November 2017 Things

Today is a public holiday in Germany. It is to mark Reformationstag 500 years ago. Maybe you know that a man called Herr Luther wrote 'Ninety-five Theses' and sent them to the Archbishop of Mainz. Some historians say he also nailed them to the door of a church, but other historians deny this. He paid a price. He was excommunicated from the Catholic Church in 1521. And so the split leading to the founding of protestant churches.

Another event on this day in 1984. Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards. This sparked anti-Sikh riots throughout India. I was living in Delhi at the time. I saw some of these riots and attacks on Sikh temples, properties and people. A very sad time.

It's very quiet in my area. I think most of my neighbours are at home and having a post lunch doze! Well, the weather is not the best. It is cold and rather gray. Compare to this photo. I took it yesterday evening from my balcony. Amazing orange clouds. Not often we see this in Berlin.

I'm having a discussion at the moment about why Germans do not use the Simple Past Tense. They use Present Perfect instead. For example: Yesterday I have gone shopping/Yesterday I have eaten fish for lunch. I Googled the question and got thousands of links. I read about 20 but got no explanation - only grammar rules. When and why did they stop using the tense? Any ideas?

Who has a birthday in November?
Daniel starts us off with his 21st on the 2nd. He is coming for a lesson next day and wants to try the brew I brought from Beijing a few years ago. Its a special birthday so I shall take a photo of him sampling the brew. Jeff in Amsterdam will be 62 on the 19th. Sarah C. in London will be 57 on the 22nd. Stephen S. in Berlin will have a party on the 28th to celebrate his 60th. I shall be there.
Happy Birthday to all and each no matter where you are!

Holiday Smiles

I got an e-mail and photos from my nephew Andrew. He was recently on holiday with his family in Lanzarote. I have never been there but I know it is a popular holiday resort for Brits.

 I'm not going to show photos of the children without their parents permission. Instead, you can enjoy sipping something cool in the pool with Andrew!

The family are planning their next trip. It is to the US perhaps at the end of the year. They also plan to visit Berlin next summer.

It will not be Andrew's first visit. He came a number of times a few years ago and even went on a bicycle tour with my Muggelsee Gang. 

I wonder if we can do another tour with my Gang but this time with him and family. Let's see. Thanks for sharing your photos Andrew and I hope you enjoyed the contents of your can.

Special Anniversary

Hello my Silsdeners and other family members. This post is for you. Perhaps you are also remembering a special person on this special day. Yes, today is the 50th Anniversary of my mother's death. Death is part of life so lets not hide from that fact. Coming to terms with it is another thing.

She died on the 29th October 1967 at 6.00 pm in Keighley General Hospital. She was only 49. I lived in Nottingham and had visited her the weekend before. I sat with her in the hospital then said our goodbyes. She held me for a long time then looked into my eyes. Nothing was said. Just deep silent eye contact. Then a big kiss and I left. I turned at the door and there was that same look.  She knew but I didn't. I have never forgotten it.

Writing these words reminds me of the last time I saw Oldie Hermann. I posted about that. I got an interesting response from Neil. He said the same had happened the last time he saw his father. I wonder how many people have experienced that kind of eye contact, but do not talk about it.

 I got news of her death when I was at work and the company told me to go home and prepare to travel north as soon as possible. I did just that. I left home at 16 so hardly saw my family. My mother was the only one to write regularly and so via letters and summer meetings I shared part of her life. I shall not give details here. They remain our secret. And now my Silsdeners you can raise a glass, or cup of tea, to a special person.   

Singing, smashing, tablet and storm

I've had a good week even though I got reports of ill health from family and friends. Two meetings with friends in Berlin were cancelled due to health problems. We hope to meet next week. Going back a week to my Photoshop Gang, I got some interesting photos from Stephan who is the leader of the group.

One was of me 'singing and dancing in the rain'. We were on the south bank of the River Spree, which flows through Berlin. It is near to our communitiy centre. We visit local areas to take photos using old cameras and modern single reflex cameras. We then mix different backgrounds and images using Photoshop to create new pictures. These will go on exhibition next year.

I really like the one of me singing and dancing in the rain. Yes, it did rain! Stefan also made it into an animation and I have added this to the images about my life on the left hand side of my blog. In my last post we met Thorsten, a computer expert who helps people with problems. I showed him a piece of computer equipment designed to allow connections from film/photos to computer. It is old and didn't work. He laughed and said I could throw it in the rubbish bin.

Rather than do that I attacked it with a hammer and screwdrivers. I wanted to see what was inside. Here is a photo. Now we all know! At my last meeting with Thorsten, we worked on my Samsung Tablet. Actually it is not mine but belongs to Oldie H. I added a keyboard to the other things I added so that Oldie H would find it easier to use. Here is a photo of the Tablet getting bigger and fatter!

Back to my Photoshop Gang. We meet in a community centre and in a recent storm two trees fell onto the roof at the back of the building. Here you can see them. They have now been removed and we can use the computer room again. Round the corner is a nice Italian restaurant. Last Wednesday I met Tom there for lunch.

Tom used to work in my local SPD office and we often met for lunch and a chat. His English is really good and he always likes the chance to use it when we meet. He now works for an IT company around the corner from where I meet my Photoshop Gang. We agreed to meet there every month for lunch and a chat. 

The day before I had a haircut. A new hairdresser and new lady. She thought I needed a cut very short on the sides and longer on top. I agreed. It will take some time for the new style to grow. I'll keep you informed.  That evening I went to my first meeting of members of The Lichtenberg Museum. I had been invited by 'The Boss'. I know her as a member of my local SPD.

She thought I could make a contribution to their work hence the invitation. Let's see if I can. An interesting evening.  And so you have read about the main points of my week. I hope your week was a good one for you.
 

Tablet Update

Hi, my name is Thorsten and I am a permanent reader of this blog.

This is an update to test working on photos in my Samsung Tablet. The photos were then reduced using the programmes in the Samsung

I took a photo of Thorsten who is my teacher. Here is the result. Every Monday afternoon he is available for all tenants in the block of new flats opposite my home.

He helps tenants with smartphone problems and using tablets. He has helped me to discover what I can do with my Samsung. These include downloads, updates and getting to know programmes.

He also does the same work with other tenants living in properties belonging to the housing association. When not working, he is an organist, pianist and conducts a choir. A multi-talent! Thanks Thorsten for all your help.

Word Death

I have to concede that the word 'issue' has terminated the life of the word 'problem' and that 'outcome has killed off the word 'result'. I think I shall start to collect dead words to compile a Dead Word Dictionary. I wonder who would publish it.

Here is an example of what I mean. They all came from BBC Radio 4 news interviews. One women talked about, 'adverse issues', and 'some issues caused by distress'. Lets pause at this one. I wonder if a Dr in the UK would understand me if I said to him/her that 'I have an issue caused by distress'. Would I get a prescription/medicine or be sent to a mental hospital?

Later another women talked about 'an issue around....'. It also seems that 'around' has killed off the word 'about'. The Brits no longer talk 'about' something but they talk 'around' something. No wonder many never get to the point! Later she added the words 'an iconic structure'. Another example of a word being overused to the point it has lost any meaning. She concluded with 'a pipeline issue'.

Finally, here is something from the mouth of a University of Oxford Speaker. She was talking about the latest study showing entry to Oxford and Cambridge is still limited to a narrow range of applicants. "Fixing the issue will be a long journey". Errrr...ya, wot..like! Perhaps the university should appoint another speaker.

In Berlin we are settling into autumn. You can clearly see this from the photos I took yesterday of two big trees in my garden. I like the red leaves. This afternoon I am going to the Philharmonie for a concert of Wagner, Phillip Glass and Felix Mendelssohn. I wonder if I shall have any issues as an outcome of attending the concert. Or perhaps I shall find pipelines full of issues on my way there!

Fries Denglisch

In my last post I told you I went to Hauptbahnhof last Saturday. When I left on the south side towards the River Spree I saw a van in the open public space. It was an American GMC from about the end of the 1970s. I stared and reached for my camera. I just had to have a photo.

Here you can see the result. I don't know if you can read all the 'Fries Denglish' so I shall print the words here. At the top of the side of the van are the words, "Come in and fry out." There are then the following words. "sexy fries, creamy mushroom fries, chilli cheese fries, guacamole fries, Berlin fries".

The van was closed. Too early for the 'Fries' customers. Apparently the owner of the van travels to different places, and not only in Berlin, and then opens the van for business. I wonder why he/she uses 'Fries Denglisch'. Why not just write it all in German?

Talking of language, I am listening to Radio 4 as I type. I have just heard an American being interviewed. The following came out of his (yes it was a man)  mouth, "to medicalise a disease". What rubbish! What on earth is he talking about?  I wonder if I can fry a medicalised disease?

Bit of Berlin

I write this blog for my Silsdeners who have not been to Berlin, so lets explore a bit of it. Last Saturday I went to Berlin Hauptbahnhof = Berlin Central Station. It was the meeting point for a group of walkers to explore the inner city area of what was the Berlin Wall.  I know the organiser, so I packed my camera/rucksack and set off.

Here is my photo of the Station taken from the south side. There is an open area for cars, buses, people and then a short walk away is the River Spree. You cross it via the new(ish) bridge and arrive on what was the West Berlin side of the river. Continue walking and you will arrive at the Kanzleramt. This is the office of the German Prime Minister.

Walk along a bit more and then turn left. You will enter a large green area at the end of which is the German Parliament Building. If you return to the river there is a walk indicated by sign posts. There were a lot of people on the walkway as well as in front of the other buildings. Keep walking and you will arrive at the back of the Parliament. There is a memorial to those killed trying to cross to West Berlin for the Berlin Wall ran right at the back of the Parliament Building.

The Hauptbahnhof was built from 1995, and opened in May 2006. It was constructed on the site of Lehrter Bahnhof. This was opened in 1871 and provided a rail link north to Hanover and later to Hamburg. It was bombed and heavily damaged in WWII. It then served as an S-Bahn station and was the end station before waiting to cross into East Berlin.

Construction of the new Central Station started in 1995 when the underground tunnels were built. There was a problem of flooding so the engineers diverted the course of the nearby River Spree in 1996-98. Amazing! It has 7 platforms, 16 tracks and is the main north-south line. The east-west lines carry the city trains such as the S-Bahn. 1,800 trains a day stop at the station and there are 350,000 passengers a day. It has 5 levels, the lowest is 15 metres underground. The main concourse is supported by 2 towers and provides 44,000 sq. metres of commercial space.

It's well worth a visit before you start the inner city walk where the Berlin Wall used to be. Just follow the signs.

Photoshop Gang

Last Friday I took the S-Bahn and U-Bahn connections, then a short walk, to arrive at the community centre where my afternoon Photoshop Gang meet. We always start with coffee, biscuits/cakes and lots of chat before hitting the computers and Photoshop to make changes to the original photos.

This time we started with coffee and cakes plus a drop from a bottle given to me by Daniel. We called it having a 'Drop of Medicine'. Having taken the medicine, we set off to explore our neighborhood. We used a range of old cameras and a couple of modern single reflex cameras so we could later show contrast photos. I used my old camera which must now be nearly 50 years old.


We needed such photos for our next project comparing images taken by old and new cameras. We did such a project a year ago but now we need new images for an exhibition of our work at the start of next year.  We are taking more this Friday before we start work on the photos to create new 'works of art' for our exhibition.

Our community centre is in a borough/district of Berlin called Neue Kölln. It is near the centre of the city and has a high proportion of immigrants, including those from Turkey who are now retired and support the community centre. It is also a popular place for 'alternative' life styles and multi-cultural events.

Unfortunately, this now includes smearing walls, eating fast food while walking, buying/selling drugs in public and sitting in cafes/restaurants such as the one in the photo called Bürgermeister. Many people buy food there and consume it nearby. You can see the couple and the rubbish bin containing packaging just across the road from the restaurant.

It is not an area I would like to live in but I do not mind visiting to have a nice time with my Photoshop Gang.

Bro1/2 Visit

Since my last post I am still trying to come to terms with Oldie Hermann's death. I was helped by a visit this afternoon. Bros 1 and 2 arrived seeking help and advice. Their youth, energy and questioning was a pleasure to experience and a needed contrast to the end of Hermann's life.

Bro1 had called earlier asking for help and we agreed to meet this afternoon. He arrived with Bro 2 as a bonus!  Bro 2 was 15 last Friday so I gave him a card and some money from me and my Kowalke Gang. He was more than happy to get a card and present.  You can see it in the photo.

He said he needed help with his school English. That means he found an excuse to simply be there. Big Bro 1 was the one who needed help. Where the family now live, in a hotel used as a refugee home, there is no internet, TV or telephone connection. He came to me to use my connections.

He arrived well prepared and I immediately gave him a laptop and telephone. He is now in a college to prepare students to both study and work. He needed to contact a company offering a training programme. He wants to become an electrical engineer. He called all the companies on his list and got one positive reply.

We then wrote a letter of application and his CV, printed them out and put into an old fashioned envelope with a stamp to be posted to the company. Let's see what happens. He then pulled out 6 pages of an exercise he had to do for his German class. It took a long time to go through it all and explain words, and what he had to do, but he managed it.

In between, I made sure the Bros had lots of water/juice to drink and also gave them a hot meal. In the breaks we had some interesting conversations. They confided in me about the discrimination they experience each day, mainly from other boys in their classes. I shall not go into detail but it was good to talk and I think it helped the Bros. to think about their reaction and responses.

Oldie H.

Oldie Hermann died last Wednesday evening at home. His family and a carer were present. A doctor had earlier given him medicine. Unfortunately this only delayed his death. I was shocked when his daughter-in-law called to give me the news. I feared such news since my last visit.

If you read my recent post, you will know I visited him last Sunday and found him very ill. When I left, I gave him a hug as usual. This time he just held me, said nothing but looked intensively into my eyes. Then he slowly let me go while still smiling and looking into my eyes. This was not our normal goodbye and now I wonder if he knew it would be the last.

Perhaps you have had a similar experience. I have still not come to terms with his death. Perhaps I can do just that after his funeral. It will be early next month. I looked for a photo of him and could only find one.

He always disliked having his photo taken and put his hand in front of his face if anyone pointed a camera at him. This time he forgot to do that and so I have just this photo. I shall miss his comments, humour and generosity.

Readers and Mushrooms

Welcome to new readers of my blog. I've just looked at the number of 'Pageviews' in the last week and discovered there was/were 1 from Portugal, 2 from Brazil and 7 from China. Wow, what a nice surprise! My readers in Russia are missing from the list for last week. Perhaps they'll visit at the weekend, I've had a lot more visits from Ireland and the UK.

Last Friday at Kerstin's Training for Oldies, they talked a lot about gathering mushrooms and different ways of cooking them. I just listened. I have never collected them for as a child I was always told not to do so because I did not kow which ones were edible. Kerstin's Oldies seemed to know the difference.

The woods in and around Berlin are full of mushrooms at the moment, as you can see in these photos. I took the photos on my recent bicycle tour. I also want to share another photo with you. It always makes me smile. It is a statue outside a village firestation. At the bottom there is some kind of a dragen breathing fire. Out of this emerges the hosepipe being clutched by the fireman. Just look at his face and you will smile :-))

I've had a week of usual activities and meetings. This included a visit to Oldie Hermann last Sunday. I found him not very well at all. The doctor had just visited. Oldie H. stayed in bed during most of my visit. I brought him tea and something to eat to his bedside. The day before I had been to a meeting of representatives of the housing association of which I am a member. Very interesting and it included a bus tour to see many of the properties and planned improvements.

 I'm meeting my Kowalke Gang tomorrow evening. Looking forward to the meal, conversation and something nice in a glass! I'm going on a walk on Saturday and hoping to have a lazy day on Sunday. Enjoy your weekend and mushrooms!

Public Holiday

Yesterday was a public holiday. The 3rd October marks the union of East and West Germany all of 27 years ago. Traditionally I meet my Muggelsee Gang and we set off on bicycle tours around Berlin. Yesterday there were only six of us. Illness and family visits reduced the number of participants. See the photo of the other five.

Uli is on the left and he organised the tour. Excellent choice and well planned. We were lucky with the weather and only had about 10 minutes of rain. Where did we go? Take out your map of Berlin and the surrounding federal state of Brandenburg. Finger in middle of the city and then move it to your right. Keep going in the direction of the Polish border to the east.

Go through Fürstenwalde and stay on the railway line. A few stops further and you will see a village called Briesen. This is where we disembarked and set off on a 33 km cycle tour heading north towards the town of Seelow. This took us through rolling fields, woods, villages, rivers, streams and lakes. I took a number of photos and here are a few to give you some idea of the area.

Stay on your map and go north to Alt Madlitz. There we visited the manor house in a country estate. Next was Falkenhagen near to a large nature reserve. There is an old church made of local stone, the Swiss House, named so because of the architecture. We stopped for a picnic there on the side of a small lake in the centre of the village.

Back on the bikes and further north. We stopped to stroke two horses before arriving in Lietzen-Nord. I discovered it was the centre of a huge underground bunker complex and military command centre. We cycled on and stopped in Neuentempel to see the church built by the Knights Templar, and the old 'steam' bakery. I think this means one that burned wood. Back on track we enjoyed the palace gardens in Diedersdorf before turning right and cycling to Seelow.

Seelow is now famous for the battle there in April 1945 when the Soviet Army succeeded in taking the area so enabling them to march to Berlin. There is a museum and a large statue of a Soviet soldier in addition to graveyards. I had been there before, but by car on a trip to Poland many years ago. It really is worth a visit.  From there we found our station and started the journey back to Berlin.

Thanks to Uli and Gang for making yesterday such a memorable day for me!

October 2017 Things

I'm slowly settling back into life in Berlin, but am not a fan of autumn and winter. If I had millions in the bank I would hire a jet and fly to warmer lands. Australia or New Zealand would be just right and the bonus is that I could visit people I know there.

I have just written that sentence in Conditional 2. Most Brits can't form one. I noted this on my recent visit! Time to change teaching English in the Brexitland schools! The Prime Minister could appoint me as Minister for that task --- with the right salary, of course :-))

Looking at my diary for October I note many of the usual appointments. These are English for Oldies at the AWO with a new course starting on Tuesday 10th. On the 19th I am going to a Smartphone and Tablet for Oldies course, also at the AWO. Next Tuesday is Unification Day in Germany. It is a public holiday, so I am going on a bicycle tour with my Muggelsee Gang. This time Imre should be with us!

I have four appointments with my housing association representatives in October. There is also a meeting with my Kowalke Gang in the evening of the 12th. Looking forward to that. I'm going on a walk along part of the Berlin Wall later. Then a meeting with my SPD Oldies for Kaffee-Kuchen and a discussion about the last election results. I'm also going to the English Teachers Association social evening in an Irish Pub. On the 22nd I'm going to a concert in the Philharmonie to listen to music from Wagner, Glass and Mendelssohn. An interesting mixture!

Who has a birthday in October? My nephew Andrew starts the month with his 40th on the 5th October. Sure to be a party in Ilkley to celebrate. Don't forget to send photos, Andrew! Nephew Warren will be 41 on the 12th and will have a party in Silsden. Wow, but my nephews are getting old! Back in Berlin Bro2 from The Family will be all of 15 on the 13th. My sister Frances will celebrate her 71st in Silsden with family and friends on the 14th. Falk from my Muggelsee Gang will be a 'bit more over 50' on the 15th. My neighbour Marita will be 67 on the 21st. Back to Keighley for Dianne's 71st Birthday on the 27th. Back in Berlin, The Daughter in The Family hits 9 years on the 28th. Sure to be a nice party for that. Tanja in London ends the birthday list for October. She will be 53 on the 31st October. Happy Birthday to each and all no matter where you are :-))

Three in One

I do not want to have another day like yesterday. It started as planned. Get ready and go to a local S-Bahn Station to meet Heike. She is Birgit's younger sister. It was time to celebrate what would have been Birgit's 65th Birthday, and so welcome her to the wonderful world of 'The Oldies'

We could only do so symbolically for Birgit died on the 27th August 2004. All of 13 years ago. How she is missed. I have tried to help Heike to celebrate Birgit's life and accompany her on visits to the family grave where her sister is buried. We have developed a tradition of then going to a Czech restaurant near where I live.

We kept the tradition yesterday. We also had the bonus of doing so with Birgit's son, Robert. He arrived with his wife and recently born daughter. Her second name is Birgit. Yes, named after her grandmother. It was nice to share the day with them. After lunch we went our separate ways. I went shopping and then home.

Later at home, I got some not nice news. One was an e-mail that the daughter of a friend in Florida had been found dead at her home. The family is in great shock and waiting for a doctor's report about the cause of death. As if that was not enough, I then got a call from Oldie Hermann's family that he had been found on the floor of his flat and rushed to hospital. He is now on a life-support machine.

Three things in one day that I do not want to experience again!