Wet Weekend

It's raining again! Yesterday I set off twice to enjoy the blue sky and sun. Each time I had to return as the sky opened and we had very heavy rain storms. I know the land needs lots of rain after two hot summers but I would still like to enjoy a weekend without rain!

Since my last post, I have had a number of meetings with Johanna, lunch on Thursday with Colin and a meeting with friend R. to sip a couple of G&T's and talk about a time to take my iMac pieces for re-cycling. We did that on Saturday morning so we shall meet next week to destroy the drive. Should be an interesting meeting and discovering what is inside the drive.

On Friday I went to my usual Kerstin 'Keep Fit for Oldies' session then got a message from Stefan saying the Photoshop meeting was cancelled. He said I was the only one to register for the session. Since the beginning of the year we have only met 9 times! That means 1 meeting a month and 3 meetings cancelled. I am thinking about finding another group.

Today is Berlin Marathon day. I have just checked Der Tagesspiegel webpage. The say it is. "colourful, wet and dramatic". They reported that 52,000 are running including 5,000 skaters and about 1 million people are lining the streets to cheer on the runners. All this with 14°C and rain. Running through rain seems not to bother those taking part. I am impressed.

Cooler

It is cooler since last weekend. I now go out wearing a warm autumn-winter jacket and I have noticed the many people on public transport have stopped wearing shorts! The trees are turning brown and shedding their leaves. What a pity for I am a summer person and do not like the grey, cold days.

I met Barbara on Monday morning for a German lesson. We analysed a text I had brought with me to discuss the words I did not know. Barbara was critical of the writer and his use of  language. In the dictation section she said I was getting better. At last, something to smile about!

The rest of the week has no special events except meeting Colin tomorrow evening for a meal and a beer. He has a really full programme before he takes the flight back to Australia. I am also meeting a friend tomorrow to move the iMac pieces to an electrical recycling centre. After that, I shall make sure he enjoys at least one glass of beer as thanks for his help.

Friday starts with Kerstin and the Keep-Fit-Oldies and then I join Stafan and the Photoshop-Gang for a session. We do not have many now so each meeting is special. The weekend I have free so perhaps I shall take public transport and see the trees turning brown in the country around Berlin. I end with a photo of Bro2 for I really like it and I hope it will make you smile as you journey through the week.

Special Day

Yesterday was a special day. It started with going to an annual district SPD meeting. It started at 9.00 am with light refreshments and members greeting each other. The members had to discuss propositions for the state SPD programme submitted by the 5 sections making up the district party.

There was then a vote to accept each proposition - or not. Not easy to follow for they were spread over 78 pages! At least we could have a break for lunch, which was provided, before we went back to work. The sun shone in a clear blue sky as we continued our deliberations.

I returned home in time to change and pick up some presents for my next appointment. I jumped onto a tram and 30 minutes later got out at a stop near to the River Spree in Köpenick. A short walk and I arrived at the Schwimmclub Ostend. I joined other guests to celebrate the 25th wedding anniversary of Petra and Uli. Other members of my 'Müggelseegang' were there, as you can see in this photo. Uli and Petra are in the middle of the photo.

They and their daughters are members of the club and so could use the facility for a party. It started with a glass of sparkling wine when I arrived, which was later topped up. Lots of talking, jokes and laughter. What a wonderful atmosphere! There was a range of cakes and snacks with coffee before the grill was turned on.

Grilling sausages is very much part of German culture no matter which part of the country you are in. Falk is from one of the German states called Thuringia. It is famous for its 'thuringer bratwurst'. Falk was recently there and brought some back for the party. Here you can see them being grilled. They really are delicious. They are eaten with mustard and in a bread roll. Here you can see Falk about to bite into one.

Lots of games were played as the sun went down and it got cooler. And so the party guests slowly said their goodbyes and headed home. Like me, all with happy memories of a very special day.

iMac-Hits

Time to catch up on updates. The weather is changing into autumn cool, leaves are going brown and dropping to the ground but this weekend has blue skies and sun in the afternoon. Monday was as usual and started with a German lesson. I am still having problems with dictation = the link between hearing and writing. More of that with Barbara tomorrow.

The main event on Tuesday was a meeting of the SPD Oldies. Over coffee and cakes we listened to a report by the Berlin government senator for security. He is also our local MP and always nice to see him. After his speech, I distributed copies of photos taken on our last cruise on the local river and canals. The Oldies were both surprised and happy to be given such a copy.

From there I took the S-Bahn into town to attend a meeting of Berlin Labour Party. There was a guest speaker talking about rent rises and plans to limit them by the state government. This was followed by a general discussion about the Labour Party annual meeting taking place this weekend in Brighton. Wednesday and Thursday were quiet days. Then Friday brought a change.

I went to Kerstin's Training for Oldies in the morning, as usual, then did some shopping for food for my later visitors. I had got a call from Bro1 asking if he could use my computer and printer on Friday afternoon. I said yes and he rang the bell on time. Bro2 was also there and it was great to see them again and looking so well.

Bro1 opened my laptop and started work. It was to write an application for a 4 week training course. This is supported by his school and is not the first time. Bro2 asked for English books. He selected two to take away and use in addition to the lessons he has at school. I went into my bedroom and started to dismantle my iMac. No surprise for it was over 12 years old and many programmes had stopped working and the operating system no longer got updates.

Goodbye to my iMac. I was interested to find out how the computer parts worked behind the screen. As I started to dismantle it The Boyz came into the room and started to take over the work. They clearly enjoyed seeing what was behind the screen and the challenge of dismantling it - as you can see in this photo.

After that, they said they were hungry. No surprise there! Pizzas into the oven followed by chocolate pudding and they were happy. I was happy that they had helped me and I told them not to wait so long to visit again. Having said that, they told me they were now in a new sports group at school and had more homework and so had less time. I can understand that.

MacHammer

Since my last post I have had a week with all the usual meetings and appointments. Busy Monday to Wednesday and a lazy day for me on Thursday. I got an e-mail from Daniel asking if we could meet. I told him to come to my place on Friday after 3.00 pm. He did just that.

He looked very fit and healthy. He had just got back from a long holiday in Moldova with family and friends and a special lady! He filled me in with all the things that had happened since out last meeting. In return I told him about my summer including trying to activate my MacBook laptop. I opened it to show him some of the problems of getting it to function.

Daniel then asked why I needed it when I had other computers and machines to learn how to use. I didn't have a clear answer but his question got me thinking. We talked about the MacBook, then I decided it was time to say goodbye. It was 11 years old last May, which makes it an 'Old Age Pensioner' (OAP) Laptop!

I brought in some tools and we set to work. I was curious to find out what was under the white plastic casing. I had to remove a lot of very small screws to begin to separate the pieces. Daniel then took over including breaking open the screen. We then destroyed all the memory sections. Here you can see Daniel having fun finding out what is inside an old MacBook.

Health: My right arm expanded a lot during the week but I got some tablets to swallow each morning and cream to rub on my skin. The arm is now its normal size and skin stopped burning. It is just a question of time before the red skin disappears.

Lunch

Imre arrived today on his new, smart, 3rd bicycle. This is the one I could happily steal and I make jokes about that. Imre always says there is no way I would be able to steal it. He only brought 2 of his 6 Smartphones with him and only 2 of his 4 cameras! We always make jokes about his collections.

We had talked about a small bicycle tour but due to the cooler weather and my right arm we went to one of my local restaurants. Imre was surprised to see my right arm. It is now about one and a half times thicker than my left arm. The skin is red and burns. He said he would take me to a local hospital but I declined his offer. If it is not better by tomorrow, I told him, then I would go to my doctors.

With that, we went to the restaurant of his choice. It is all of 5 minutes walk away and called 'The Bömisches Restaurant. It offers a range of Czech, Slovak and German meals. I always go for the former. Imre ordered a large green salad followed by a plate of fried potatoes = no meat. He said it was because he had eaten a lot of meat that week.

I ordered a traditional Slovak meal which includes lots of small pieces of meat cooked with mushrooms. I also ordered a glass of beer from the Czech Republic - tastes great! The food arrived and we tucked in. After a short time I realized I could not eat all on my plate. I told Imre and he said he would finish it off. He did just that, which included more than half of the meat!

As he smacked his lips to finish off my plate, he received a plate of fried potatoes. It did not take long for him to finish these. Then he sighed as he sat back and relaxed. Lots of talk before we paid the bill and returned to my place. We said our goodbyes as I told him he could leave his bicycle with me. He just laughed then got onto his bike and headed home. At least he had enjoyed a good lunch!

Garden Party

Last Friday I had a party in my garden. I wrote the word 'my' for most of my neighbours don't use the garden. They sit in their balcony shade and look at anyone who uses the table and benches under a very large tree. The weather was dry and not so hot so my Kowalke Gang arrived.

Kaffee und Kuchen time starts from 3 pm here and so they arrived at 3.15. We carried all the plates and cutlery we needed down into the cellar then into the garden and started to decorate the table. One of the gang had baked a large fruit cake which had pride of place in the middle of the table.

We started with a glass of sekt/sparkling wine to toast Gerald who is unfortunately in a home for ill people. Here is a photo which also includes Colin who is visiting from Australia. I made lots of coffee and the cake was cut. Just then I felt something bite the inner part of my upper right arm. I squashed it with my arm then noticed the burning pain.

I told the others about this and then my arm started to swell and I began to feel very strange. I lay on my bed and felt a little better before joining the rest. My body started to shake so I returned to my bed. Later I was able to join the group and enjoy the rest of the afternoon with them. I wonder what bit me --- and why me?

The Family

I had a lazy Saturday and a busy Sunday. The latter included meeting The Family for the first time in months. Papa had called me a few times to suggest a meeting. I agreed to meet them outside SB Köpenick station on Sunday at 2.00 pm. Bro1 called to say they would be late. No surprise there!

When they arrived they encircled me to give me a big collective hug with lots of smiles. They all looked well and I noted that Bro2 is now the tallest in the family. We set off to find an ice cream cafe. No luck - all were closed, so we went into a local bakery-cafe. There they relaxed over strawberry cake with cream, coffee, tea, orange and apple juice.

There was a lot of talking as we caught up on news. The children talked about school, exams and homework. I noted their German had improved considerably. The best is still Little Sister. She clearly has a language talent. The boys also told me about the sports clubs they had joined and this had opened up speaking chances with boys of their age. Main topic is football!

Eventually it was time to say our goodbyes. Another nice collective hug before they jumped into a tram to take them home. I walked to the SB to take the train to Rahnsdorf to join in a birthday celebration. A very nice day to start another week.

September 2019 Things

Today is the 80th anniversary of the invasion of Poland by the German military which started World War II. Britain declared war on Germany on the 3rd September 1939. The German president and entourage are in Poland to lay wreaths and join in memorial services. I grew up with the sons and daughters of Polish soldiers who settled in the UK after 1945. I only have good memories of my time with them.

My Kowalke Gang was happy to welcome Colin last Friday to a nice supper. Thanks Martina for taking the trouble and hosting the event. Colin flew in from Sydney on Wednesday but needed some time to adjust. He looked just the same as last summer when he visited. He has a full programme of visiting family and friends. He is Johanna's cousin so they plan a number of visits together. I shall be travelling with them later as they visit nearby towns.

The weather is still hot. Yesterday I had 33°C on my balcony again and it is nearly that now. I shall take the S-Bahn early afternoon to meet The Family. It is months since we all met. I shall treat them to ice cream for I know they like it. After that I am taking the tram to Rahnsdorf. This is a small town to the east of Lake Muggelsee. Angelika is celebrating her birthday there at the family house. I'm looking forward to that for many guests are musicians and always start playing instruments.

Who has a birthday in September? 
Lynne in Castleford starts us off by celebrating her 72nd with Alan today. I wonder if she gave the sermon at her church this morning. If so, perhaps the theme was Birthdays! In London, Charlotte will be 28 on the 6th. This is a day she shares with Nevand in Berlin who will be 15, and also with Arancha in Den Haag who will be 35 and sure to celebrate with Jan and Emma. Back in Berlin, Andrea will be

34 on the 8th and celebrate with Marco. On the 11th, Gabi will celebrate her 53rd birthday with Holger at their house south of Bremen. David K. will be 19 on the 12th. He is head of the local Jusos - this is the organisation for young members of the SPD. He has also asked me to help him to pass the Cambridge Proficiency Examination. He wants to study in the UK. Nephew Stephen G. in Cambridge hits 49 on the 22nd. Robert Gast is the son of Birgit and he will celebrate his 41st in Berlin with his family. Sylvana with celebrate her 59th with Mathias on the 25th. Back to Cambridge again for on the 27th, Lew G will have his birthday - number is unknown - with my sister Pauline. On the 29th my nephew Jefferson will be 46 and celebrate with his family in Hook in the south east of England.
Happy Birthday everyone no matter where you are:-)