Remembering

Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of Birgit's unexpected death. She shares a grave in Lichtenberg with her father. I met her just after I arrived in Berlin and started looking for work.

She was then Head of the Language Department in a large private school in Pankow, which is a district in the north of Berlin.

We  became friends immediately and when she moved to a school on the Kudamn. I moved with her to teach there. Later she found a very nice flat in a family house in my district and so we met more often.

She was always an interesting person to be with. She enjoyed being with people, travelling and meeting people from new cultures and languages.

She died with no warning of ill health or problems. She said she felt tired and went back to bed after breakfast. She had a heart attack and died immediately. A shock to all her family and friends.

 I took flowers to her grave on behalf of all, particularly family who do not live in Berlin. As I put the flowers on her grave I wondered what we would have done if she had not died too early. We miss you Birgit!

New Bike

Imre arrived yesterday on his new bicycle. I told you his bike had been stolen from outside his home a couple of months ago. Now the insurance has paid and the company which makes locks has sent him a new one and with an apology. Not bad!

I really like his new bike. It is the new No.3 but then he has 3 of everything be it smartphone, camera or bike. The bike is made by a local family firm and Imre told me all about them as we set off. We took the S-Bahn to Strausberg Stadt to the east of Berlin. The bicycle sections were completely full as others decided to enjoy the weather with a day out.

We cycled east along the road and routes we know well. Imre wanted to have lunch at a family restaurant located alone and amid lots of trees. We got there to find a lot of Oldies finishing lunch. The car park was full - no cycling for them! We found a table under a large tree at the front of the restaurant.

I ordered one of the 'meals of the day' but could not eat all the meat so I settled for the veg and potatoes. Imre took care of my meat :-) He consumed a large salad which he said went well with my meat. Here is a photo of him after lunch sitting under the tree. We then returned to the town and found a seat in a green area full of families with children.

It was nice to see them playing together and splashing in the lake. We ended the tour with Kaffee und Kuchen in my favourite cafe near to the ferry. I have mentioned it before. The owner was there and so switched into English, which he says he has little chance to do and I should visit more often! Then to the station, the S-Bahn and ride home. A nice relaxing day.

A Walk

I met most of my Kowalke Gang on Saturday morning. We took the S-Bahn to the station Zoologischer Garten. It is next to a very large zoo, hence the name. Here is a photo of the station.

We walked around the corner until we arrived at a cafe and met the rest of the group. There were 10 plus the guide. Our target was to learn about the area - then and now.

Most of the area was destroyed by bombs towards the end of the war. The tower of a church is all that remains of such old buildings. It is called the Gedächtniskirche = memory or commemoration church. 
The guide had a large folder of photographs showing buildings as they were. We could then contrast with the buildings that had replaced them.

He also told us about famous shops/stores that operated there and well known people who lived in the area. Our walk ended in the one room remaining of the church. It is at the base of the tower and now full of articles for sale to tourists.

Last of

Local people are saying that the hot weather we are now enjoying is the 'last of the summer'. Temperatures into the mid-30s, blue skies with no clouds and forecast for it to continue into next week. Kerstin's Oldies talked about it a lot this morning as we stretched and rolled around. Of course, they moved into the past to remember when they had young families, went to the Ost See for holidays and enjoyed the sun. Memories! This weekend is a Bank Holiday in Brexitland and the sun is also shining there.

Tomorrow I am joining my Kowalke Gang for a conducted tour around the Gedächtniskirche. This is in the centre of Berlin. It was heavily bombed and the tower was saved. Later, some rooms were cleared to make a memorial and many visitors go there each year. I have never been so accepted the offer to go there with my Gang. After that we are heading to Martina's to celebrate her birthday.

On Sunday I shall be on a bicycle tour to the east of Berlin with Imre. We have to agree when and where and what but I expect it to be an interesting day with a very interesting person! He will be on his new bicycle. I posted about his bike being stolen a couple of months ago. Tomorrow I shall see the new one. If I have fish for lunch in a restaurant I must make sure I cover my food with one hand to stop him diving in with his fork - particularly if the fish is tasty. Have a nice weekend! The photo is of the valley at Silsden.

Reading

I have always enjoyed reading. Here I mean paper and print in my hands, usually called a book! Thinking back to my childhood I have little memory of books at home except for painting-drawing books. My father was a talented amateur drawer and painter. My source was the school library. I also had a good English teacher called Mrs Waugh who encouraged all of us to read, read and read!

Here you can see what I have just read, am reading and will read. This morning I finished the book by Bernhard Schlink called Der Vorleser = The Reader. It was first published in 1995 and soon became a best seller and controversial because of its story line. It won many prizes including some for the use of German. It did not end as I expected.

I've started to read The Tribe by Ben Cobley who is a journalist and former Labour Party activist. It was a present from Ian in Australia. I find his use of English and writing style sometimes difficult to follow and understand. I think a university degree in Sociology would help you to understand his style! The sub-title is, 'The Liberal-Left and the system of Diversity'.

The other book I have started to read is A. C. Grayling, 'The God Argument:The Case against Religion and for Humanism'. Here you have a master of the English language and academic ability to present his case in a simple logical way. Read it. It will make you think.

The final book is ' Nein! Ich will keinen seniorenteller!' = No. I don't want a senior plate/dish! It is translated from the English and is light reading for when I am sitting in the U-S Bahn on the way somewhere. Happy reading to remind you that you don't have to spend half your life staring into a smartphone - a book does a better job:-)

Gel

You know that I returned to Berlin from Brexitland a week ago. You also know I have been having medical-hospital investigations into my skin problems. This included a complete body test to see if I had skin cancer. I got some gel from the hospital called MitroGalen Gel.

I left it in Berlin when I flew to Brexitland. There I noticed that my skin problems were slowly disappearing - healing. This has happened before when I have been to other countries for holidays - visits. My skin problems started again when I returned. At the moment my forehead, nose, cheeks are covered in out-breaks including little yellow spots. Ah... puberty again - but they are not like teenage spots. They are tiny hard yellow growths on the skin.

It seems that the problem has something to do with being in Berlin. Not sure if it is the water or the air. I shall tell the Docs about this on my next visit to the hospital - but that is not until the first week in January next year :-(( Meanwhile, I'll see if the gel helps. You cannot buy it from a chemist. It is only available on prescription.

Rugby

Exactly a week ago I went to a rugby match. Before that there was a family gathering at Alan and Lynne's home. Nice to see them again including much bigger grandchildren. We went to a pub for liquid refreshment before walking to the rugby ground in Castleford.

We had booked seats earlier so all we had to do was find our seats. Nearly 6 thousand fans turned up to cheer on their respective teams. The game was between Castleford Tigers and London Broncos. I liked the atmosphere and watching a group of young ladies dancing on the pitch before the game started. They reappeared each time goals were scored. See the photo.

The London team went into the lead early, then a period of activity but no goals.Suddenly the Tigers found their pace and started to score goals. They ended the game with 27 to 8 against the London team. I enjoyed the play and comments made by fans around me - and all in Castleford Yorkshire accent!  A day to remember.

Museum

I stayed with Alan and Lynne in 'Casland' for a number of days. Always a pleasure to be with them and relax in their nice house. We did a number of excursions. One was to Bradford Industrial Museum. Alan had seen a report about its exhibitions and that entry was free of charge!

We drove over to Eccleshill, which is part of Bradford, to see what was on show in the museum. The museum is in a large building called Moorside Mills. It was built in 1875 by a certain John Moore as a worsted spinning mill. Worsted means high quality wool yarn.

The mill expanded in 1919 with the addition of a clock tower and two floors were added. The property changed hands a few times until bought by Bradford Council  to create an industrial museum. As such, it opened in 1974. 

It has permanent displays of textile machinery, steam power, engineering, printing machinery and motor vehicles. There is a large display of cars made by the Jowett company. This was founded by two brothers of the same name and produced in a factory in Bradford. My parents bought a Jowett Javelin car in the early 1950s and were very pleased with it!

There is a weaving section in the museum and when I entered I immediately thought of my mother. She worked in weaving mills in Silsden after leaving school at 14. The Jowett brothers were sent to work at the age of 8 and the museum makes many references to child labour and conditions for women working in the mills.

A really impressive museum and I can recommend you finding the time to visit the next time you are in Bradford. You can treat yourself to fish 'n chips after the visit!

Canal

The Leeds and Liverpool Canal runs through Silsden. The history of the canal is part of the history of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of textile production in the mills built in Silsden.  Construction of the canal began in 1770 in Leeds and was completed in 1816 in Liverpool. It was extended in 1822.  It is 127 miles long = 204 klm, has 91 locks and crosses the Pennine Hills.

It cost 259,777 Pounds Sterling which in 2014 was calculated at 32.67 million Pounds Sterling. It was built in three phases. The first included the section from Bingley to Skipton which included Silsden. The main cargo was coal and textiles from the weaving mills such as those in Silsden which dominated economic life.

In the 1970s and 80s, textile production stopped in the area as did coal production. The canal is now used mainly for holiday cruises on the canal boats. Economic life in Silsden has moved to the service sector. The town has become a place to live for commuters, reflected in the rise of house building.

Food

Yorkshire is famous for a number of foods. The two most famous are Pork Pies and Fish 'n Chips with 'mushy peas'. You won't find them in Germany!  Here you can see a photo of pork pies which have been sliced. My
favourite is from a shop in Skipton.

This is a market town to the west of Silsden. The shop is small and run by a family. They make pork pies which are very popular in the area. I like to buy them warm and fresh. I then take them to the church garden opposite. Sit down and sink my teeth into the pie. Mmmmmhhh....delicious! I wish the company could export the pies to Berlin!

On my last day I went to Ilkley with Barbara and sister Frances. We went into Betty's Tea Room on The Grove. It is now a ritual inherited from parents and grandparents. We had the traditional Yorkshire Cream Tea. You can see a photo here. Very nice and popular with locals and tourists.

Finally, a photo of a traditional breakfast,. Yes, it is bacon and eggs with a sausage and baked beans - which is not traditional!  Still popular and eaten a lot in Yorkshire.

Back

I'm back in Berlin. I flew in last Wednesday and arrived home at midnight. This time the flights were on time. This was the first time in 8 flights that KLM got it right! The flight to the UK was delayed as usual but then the connecting flights were also delayed. I used to like flying but no more!

Get a map out and look at the north of England. Find a county called Yorkshire and a city called Leeds. I flew into Leeds Airport and was picked up by my cousin Barbara. Then a short ride north until we reached a large and popular fish 'n chip restaurant. Guess what we ate?

Then we drove to Ilkley and over the hills to the next valley and the town of Silsden was waiting for me. I was born there. The town has expanded recently and there are plans for many more houses. I think the population is now about 7,000. It was much less when I lived there.

I took a few photos with my old mini-camera so here are a few views of where I stayed in Barbara's house and walked around the town. Other reports will be about food, the canal, a museum, and a rugby match. Come back tomorrow for more updates.