and I was sad to see them leave but we have agreed a couple of dates to meet up again and just enjoy being together. Hope your breakfast was as nice :-))

Yorkshire English -1

I feel to be back into life in Berlin after my recent gallops. Replying to e-mails and telephone calls, writing appointments in my diary and I notice that September is filling up mainly with SPD things for there is an election coming up. Planning a nice big breakfast in my garden on Thursday. I shall tell you all about that later.

This morning I also got a call from Ian and Birgit all the way from Ozland. We covered a range of topics during which Birgit said I was speaking northern English after my time there. That really made me smile. Not true of course, but it pushed me into writing this post earlier than planned.

Now settle down for your first lesson in Yorkshire English, and that includes you, Birgit ! Read out the sample sentences below and keep practicing and focus on the sounds. Ready? Lesson 1 takes you from A to F.  Here we go ---


Addle - `Ows t``e addle `is brass?

Ax – nivver ax a copper t`way

Aye – aye it’s a fine neet

Bagsy – bagsy me first

Bahn – weer to bahn ?  + weer  ‘as ta bahn?

Bide – ah can’t bide that lad ahr Lizzie’s courtin

Bob – ahm just bobbin out t’ t’ pub for a quick’n + If thar Bob dusn’t gi’ ahr Bob t’bob that thar Bob owes ahr Bob then ahr Bob ‘ll bob round t’thar Bob’s an’ gi’ thar Bob a bob on t’nose !

Brass – Wen lads ‘ave brass ther’re men, wen ther’re spent up there’re lads again

Buck – None o’ thar buck lad!

Capt – ahm fair capt to see thee agen

Chelp - stop thi bairn chelpin, this ‘ere’s a library

Choose ah/ow – ah cudn’t get the lock undone choose ah

Clock – ahl clock thee

Fair – fair t’middlin

Fettlin’ – cum on lads get fettling

Flagstoan – its crackin’ t’flags

Frame – frame laddie or it’s door!

Family OK

I haven't seen my/our family for over six weeks. Yes, that is how long I have been away so it was nice to get a call from father F. when I returned from my Garden tour with the SPD Oldies. We agreed to meet on Wednesday afternoon in the area outside the Refugee Home where they live.

There is tight security and you can only enter the Refugee Home with a pass. That goes for the refugees and it is even harder for non-refugees like me to enter. I usually meet the family in the green/field area outside the entrance to the complex.

We met there on Wednesday and I was pleased to see the boys had just had a proper haircut instead of father shaving their heads! Seems like my influence has had some effect. I gave the daughter some rings and earrings I had been given by a member of one of my Oldie Gangs. She will give them to her mother.

Mother is not very well. She is depressed and now goes to a doctor. That is a reaction to life in the Refugee Home. It is not easy for five people to live in a space about as large as my living room and with no privacy, queuing for a wash/shower, use of a toilet and no cooking facilities.

I gave them a bag of clothes given by Gabi in Bremen. The boys really liked the sports shorts/trousers. Father keeps asking me for a laptop and it seems possible that one of my contacts may offer one. Not sure yet for I am sill negotiating. Watch this space!

Meanwhile, I am taking father and the boys on a bicycle tour to the lakes east of Berlin on Sunday. I have some donations to pay for travel and a meal but that will not be enough. I'm sure nice generous people will donate more in the future. Meanwhile, thanks Gabi and you can see how happy they were with your gift. 

Bot Garden

The long name is ' Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin - Dahlem'. I went there last Tuesday after returning from Bremen on Monday evening. My head was still full of Bremen sights and sounds as I got out of bed and ready for a day in this interesting garden.

It was organised by my SPD Oldies. We met at 11.00 am and set off in three cars. Normally there are more but many were still on holiday or visiting family. Even with only 12 members we had a really good day.

We finally arrived at the Garden but some of the gang in a car were missing. Mobile phones did not help for no-one had the number of the driver! Mmmmhhh makes you think about always being in contact via the so called 'smart phones'.

We later found them for they had entered the Garden at a different point. Just shows that Oldies should follow the direction guides and do not need to buy 'smart phones' :-))

Having found each other we stopped for a coffee and a chat. No surprise there! After that we wandered into all the greenhouses and saw all the plants, flowers and trees most of which are not native to Germany. I took a few photos for you to see a sample of what is available.

You may remember that I was in Dublin early May for my birthday and I reported on my visit to Dublin Botanical Garden. I found the Berlin one very similar in layout and architecture plus many of the plants and flowers in the gardens and greenhouses. Well worth a visit and put this on your places to visit/see when you are next in Berlin.

Around Bremen

I took three trains to get to Kirchweyhe. Berlin to Hanover then to Bremen and a local train for all of 10 minutes to arrive at Kirchwehe. The worst part of the journey was from my local station to the main station in Berlin. It stopped for some unknown reason at a local station and I caught the train to Hanover with only one minute to spare!

I slept most of the way and staggered out at Kirchweyhe. Holger sent me a message that he could not pick me up at the station but son Jonas would do so. I settled into the station cafe with a large coffee then saw a face I knew. It was Jonas. We got to know each other as I finished the coffee before he drove me to my hotel.

He speaks perfect English like the rest of the family, but then he had recently returned from a year in London after finishing his 'A' levels. He wanted a break before going to university so I helped to find a nice family for him to stay with - part of my old university contacts. I decided to stay in a  hotel/restaurant to have my own space. It was recommended by Holger who knows the owners.

It was the start of both a holiday and trip down memory lane. Some of you know that my German adventure started in Bremen and with Holger and Gabi before they were married. I could not remember being in Kirchweyhe before but they said I had and Holger's parents later confirmed this.

Most of the time we spent on a bicycle ride to the centre of Bremen, a conducted tour of the centre, a grill evening back at their really nice house and large garden, sipping a glass or two and lots of catching up on news. It was interesting how we all just moved in and out of English and German without thinking.

My final day was spent walking through woods and then relaxing in a restaurant. It was in this rural area that I found a watchtower - see photo. I volunteered to climb up and stay on duty to warn against any Brexiters escaping from Brexitland to find a better life in Germany :-))

A really wonderful time with a remarkable family and above there is a photo. Thanks all!

To Kirchweyhe

Countdown now to the train tomorrow to Kirchweyhe to visit Holger and Gabi. Select the clothes to take, don't forget to pack razor and deodorant, camera and take wallet! I think I'll do that when I return home this evening.

Going to Johanna's in a couple of hours. Reason is to welcome her cousin Colin who flew in from Australia yesterday. I don't think he will be jet-lagged for he was a Qantas Airline pilot before he retired! He wants to improve his German so this the best place to do just that for he has family and friends to support him.

I also hope to spend time with him on my return, perhaps another visit to Poland and some bicycle tours around Berlin. Perhaps he will ask me about my recent adventures in Brexitland for he follows this blog and is international in outlook.

Please note there will  be no blog posts until at least next Tuesday. Meanwhile you can enjoy looking at a couple of photographs of two gentlemen taken in Silsden. Can you work out who they are and whose idea it was to appear in animal guise?  Answers on a postcard to ..... er...like .........

Herr Dr. P von Long-Legs

Wow, just seen that my blog has had 62,000 visits. Thanks for that. When I see such a figure I think about a comment from the author Neil Deane, " You make the mundane sound interesting". Last week I noted that I had more hits from readers in Russia than any other country. Perhaps they wanted to learn more about Silsden!


I logged on to report about my visit to Potsdam yesterday, but lets start with my return from Blighty now known as Brexitland. I settled in during the weekend and made time for myself including lots of reading, relaxing on the balcony with a book and even taking in the sun for an hour or two. I also caught up on telephone calls and made appointments for different things.

The background to my Potsdam visit is that Peter passed the interview for his doctorate and later got written confirmation. All this happened a couple of weeks ago when I was in Brexitland. The good news is that the Graduation Ceremony will take place next February and he invited me to attend :-)) 

I have talked about Peter before but briefly he went to school with Jan and grew up together, which in his case meant growing taller than Jan and the rest of their school gang. When he was fourteen I called him Peter von Long-Legs. The name has stuck and so now we shall have to call him Herr Dr. Peter von Long-Legs.

 We met at the station and walked into the centre with stops at different places. The first one was a restaurant in a restored area next to the old Parliament building and on the river. I invited him for a meal to celebrate his new title. We then walked into town, saw the tourist areas, had afternoon Kaffe und Kuchen and slowly headed back to the railway station.

  A very pleasant day and we plan to meet again in September after we both have done a bit more travelling.

Heading North

Just returned from a gallop to my bank and rail booking office in Lichtenberg which, as you Silsdeners know, is the district in which I live. I checked on who had taken money out of my account during my Brexitland absence. Everything was as expected.

I then went to the rail booking office. I emerged with return tickets to Kirchweyhe.  Can I hear the Silsdeners screwing up their faces and asking where it is? Yes I can, so here goes. It is part of a town/area called Weyhe which is in Landkreis Diepholz. It has 9,317 inhabitants so it is bigger than Silsden. It is in the state of Niedersachsen and just south of Bremen.

On Friday, I am taking three trains to get there starting at Berlin Hauptbahnhof, change at Hannover, change at Bremen and then all of 8 minutes on a local train until I reach Kirchweyhe. Holger and Gabi invited me to visit them. I have posted about them on my blog so I don't have to introduce them again. I am looking forward to seeing them again and letting them show me around their rural area.

As some of you may remember, Bremen is where I started my German adventure many years ago. I had a contract with the local university in addition to teaching in a couple of private schools. When that all ended I should have gone to Madrid to the British Council Teaching Centre. Yes, the key word is 'should'. I didn't for I was invited for a weekend in Berlin and that started a whole new direction.

I remember that local people speak a better, clearer German than the Berliners. Looking forward to hearing it again. I shall of course take my camera and share the adventure with my Silsdeners on my return next week.

Meanwhile. here is a photo taken in Silsden. Yes, it is an Aldi supermarket. German shopping culture finally got into Silsden. It seems to be very popular and I was told it attracts shoppers from other towns and villages. The other is a shot of the beck bridge near the post office. It is where I took photos of Silsden Gala - see the last post!

Silsden Gala

I know Silsden Gala was a week yesterday, but I needed time to work on photos to share with you. Yesterday I had a lazy day of finishing a book while sipping green tea on my balcony, and in the sun. I then prepared the photos. Yes, it was/is nice to relax in temperatures higher than in Silsden. At the moment it is 27°C on my balcony with blue skies.

On Silsden Gala Day, Nicholas and family arrived to share the day with me. The procession started around the corner from the house where I was staying and I managed to save the parking space outside the house for them. We then had a glass of something nice from Gordon's as we heard the music indicating the procession was about to start.


We walked along Silsden beck for all of two minutes until we got to the bridge at the Post Office and pushed to the front of the spectators. Just in time to catch a gang of Oldies bashing out jazz tunes at the front of the procession. There then followed various groups of people such as Scouts/Guides, local football association, church groups, dance groups, keep-fit groups. I think you have an idea of the participants.


I really liked the kids in different groups for they were clearly more than happy to be part of the event. You can see that from the photos. At the end of the procession there is always a Scottish Piper Band. I don't know why, even as a child, I have always enjoyed a bagpipe and drum band.

We took a short cut to Silsden Park (it was called the Playing Fields when I was a child!) and saw the procession arrive at its final destination. I was lucky enough to be next to a van carrying the young Gala Queen, with attendants, and hear her mother say. "Now you can eat"!

They grabbed the cakes and did just that. They had been staring at the cakes for a long time as the procession wound its way around the centre of Silsden so they deserved that treat. I really had to smile and hope it makes you smile too.

Moving Metal

Why are some airlines incapable of moving a lump of metal from A to B ?  I know I asked this question before when easyJet cancelled my flight with no notice and no explanation. KLM has joined the ranks of those who can't move metal!

Last Thursday,  Barbara duly drove me to Leeds-Bradford Airport and we got there at 11.30 in plenty of time for the flight to Amsterdam at 13.25. I amused myself by looking at the inhabitants of the airport. Locals about to invade nice Greek islands or other places in the Med.for the annual holiday. I felt sorry for those who had to put up with them in order to earn a living and pay the bills.

I thought about those Brexit holidaymakers who complain to Thomas Cook that the local people in Spain only spoke Spanish and that it was hotter than in Brexitland. I wonder why they don't stay at home. The younger males were in gangs, loud, dressed in beachwear and already drunk.

I was then informed that the plane to Amsterdam had been cancelled because they could not close the aircraft door. I was told it was a rather old plane and it was not a new problem. After six hours of waiting I gave up. I changed the booking to Friday, called Barbara and left the holiday louts to drink even more.

Barbara duly picked me up and we celebrated with Fish 'n Chips at Harry Ramsden's. She also took me back to the airport on Friday and this time KLM was able to move the metal, but it was also a small and old plane. I returned to Berlin okay and have been settling in today. This means shopping for food, cleaning, washing, picking up lots of messages and sorting my next few weeks out.

 Here is an image of people who clearly escaped such a fate by walking home. I would have done the same but I had the English Channel to cross! 

Brexit Responses

I recently talked to two gentlemen about the Brexit vote. I got very different responses. The first was a mild mannered Guardian reading liberal.

The second was a Dail Mail reading Ukiper with not very friendly views about foreigners coming to the UK.

You can judge for yourself which one you would choose to spend an evening with debating the finer points of living in Brexitland. I think you can tell by their facial appearance which views they hold.

I met then recently with my nephew Andrew. He introduced me to them and then let slip that I lived in Germany. The Daily Mail reader then spluttered out his comments. I hope you can understand them!

August 2016 Things

Snoozed into August after the return from Cambridge and a pleasant active day yesterday. I spent it with Nicholas, Julie and family. We met in Silsden, then walked around the corner to see Silsden Gala procession.

It is more years than I wish to remember since I last saw it. The weather was good in that it did not rain! It was great to see so many children enjoying the events and taking part in the procession. We went into the park where the amusements were and saw at least a thousand people entering the area.

We then drove to an area near Keighley where I am sure I have never been before. Full of those "Dark Satanic Hills" - and decaying mills! I tried to imagine what it would have been like to live there 200 or more years ago. I couldn't and I cannot imagine how the people who did live there survived. We had a traditional lunch before setting off again. This time it was to a pub in Addingham where I sampled a local traditional bitter beer. Nick joined me and we agreed it was very drinkable :-)

Today I am looking for someone I went to school with and later meeting Andrew for a drink and chat. Tomorrow is an eye/glasses check followed later by a visit to Betty's Tea Rooms in Ilkley. Not long to go before I start to pack my bag for the return flight to Berlin.

I sign out with an image from nephew Andrew. The words can be applied to the current generation who cannot speak without saying LIKE every two words, and to those who cannot live without staring into, prodding or swiping a smartphone for 16 or more hours a day!!

Who has a birthday in August?  Shirley in Florida and Christian D. in Berlin start us off with their birthdays on the 1st August. Beatrix D. will be 43 on the 6th, Jerome will be all of 22 on the 8th. Jürgen in Juterbog will be 72 on the 24th, Angelika hits 64 on the 25th followed by my dear sister Pauline in Cambridge who will celebrate her 72nd on the 26th. Dieter in Juterbog celebrates his 72nd with Jürgen on the 27th and my Jan will be all of 33 on the 28th. He shares this day with Bernard P who will be 56 on that day and they end this birthday month. Happy Birthday to each and all!!!