Smile and Punch

I had visitors on Monday evening. You know them from earlier posts. The story began last week. Paul from my Tuesday English Gang gave me a bag of musical things to give to the family. They included a CD player, earphones, transistor radio and a number of music CDs. The 'lads' arrived on Monday to see the gifts.

It only took a few minutes for them to say they would like all - and with big smiles! Break for tea, fruit juice and cakes then to the next phase. I put son2 between Papa and son1, then placed my old(ish) Asus Eee mini-laptop onto the table. I told son2 to open it and for the others not to help him.

Son2 did all that and opened files, e-mail accounts, looked at photos and generally became the boss of the baby laptop within ten minutes. I just stared and wondered how he could do that! I told him he could take the machine home and share it with his brother and sister. Then came the BIG SMILE. You can see that in this photo.

He then went back to seeing what the baby laptop could do with help from Papa. Meanwhile, I got into conversation with son1 about sport and his new boxing lessons. He told me about the moves he was learning then gave me a demonstration. Here is a shot of him with one hand defending his face and the other getting ready to PUNCH. Ouch!!

Now little brother wants to take up boxing. He can't yet for he does not have any gloves or gum shield. Wonder if Father Christmas can help :-))

Cough Along

I told you in my last post that I was going to a concert at the Berlin Philharmonie on Sunday afternoon. Music played by Sinfonie Orchester Schöneberg. This is a local, amateur orchestra. I support it because they give any profits to buy instruments for talented children from poor homes.

The hall filled, the orchestra players took their seats and then I noted the first coughs. Some deep and repeated, some high and almost apologetic as the cougher tried to control or stop the cough. To no avail. There then followed the next phase. This is the clearing of throats. I wondered if any composer had written a 'Cough Along Symphony in A Flat'.

The concert started with Medelssohn. Applause for that was accompanied by coughing and more throat clearing as Avan Yu came on stage to play a piece by Rachmaninow. Quite periods in the piano concerto allowed us to hear a bass throat clearer to my left and a sneezer and cougher to my right.

This piano player is someone to watch. He is only 26, was born in Hong Kong to Chinese parents and grew up in Canada, studied in Berlin and now lives here. A great mixture and what a talented player. He is totally absorbed in the music he plays. The coughers also liked it for the gave extra coughs as the rest of us applauded a superb performance.

More throat clearing and coughing took us into the Bartok symphony, which ended the concert. As I left the hall I decided to cough and clear my throat to show any listener that I could do it too :-))

Clear out

Normally we have a clear out as we move from winter to spring. This means entrümpeln or ausräumen in German. I started this week with one when I went looking for the reserve mouse for my laptop. I could not find it in the usual places, so I looked further.

I went through two drawers, bags and even into files. I still have not found it! But I had a great time 'ausräumen-ing'. Just created a new word :-)) I found lots of things I had forgotten about and no longer needed. Into the bin. I also found lots of postcards sent by family and friends during the year.

I found this one sent by Alan and Lynne when they were in Scarborough. It is called Safe Harbour by Peter Adderley. I immediately used it in my 'Relax English Classes'. Good images for description, colours and getting students to talk about their seaside holidays. Most answered England when I asked where the scene was. They said it was because of the cliff and houses.

I had two lots of visitors for Kaffee und Kuchen on Wednesday and Thursday before a busy Friday started. With my Photoshop Gang I went into Görlitzer Park to take photographs with our ancient cameras. The park is only a short walk from our building and we got some interesting shots. I found this old gate and Stefan took this shot of me taking a shot of the gate. Such is the art of photography!!

Yesterday was an exceptional day. I took the S-Bahn to Erkner to the east of the city. Walked to the Bildungszentrum in time for breakfast and greeted the rest of the SPD Lichtenberg delegates to the Klausurtagung. This means ' a closed meeting' in English. Most of the discussion and analysis was about the decline in votes in the last Berlin State elections.

Fortunately we had lots of soft drinks, coffee and tea available to help concentration as we waded through three documents of 220 pages in total! Reading every word is homework for me this week:-((  We discussed the main findings and what lessons to learn for the future.

From there I returned to Berlin for an evening of good food, drinks and conversation with my Kowalke-Gang. This afternoon I'm off to the Philharmonie to meet friends and enjoy a concert. Hope you enjoy your Sunday too.

Worra Sweetie

I met a real sweetie yesterday. Her name is Linn. It all started when Johanna and I went to my AWO centre to celebrate 'Tag der vietnamesischen Familie'. It was for an afternoon of song and dance followed by a really large and tasty buffet.

I showed Johanna the rooms and where I teach English to my Oldies before we settled into our front row seats. The Vietnamese people in the district originate from the Vietnam War period when the DDR government offered people shelter and training. The idea being for them to return to Vietnam and help to re-build it.

Some did and some didn't return. The people yesterday were the children and grandchildren of those who stayed. AWO offers various courses to children from these families including language, singing and dancing. It was great to see the children doing just that and enjoying themselves.

At one point I felt something on my leg. I looked down and there was Linn looking up at me and holding her hands out so I could lift her up. I did just that and she settled into my arms. I looked at her parents and they just smiled at me.

Later, Linn wanted to dance along with those on stage. She couldn't climb the steps so she just danced in her own way on the floor before the stage. That was a real bonus for all who could see her. Later I asked her father to take a photo. Here you can see for yourself what a real sweetie she is :-)) 

Smile Time

Yesterday Imre arrived in my part of Berlin. We met near the S-Bahn station and went in search of a place for lunch. We finally settled on a soup-cafe not far away. Very healthy for they make two soups a day. One with and one without meat. We took the veggie option.

I also caught up on his news. He works a lot outside Berlin now so I heard about his adventures and plans. The big news is that he is flying to Manila in mid-December. He has got to know a lady there and decided to spend some time with her. What a good idea! We talked a lot about that as we took a gently stroll after lunch.

Later we arrived at my place for 'Kaffee und Kuchen'. Here you can see a photo of him enjoying that. Later he showed me lots of photos of his summer in Hungary. He laughed loud at his shape then. Let us just say 'largish'. He has since been on a diet and lost weight. I think that has something to do with meeting his new lady!

I later looked through a local paper and found this joke. It reminded me of Imre's old shape and I just liked the interplay of words and meaning. You do of course know that das Bier means a beer. Must see if I have any beers in the fridge :-))

Bell and Handel

Last Friday I had my usual training session with Kerstin then off to meet Stefan and the Photoshop Gang. We chatted, sipped coffee and munched slices of Stollen. One member suggested we take our cameras to a park for more shots because it was not raining, and we had good light.

We all agreed so jumped into a car for the journey to Volkspark Friedrichshain. If you stick your finger on a map of the centre of Berlin and find Alexander Platz, move it up and a bit to the right and you will find this park.

It was created as part of the extension of Berlin following the foundation of Germany in 1871. It is very popular and locals use it to enjoy the seasons and just walk in a large green area. We entered and started taking photos with our analogue cameras. I particularly liked an area with a small stream flowing into a pond.

On the pond side is large bell dedicated to those killed in Japan in 1945 by atomic bombs. When you move under and around the bell you have a nice sense of calm and peace. I don't know why. Here you can see me saying hello to the bell! Worth a visit there next  time you come to Berlin.

The high point of yesterday was to gallop to my local protestant church and meet the Kowalski-Gang. Boris was singing in the choir. It was packed out but Johanna, Jutta and the rest of us managed to find seats upstairs in a corner. We settled down to enjoy a performance of Handel's Messiah - der Messias von Händel.

It really was great to see so many people enjoying it. Choir, orchestra and we, the public, tapping fingers and feet to the music and seeing the smiles on many faces. I remember singing it in a choir when I was 10-11, but in English. The music teacher was Mr. Skull and he introduced me to the music of Mahler and Britten. What memories I had yesterday as I listened and put the clock back.
Now entering a cold but dry start to another week - but with images of that concert still in my head!

Nearly Finished

Construction of new flats opposite mine has nearly finished. I have posted about this a number of times and shown photos. These started with the green triangle with trees which I had always enjoyed looking at and walking across. Then came the machines and workmen.

The machines dug deep holes. This was for the underground car park. I commented at the time that once you dug through about 10 mm of soil you hit sand which went on for ever. Berlin and the whole of the area sits on a very large sandpit!

Then building began. First with cement poured onto metal to form the floor of the construction. On this came walls and more cement and metal. I remember a lot of noise starting at 7 am! Sleeping late was a luxury only available on a Sunday.

Now people have moved in and the noise has changed to mainly the revving of cars! The inner garden will be completed next spring. Other garden and pavement work is being completed now.

Here are a couple of photos I took yesterday. You can see what some of the completed buildings look like. Now to have a light lunch and get ready to enjoy a performance of Händel's Messias in the local protestant church. Meeting Johanna and gang there. Looking forward to that.

Not Trumpeting

My blog is about my life in Berlin. I write it for sister Frances and cousin Barbara who live in Silsden. This is a small town in the west of Yorkshire in the north of England. Frances has never left the UK and has no idea about computers. Barbara has travelled a lot and is a computer whizz. Fran reads my blog at Barbara's at the end of each month.

My blog has always focused on my life in Berlin and not reported on anything reported by the BBC or any other UK news broadcaster. You can see all these for yourself each day in your TV and don't need me to make any comment or report.  I think I may make a small exception to this rule now.

We all know about the result of the US President election by now. I was not surprised by the result but I was/am disappointed. I told German friends a week ago that Trump would win. Do not listen to or believe the forecasters. I also told friends two months before the Brexit vote what the result would be. Perhaps I should get a programme on TV or radio  in the future:-))
 
I can well understand those who are leaving the US for whatever reason. I am considering finding a new flat with an anti-nuclear bunker. Like many others I wonder why nearly 300 million people could only produce Herr Trump and Frau Clinton. Is that the best the Americans could do?

I decided to add a photo to this blog post showing me teaching a nice group of 'Oldies'.  I am sure they will make comments about the election in our lessons next week. I wonder what they will say.

Special Breakfast

I had a wonderful breakfast yesterday, and it wasn't just the food. The background is that I got an E-mail from Adrian and Tanja saying they would be in Berlin for the weekend and invited me to have breakfast with them. I immediately answered in the positive.

I liked the idea of having a late, lazy Saturday breakfast starting after 10.30. Note the word 'after' and not 'at'. Reminded me of student days and lifestyle.

 I allowed one hour to get to where they were staying in Kreuzberg because of the usual weekend building/repairs on the transport system. Their rented flat was not far from where they lived in the early 1990's, and where their daughter was born. Oh, happy memories!

I found the place, climbed the stairs to the top floor and was surprised to see other guests who I had not seen for a number of years. One was visiting from San Francisco and another from London. I had a cold bottle of a nice Spanish sekt in my rucksack, so that was opened to celebrate such a reunion.

Here you can see us enjoying meeting again. A long and lazy breakfast followed with lots of talk and interesting topics. For breakfast we were joined by A&T's daughter and son. What a great way to start the weekend!!

Together again

My laptop and scanner are back together again. The divorce has ended! They fell in love with each other last Friday afternoon. I told you in an earlier post that my scanner had stopped working. I talked to Maria and she sent me some useful information and three links to problem solving.

I tried them all with no success. I fiddled around with my Photoshop 7 programme. I use this to connect to my scanner. I then called Stefan and he told me to bring them to our session last Friday afternoon. He checked this, and that, and then something else in an effort to eliminate possible causes. Just then the doorbell rang and two of my Photoshop Gang arrived.

Stefan casually looked at the time on my laptop then stared. He said it wasn't right. He checked the computer system and noted that it was set to automatically update time changes. There was one a week ago when we went from summer to winter time. My system had not made the change! No idea why not, but that was the problem. He changed the time by one hour then did a scan. It worked! Problem solved  as you can see in the image above :-))

Feast your eyes

Having a nice lazy couple of days. Yesterday morning I had a haircut then nothing important until the evening when I watched a football match on TV. Dortmund beat Lisbon 2:1 in an entertaining game. Today the high point was shopping. This included cycling to my local Aldi. There is now an Aldi in Silsden. I wonder if they will offer German lessons to the locals?

This was followed by fish for lunch and then cleaning out another drawer. I found a few things I had forgotten about including a radio hiding under some cards. I also found three photos of Jan when he was at school and one of him in Florida. Now firmly in my album collection.

I also went through photos attached to recent e-mails and again enjoyed one sent by Marcel's parents. It was about a family event. I stared again at this photo of the main table being prepared for the event and  set against the backdrop of Lake Balaton. I include it so you Silsdeners can feast your eyes on a remarkable place.

What would Hungary be without Lake Balaton?  If you have not been there then pack your bag in summer and jump on a jet. It is well worth a visit and the locals are more than friendly. What wonderful memories this photo brings back to me.

Syd the Snake

I told you I recently met my Kowalke Gang for a very pleasant evening of chat, supper and sipping something nice from a glass. Our hostess was Martina. It was the first of our planned monthly meetings. Yes, we really like being with each other so much that we are going to meet each month.

As I prepared to leave, Martina gave me a large bag and told me to give the contents to the daughter of my Adopted Family. She had her 8th birthday the day after our meeting.  Lots of clothes for an 8 year old and appropriate for this time of year. They included four kinds of hats to keep her warm.

Martina also gave some biscuits and sweets. I am sure our birthday girl's brothers will have eaten a few of those :-))  The gift also included a snake. As I prepared the clothes for this photo, I got talking to him. He said his name was Syd the Snake and he liked to sleep in the clothes for they kept him warm and dry.

Syd said he was looking for a new home. I said I was sure the little girl would look after him, feed him and make sure he could sleep in bags of nice warm clothes. Syd just smiled then fell asleep again. Earlier, I had met Marianne from my English Tuesday Gang. She gave me a number of pens for all the children so Syd said he would make sure her brothers got some as well. Thanks Syd!

November 2016 Things

In Berlin we entered November with cooler weather, changing the clocks so it gets darker at night and the dominance of the colour grey/gray in the sky. The German public has now exchanged summer clothes in different colours for winter black. I confess I am as guilty as any.

A few hours ago I went into the cellar and brought out a large bag of winter clothes. I then added them to my clothes cupboards. I packed the summer clothes into bags and then into the cellar to rest in peace there for the next six months.

I'm having problems with my laptop linked to my scanner. Two days ago I tried to scan a nice photo of me published on an advertisement. My laptop said I no longer had an appropriate driver for my Windows 10 operating system. I talked to Maria about this and she thinks my system has been automatically updated so making my scanner driver obsolete.

I tried to update, including other options but without success. I gave up and called Stefan the Boss of the Photoshop Gang. He told me to bring the machines with me on Friday afternoon and he will try to find a solution. I'm sure he will. Why can't Joe Public find a simple solution without having to ask an expert for help?

Looking forward to Saturday. Adrian and Tanja are in town and invited me to a "late breakfast". I know what that means = not only tea/coffee on offer  :-))  Stephan will also be there. Lots of catching up on news. In November I have a number of concerts to go to, visit an art gallery and go to a special two day SPD conference in Erkner. This is east of Berlin and one of my favourite places for bicycle tours.
Who has a birthday in November? 
Daniel starts the month with his 20th on the 2nd November. His mother is visiting so I'm sure there will be a nice family celebration. Jeff in The Netherlands will be 61 on the19th, followed by Sarah in London who will be 56 on the 22nd. Stephan, who I am having breakfast with on Saturday, will be 59 on the 28th and so ends our birthday month. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EACH AND ALL!!

Oldie Discount

Last Friday I went to my Photoshop session and on the way I bought some bread and rolls. I went to a family baker's I discovered on a recent tour of the area with my Photoshop Gang. In the window is written, "10% discount for students and pensioners." Very nice and so is the bread. It is on my list of places to go to each Friday.

We went through a lot of printouts of our images. We could keep what we had made, or liked, and the rest were to be re-cycled. We also selected images for a calendar we started the week before. Here you can see the room we work in. My place is on the right, first computer/seat.

On Saturday I visited Oldie H. He managed to cook a light lunch without burning anything. He's making progress! Unfortunately he was having breathing problems but he has a machine with tubes into his nose to help him when it is bad. I took him for a slow walk with his 'Rollator' - walking frame, but it was too much for him and we slowly returned to his home.

I told him I was going to activate his Samsung Tablet but he wasn't interested. On Monday I did just that. I got help from Tom who works in the local SPD office and knows everything about computers, tablets and smart-phones. Earlier we had booked a SIM card online and with his help I registered and  installed it.

The tablet now automatically goes online when it is opened. We made a few other changes to the machine. All I have to do is learn how to use it so I can teach Oldie H to do the same with what is his tablet. I wonder if he will show anymore interest than he does now.

Having problems with my scanner and link to the Photoshop programme in my Windows 10 laptop. It refused to scan and tells me I don't have a current TWAIN source for my Windows. Strange, for I have used it many times and don't know why it is suddenly reporting this. I'll call Stefan and hope he can get it sorted out. The joys of wasting your life on electronic gadgets!!