September 2020 Things

Looking at my diary for September I see all the regular things BUT I note some concerts. We are slowly getting back into normal life and events but I shall still have to wear a mask.

Perhaps you saw in your local TV that there was a big demonstration in Berlin against having to wear a face covering. I heard that 30,000 people protested on the streets in the centre. I am really surprised at the numbers of people protesting. Now to next month.

Who has a birthday in September?
Lynne B. over in Castleford will celebrate her 73rd with Alan on the 1st of September. I wish I could be there. On the 6th we find three nice ladies sharing the day - Charlotte will be 29, Nevand will be 16 and Arancha will celebrate her 36th with Jan and daughters over in Den Haag. Back in Berlin, Andrea will be 35 on the 8th, Gabi over in Bremen will be 54 on the 11th. David Klawohn of the SPD Jusos will be 20 on the 12th. I sometime help him with English. Over in Cambridge, nephew Stephan will be 50 on the 22nd, back in Berlin Robert Gast will be 42 on the 23rd, Sylvana will be 60 and back to Cambridge again we find Lew G. will celebrate his birthday with my sister on the 27th. Back in Berlin we note that Sylke will be 49 on the 29th. The month ends with the birthday of my nephew Jefferson who will be 47 on the 29th.
Happy Birthday to each and all no matter where you are!

Other Memories
Birgit's funeral took place on the 15th September 2004. Is it really 16 years ago? My wonderful cousin Jean died on the 16th. Moving to the 30th, we find that Birgit would be 68. My father died on that day in 2004  aged 94.

Two

I've had a 'normal' week of nothing unusual. My spare time I spend on the balcony reading the book about the East India Company. It really is a true work of academic research and writing. For example: I am in the 1700s and reading about the continual wars between different Mughal, Marathi, Afghani kings and rulers etc. I did not know there was such continual wars and bloodshed.

My week had two special events. The first was on Tuesday when I went to Rahnsdorf to join in the celebrations for Angelika's birthday. I have talked about her before so she is no stranger. She is now retired. She was a viola player in an orchestra in Berlin for many years. Most of her guests were musicians who I had met before. I really like the family house - it also has a swimming bath in the garden. See the photo. It is near to Muggelsee  in the east of Berlin and one of my favourite areas.

The second special event was a visit from Dr. Peter on Friday afternoon. He is a lecturer in economics at Potsdam university. He is also part of Jan's old school gang which I am happy to say still meets each year. Peter was visiting his mother here in Berlin and helping her with all the paperwork following the death of his father. It was great to relax with him and hear all his news. He only speaks English with me, but that is not a problem for he studied at a university in  the USA some years ago. He looks very fit for he told me he goes to the gym regularly for training. Keep it up Peter!

Lappy

You may remember that some months ago I asked readers to let me know if they had an old laptop in the cellar they had forgotten about. I got a quick response from Thorsten who works for our housing association. He is also a computer teacher, choir leader and organist. Makes you wonder what multi-talent means!

He prepared one given by an association member and this was given to Bro1. I posted photos of him holding out his hands and then opening his eyes to find a laptop in his hands, Nice photos and a very useful present for he now uses it each day in his studies at college. Interesting that a lot of information and homework is now posted on-line.

Yesterday it was time for Bro2 to give a big smile. They arrived as planned to do homework. Bro2 has realised he needs to improve his English and not only grammar. They don't speak in his English classes so he now wants to do that with me. After they had settled in, I told Bro2 to go onto the balcony and close his eyes while holding out his hands.

Bro1 smiled for he knew what was about to happen. Bro2 went onto the balcony and held out his hands. I dropped a laptop into them. He opened his eyes then gave a large smile. I told him it was for him. He smiled again. He then come over and gave me a big hug as he said thank you. Thanks also go to Thorsten for he found this one in a cellar as well.

Nice Surprise

I got a nice surprise yesterday. I was about to jump under the shower when the doorbell rang. I pressed my speaker button and asked who it was. The answer was from a delivery man. He said, "A packet for you." I pressed the button to allow access to the building and he gave me a packet and was gone in less than two minutes.

I stared at the packet and saw my name and address but no information about who had sent it. I opened it and saw a book, but still no information about the sender. It is a history of the East India Company in India. Then something in my brain went 'bong' and I realised it was from Ian who at the moment is living in Sydney.

How did I know it was him? Because we have links to India going back many years and it is the kind of topic he would find interesting and want to share with others. The author is a well known writer about Indian history.  He starts with details of the main players and I noted they were all men! He then gives a detailed introduction listing what the book is about - and what it is not about.

I noted that he was very critical of the EIC  and how it was able to take over a country with then over 200 million people. He is also critical about some of the main players such a Robert Clive, and he lists those who looted India and sent treasures to their houses in England. They are now museums and the public can see what they took out of India. Can't wait to settle down for a longer read. Many thanks to you Ian.

Slowly

The wound in my right leg is slowly getting better. The key word here is 'slowly'. The wound has dry skin hanging over it and if I move the skin it starts bleeding again. I've decided to just put new bandages on
each morning and leave it to nature and time for the wound to heal.

We've had mixed weather this week, mainly hot and humid. Even so, most people on public transport wear a mask and observe distance rules. I've been hearing of changes in coronavirus cases in many countries and changes in travel rules. I can't imagine being 2 weeks in quarantine. No thanks! I still don't know when I may be able to fly to the UK to see family and friends. Perhaps in winter.

I welcomed the Kowalke Gang to my garden yesterday evening. They brought the food and drinks and I provided the seats and table. Not a bad deal! Lots of talking as supper was consumed and the evening cooled. We started with a glass of Sekt, as you can see in this photo. We toasted Colin. He is Johanna's cousin and had to stay in Sydney in Australia due to coronavirus rules. At least he kept busy renovating his house. See you next summer Colin. Prost!

Tagaus

I had a nice day out on Thursday. Johanna and Putte came to my place for a cuppa coffee before we left for the local S-Bahn. We all wore face masks which is now a requirement in public transport here. It is the same in shops. Most people just accept that and wear a mask with no discussion.

We headed to the east of Berlin and got out at Rahnsdorf. A short walk to the Tram station and waited a few minutes for a tram that is old. No idea exactly how old but I guess from the 1920s. Here you can see a photo of me standing next to the tram. A really relaxing ride through woods and green fields until we reached the last station at Waltersdorf. There are two lakes and  lots of woods and a popular restaurant there. 

We got there just after it opened and noted it quickly filled with people over 65! They clearly had the same idea as we did. No surprise that I selected fish for lunch and it was really nice to enjoy it with a sunny view over one of the lakes. From there we set off on a walk to take away the calories. We walked down the side of the second lake with little breaks to enjoy the view. We ended our walk at Erkner where I have been many times. We had a coffee break before taking the S-Bahn back to Berlin.

Of course I did not know I was going to have an accident with my right leg next day. I told you about that in my last post. The wound is slowly healing with the help of cream and bandages. It is just a matter of time before I am galloping around on both legs!

Another

I had another accident this morning. I set off for ' Kerstin's Keep Fit Class for Seniors' as usual on a Friday morning. I had to go on a bus for the tram is suspended until the end of the year due to road works. As I approached the bus it started to leave, then it stopped so I ran to get on it. The doors opened and I stepped in. Ouchhhhh.....I hit my right leg on the metal bottom  of the entrance.

I could feel the pain but found a seat and then looked at my leg. Blood was pouring into my sock. A women said she would take me to a local chemist's for treatment. She did just that and there an assistant cleaned the wound and put a bandage on it. I was told to go home and put my leg up and relax for the rest of the day. The people were very nice.

I set off for home then decided to have a haircut. There is a new(ish) salon near my S-Bahn so I went in. Only had to wait a few minutes and then a young man got into action on my head. I told him I wanted a 'summer short cut'. He nodded, smiled and got to work with his shears. He did a good job and I left feeling better with what could be called a 'crew cut'.

I got home and relaxed on my balcony by reading a book. I felt very sleepy and have done for the rest of the day. I think it must be a reaction to the accident. The wound is near to where I had my bicycle accident wound. Why do I have such accidents ?

August 2020 Things

From a hot, sunny Saturday we moved into cooler days. This morning there is a grey sky, no sun and only 17°C on my balcony.It rained yesterday and I expect more later in the day. Looking at my diary for August I can see nothing special. I wanted to be in the UK to visit family and friends but the flight was cancelled. Now there are more coronavirus outbreaks in England so I don't know when it will be safe to travel. The big event this week is my visit to a local hospital on Wednesday at noon. Nothing special, just a check on my skin problems. There are Zoom meetings during the month, so I am getting used to using that platform.

Who has a birthday in August? Shirley over in Florida starts us off with her 81st on the 1st August! Back in Berlin, Christian Dix was 26 on that day and his brother Jerome will be 25 on the 8th. Near to Berlin, Beatrix Dames will celebrate her 46th on the 6th August. Martina from my Kowalke Gang will be 72 on the 19th. Nicole will be 75 on the 21st and musician Angelika will be 68 on the 25th. On the 26th my sister Pauline will celebrate her 76th with family in Cambridge. Over in Jüterbog, Dieter will have a party for his 76th birthday on the 27th. My wonderful Jan will be 37 on the 28th. Sure to be a special day in Den Haag with two beautiful daughters to share the day with as well as his charming wife. Happy Birthday no matter where you are :-)

Other Things in August. On the 9th Peter and Andre will celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary in Altlandsberg. I hope to be there as I was when they married. On the 23rd, Andrea and Marco will celebrate 5 years of marriage. On the 27th I shall be placing flowers on a grave to mark 16 years since the untimely death of Birgit. On the 29th, I shall be in touch with a family in Brighton to remember Glen who took his life one year ago.

Oranienburg

I went to Oranienburg with Imre yesterday. Where is it? Get your map out.Put your finger on the centre of Berlin and move it slowly to the north then to the west and you will find it. Imre said he had been there before in the GDR with his family, but I could not remember ever visiting the town. A very nice area in the State of Brandenburg.

The big attraction now is Schloss Oranienburg. It is also known for the museum which shows pictures of the Royal Family over generations, and the paintings and textile wall coverings. It is the oldest baroque palace complex in Brandenburg. It was built from 1651 for Electress Louise Henriette of Orange-Nassau, the first wife of the ‘Great Elector’ Frederick William. She came from The Netherlands from an area called Oranien and so brought the connection to Netherlands to the Schloss and name of the town.

We went there on the S-Bahn which provides a regular service. We then walked towards the Schloss. We found a Greek restaurant so Imre decided it was time for lunch and I had to go to the toilet! He ordered a large fresh salad and fruit juice. Here you can see a photo of him enjoying lunch. We then resumed our walk and arrived at the Schloss.

We got tickets to see the museum section. Very interesting, and worth a visit. We then went to the Schloss Restaurant. I was hungry so I ordered a fish dish for lunch. Imre stared at it and I wondered if he would attack it with his fork. He didn’t because I gave him the salad and he munched on that as I finished lunch.  Some lazy local walks, then back to the station and the journey back to Berlin. A really nice day and I would like to go there again to see more of the town and learn about its history.