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.

August 2019 Things

I got my wheelie-travel-bag out of the cellar this morning and shall place clothes in it tomorrow. I then went through files and papers and now have all the documents I need for the flight on Wednesday. I'm not sure about warm or summer clothes for there is a difference in weather between Berlin and Brexitland. Even so, the forecast is for cooler weather and rain here on Wednesday.

I wonder what awaits me in Brexitland and if I shall understand the mentality of the Brits better after my visit. Listening to Beeb 4 News. The story is about possible closure of a car factory near Liverpool. It is not the first. Many thousands of jobs are at risk. I am staying on the island for two weeks so please note : NO UPDATES TO MY BLOG FOR TWO WEEKS!

Who has a birthday in August? Shirley in Florida starts us off with her 80th on the 1st August. She shares the day with Christian Dix in Berlin who will be 25. Beatrix Dames in Berlin will be 45 on the 6th and Jerome Dix, also in Berlin, will be 24 on the 8th. Martina Müller from my Kowalke Gang will be 71 on the 19th, followed by French teacher Nicole who will be 74 on the 21st. Angelica will have a nice party at the house near Muggelsee to celebrate her 67th on the 25th of the month. I shall be there to enjoy the music. My sister Pauline will be 75 and celebrate with Lew and family in Cambridge on the 26th August. Dieter in Jüterbog will be 75 on the 27th and I shall be there. Bernhard Petro will be 59 on the 28th. He shares this day with my wonderful Jan who will be 36 on that day and celebrate with his better half and his beautiful little daughter. Happy Birthday to each and all no matter where you are!

Other Events: Peter and Andre celebrate their 11th wedding anniversary on the 9th. Andrea and Marco celebrate their 4th wedding anniversary on the 23rd. On the 27th I shall go to Birgit Gast's family grave to place flowers to mark her untimely death 15 years ago. How we miss you, Birgit.

Senftenberg

I went to Senftenberg yesterday with Johanna. A very nice day and it was the first time we had been there. Senftenberg is a town of 25,000 people on the southern border of Land Brandenburg. Land means State. To the south is Land Sachsen (Saxony) and the eastern border takes you to Poland.

The town is on the northern border of Lake Senftenberg which is one of many in  the area called the Lausitzer Seenland. German tribes moved into the area from 1200 AD. Before then it was settled by many Slavic speaking peoples and you will find examples of both languages being used including on public notices.

We took a train from Lichtenberg in the east of Berlin. It runs every hour. Nearly two hours later we got out in Senftenberg. The train stops at many small towns and villages en-route. It was soon full of families and lots of people with bicycles. We walked into the centre, found the market square and had a coffee. We then walked to the northern shore of the lake, found the Information Centre, hired two bikes and set off to explore the area. We decided to cycle around the lake and take in the sights.

We had lunch in the 'Familienpark' in the village of Grosskoschen. (See the Map) After relaxing there we cycled further and returned the bikes before slowly walking back to the station. Back to Berlin and the end of a very enjoyable day. If you visit Berlin for a few days, think about taking the train to Senftenberg and enjoying the lake and sights.

Hottest

I think the English word hot has been used a lot today in Brexitland. Perhaps the comparative and superlative = hotter, hottest - have also been used. The Beeb is full of reports that some parts of England have had the hottest day on record. Germany, France, Belgium and Netherlands are reporting the same thing.

It was also Boris's first day in the House of Commons as the new Prime Minister. I am sure your local news services will tell you all about that. Lot of talk about leaving the EU by the end of October even if there is no agreement. If that happens I wonder if we can change Brexitland to Borisland?

Mini-Trump

Wherever you live I am sure your radio-TV stations are telling you that Boris Johnson was elected the next leader of the Conservative Party today, and tomorrow will become Prime Minister. Goodbye Mrs May and I wonder if she will dance out of 10 Downing Street to a tune from Abba!

Oh dear, Oh dear - where are politics in the UK going? A week tomorrow I shall be flying to Brexitland so it will be interesting to experience things at first hand. Very hot weather forecast there for the rest of the week, about the same as here in Berlin. Keep cool. 

Klinikum

I have just returned from the 'Klinikum im Friedrichshain'. It is a hospital run by 'Vivantes' not far from Landsberg Allee S-Bahn station. That company operates many other hospitals and health centres in and around Berlin. I arrived on time and did not have to wait long until my name was called. My doctor is a specialist in Dermatologie. On my last visit she ruled out the cause of my skin problems to be caused by my allergies.

This time she wanted to check if I had skin cancer. I had to have a full body check. I did as directed and the results came quickly. No evidence of skin cancer! Was I pleased to hear that. We talked about possible causes and she said it looked like a skin disease called 'Rosacea'. It has 4 sub-types and the cause is unknown.

She said up to 10% of people are affected, usually between the ages of 30 to 50 and if so then it is usually linked to family history = you have inherited it. Signs are facial redness, dilated blood vessels on the facial skin, pustules and swelling. There is no known cause, as I said, but it can be triggered by anxiety, emotional stress, hot drinks, alcohol, spicy food and sun burn. She told me not to sunbathe or drink red wine for the rest of the summer. At least I can eat pork pies when I hit Brexitland! My next check-up is early January 2020.

Bridges

I have been told that Berlin has more bridges than Venice. This morning I went under a bridge which was the only one to survive World War II.  I went under many other bridges after joining my SPD Oldies at 10.00 am. We met at Märkisches Ufer 48, which is opposite the Chinese Embassy and a few minutes walk from SBahn Jannowitz Brücke.

There you will find an embarking and disembarking station for boats. It belongs to Reederei Riedel which must be the biggest tourist boat company in Berlin. You can find them in the internet offering details of their services in a number of languages. I went on such a tour last summer with the SPD Oldies and posted a report on my blog.

We had booked three tables but I was surprised to see many other Oldies from different groups about to enjoy the sights on a circular tour of the waterways. Of course food and drinks were available and it didn't take long to order coffee to start us on the tour. Later I went onto the upper deck to experience the cold wind and sights.

A photographer was also on board and took photos of everyone, developed and sold them. Here is a photo of me in a setting of many tourist parts of Berlin. The other picture is of the tour we took on the water. I got it from an information pamphlet available to all. The next time you come to Berlin think about going on such a tour. It is easy to book. Just go to one of many pick-up points on the route and buy a ticket. It's as easy as that!

Mop 'n Book

Last Friday I bought a new mop and bucket. This is just one of the many 'exciting' things about living in Berlin and the daily routine. This is what my blog is about. You do not need me to tell you that Mrs Merkel is having a problem with shaking, about the British team winning a cricket game, or about the latest gaffes from Pres. Trump or Boris Johnson. You get information about all that in your local - national news service. I don't think BBC4 News will tell the world that I bought a new mop and bucket and yet it is important in terms of keeping my place clean, and how I do it, and should make you smile. The latter is the most important :-)

Last Wednesday evening I went to my local SPD meeting, which I mentioned before. On Thursday and Friday I went to Stefan's courses for seniors to learn how to turn on a tablet or smartphone. I had a wonderful lazy weekend reading two books. One in German and one in English. My doorbell rang on Saturday and I was handed a package. It contained a book. It was from Ian in Ozland and contained the simple message, "Happy summer reading". A great way to relax and enjoy the lazy summer days. Thanks, Ian!

Tomorrow I am meeting the SPD Oldies to sit in a boat and enjoy the sights from the water. I did this tour with them last summer which I enjoyed. On Thursday morning I have to go to a local hospital at 11.00 am. This time it is a full body check and will take hours. The investigation is to see if I have skin cancer. On Friday morning I shall be training with Kerstin and her Keep Fit Oldies before meeting Stefan for a Photoshop Gang session.

At the end of my last post I said I had been to a travel agents. The news is that I shall be flying to Brexitland on 31st July for a two week stay. It will be limited to Yorkshire with family and friends. I am also looking forward to eating lots of pork pies from the shop in Skipton. I told you about this before. Mmmmmh......I wish I had some now!

Before and After

We are having changeable weather at the moment. As I write, the sun is shining and it is 28°C. The gardeners arrived recently and started the once a month clean up in the gardens. Of course, we tenants pay for this in our monthly rent. Here are photos of before and after cutting down all the weeds in the garden under our big tree. The weeds are taking over from the grass because it has been so dry. We really need many days of rain.

I've had a usual week starting with Barbara and German lesson on Monday. That was followed by taking my ancient MacBook to Thorsten. He is our specialist for all matters to do with computers each Monday afternoon. I decided to let him install another operating system called Linux. That took a long time then we discovered we did not have a WLAN connection. He is going to install the programme when he returns from holiday in two weeks.

On Tuesday I met Johanna and we went to a local government office to do some 'form filling'. I really wonder at the level of bureaucracy here sometimes! Even so, it was nice to see her and spend some time together. I later helped her daughter to translate a text from German to English - which I enjoyed doing.

On Wednesday evening I went to my local SPD Meeting. We had a guest and that was the ex-mayor and now head of three departments in the town hall. She talked about future plans for the district and the current position of the SPD. I found comments by local members to be very interesting.

This morning I met Stefan for a session on how to use a Tablet. The things I still have to learn! Tomorrow is a meeting with my Photoshop Gang for more work on our photos/images. I've just returned from a travel agency where I booked some flights. More of that in my next post :-)

Summer Party

Yesterday I went to a summer party east of Rüdersdorf. This is a village on the B1 road that takes you from the centre of Berlin to the Polish border. Yes, you need 4 wheels to get to the garden house. I met Werner and his wife near where I live. They gave me a lift. He is a member of Kerstin's Keep Fit for Oldies Group on a Friday. Other Oldies from her Wednesday morning group were also present.

The event was organised by Elka and her husband, who are members of Kerstin's Wednesday group. The have a garden house near to Rüdersdorf which they offered for our summer party. Unfortunately, the weather was cool but we all arrived with warm winter jackets. We settled onto the terrace and started the event with coffee and fruit cakes. Everyone had to contribute something and mine was 2 bottles of dry, white wine and 6 kinds of fresh fruit.

We later moved to the lawn with more glasses and lots of talking. Then it was time to play bowls. This is a part of each summer meeting and very enjoyable. Here you can see a photo of the Gang playing in a flat area next to the garden house. This time I helped to keep score.

We had an unexpected winner. A member of the Friday Gang who recently fell and damaged his right arm. It did not stop him from the best throws and being the winner!

More relaxing and chatting as some members started the two grills and prepared for the main meal of the event. Very traditional grilled sausage and cutlets served with lots of potato and fresh green salads. Pudding was all the fruit I had brought and it did not take long for that to disappear. A really nice relaxing day. I could enjoy such a day once a week!

July 2019 Things

It is cooler today. Only 28°C on my balcony. I shall be meeting Barbara for a German session this afternoon followed by Thorsten for a tablet-smartphone lesson. The rest of the week is much like others.

I collected some more Verbal Rubbish and all from BBC Radio 4 news reports/interviews. Try these:
thanks for that explainer / to ramp up otherness / an elephant trap with little upside / we now to level up / talking about the unicorns being sold. All of these came from 'native speakers'!

Who has a birthday in July? Laura Bolton in Yorkshire will celebrate her 22nd today with family and friends. Tomorrow I am going to Jutta's 71st party = lots of nice things to eat and drink! My nephew's wife Krystle in Ilkley celebrates her 34th on the 8th. Gerald in Berlin hits 78 on the 17th and shares this day with Jutta to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary and so ends the month of birthdays. Happy Birthday to each and all!

Other things: My Acer laptop will be 8 years old this month - it runs on Windows 7 which will no longer be updated from the end of  the year. Need to find a new operating system. On the 3rd, Jan and Arancha will celebrate their 4th wedding anniversary.

Football Evening

It is still hot - but now dropped to 35°C. If you are wondering what to do this evening then turn on your TV. Look for the Under 21 Football Championship match this evening and you will find the German team is about to play Spain. I have a problem - I want both to win but not against each other! Have fun and enjoy something cool to drink as you watch the game. UPDATE: Spain won 2:1.

Hotter

Since my last post it became hotter. This morning it was 38°C on my balcony. I have spent all day in the

shade and mainly reading a book. The area is very quiet. I think people are hiding at home in the shade or have left for rivers-lakes to cool off in the water - or left for the coast for the weekend.

Last Thursday started with a meeting with the 'Tablet and Smartphone' Group. It is led by Stefan and he helped me to work with my tablet. It is now 9 years old. I inherited it just over a year ago when Herman died. Stefan said some things cannot be updated but I can still learn how to use it. I'll try.

I then went to a local restaurant. The one run by disabled people I told you about before. There I met Imre. We ordered the set 3 course lunch for €5. I gave him my salad and the pudding. The main dish was enough. Imre munched away then said he was still hungry so ordered the 3 courses again! Even the waitress was rather surprised. Here is a photo of him in another restaurant - and munching away.

On Friday I went to Kerstin's Training for Seniors Gang, as each Friday. We are not meeting next week for we are having out annual garden party, which lasts all day. From training I went to Stefan's Photoshop course where we did more work on a photo using a new programme. After that, I went around the corner to a barber's shop and got a very short summer haircut. Ideal for this weather.

Yesterday, I met Johanna in my garden in the evening. We sat in the shadow of a tree, sipped cool white wine and had a good chat. This morning I had a long chat with Ian from Ozland and caught up on news. The rest of the day has been a lazy one trying to keep cool. At least the music fans in Glastonbury can enjoy the sun rather than rain, which usually marks the event.

Pana

I took Harald to a local restaurant where people with mental disabilities are trained to prepare them for regular work. I told Harald about it and he wanted to go there today. I found less people there, perhaps due to the heat, and it is now holiday time in Berlin so less people are running around.

We ordered the three course lunch offer and a glass of cool beer. A nice combination! Harald liked the place and the menu and said he would return to support the project. We then headed to his car and ended up at a shopping centre south of where I live.

We entered a large electrical store. I showed the assistant the note written by Thorsten on Monday on which he wrote the details of a CD-Player and DAB Radio to replace my aged equipment. He took us to the machine and I bought it.

If you are looking for a replacement for your system you will find all you need in the compact Panasonic SC-PM 254 EG. It costs €120,00. See the photo. Back at my place we set the thing up and discovered everything worked. I still need to read the instructions and experiment with it over the next few days. Thanks to Harald for the day, and using his car so that I didn't have to carry the box home. Now to enjoy my CD collection - especially the voice of Lorraine Hunt!

Hot

It's hot and today maybe the hottest day of the year so far. The forecasters think it will get into the high 30s and some think it may hit 40°C. I'm meeting Harald later then  going for lunch and a 'cooooool' beer :-)

Fitness Grill

This time yesterday I was on my way to the Fitness Centre on the side of the River Spree. I meet Kerstin's Oldie Fitness Gang there for a session of movement every Friday at 10.00 am. This time there was a meeting of members to enjoy the hot weather, chat and a grill party. Members are invited to such a grill party each summer. I go each year.

I went on my bicycle and found the Fitness Centre members sheltering in the shade of the entrance. It was 30°C so the shade was welcome. There was a wide range of food including salads and lots of fruit - not only meat! I joined a couple I knew and then  went to the grill.

I selected a well grilled sausage (Wurst), some green salad with potato salad. I smeared the sausage with 'Bautz'ner Senf ' = mustard from a town called Bautzen - my favourite! I sipped a cool beer as I munched away. Very tasty and I followed it with a plate of fresh fruit.

Very interesting to see many of the other guests. Lots of muscle on show, including some women who clearly were serious body builders. A really pleasant afternoon with nice people showing off their muscles. Don't forget to watch the German Under 21 Football Team on TV this evening.

Stolen

I recently updated a post (4 posts ago) about Imre. I wrote that Imre's bicycle had been stolen. Here is a photo of him in happier times with the bicycle. He left it in front of where he lives - as usual. Next morning he went out to get on the bike and it was missing.

It is his favourite bicycle and was itself a replacement for a bicycle stolen a year ago when he left it outside his local train station. I know he has two others but this was special for him. It was also the most expensive. I also know the feeling for I had my bicycle stolen from the parking area outside my local train station.

You really have to wonder what is in the head of those who steal bicycles. Why? Is it because they need one or want to sell it to pay for drugs? When my bike was stolen I remember telling friends I would support the return of Middle Age Justice = chop off the hand of the thief!

Weather: I have just read a weather report. It said there is a potentially dangerous heatwave threat next week for all of Europe. Temperatures of 32°C to 40°C. I only had 28°C on my balcony today. The reason given was changes in the Atlantic causing the movement of hot air from Africa. Now fill some extra bottles with water!

Like: I later read a story in The Guardian about the current use of the word 'LIKE'. It seems to be spreading like a disease. This morning in the tram to my training centre, 2 young men sat behind me. They came from the USA and spoke English. Every third word was 'LIKE'! 

Garden Party

Phew, but it's hot. I recorded 34°C on my balcony earlier. Many people are staying at home to escape the heat. It was only 24°C last Sunday when I cycled to the next district called Marzahn. I had been invited to a garden party by Drs. Pardon. I have posted about them before so regular readers will know about them and where they live.

Frau Dr. Pardon had just returned from St. Petersburg. She teaches German at the university there. She is a pensioner but loves the city, language, people, culture and teaching. It was great to see her again and their other guests. A nice mix of languages and cultures including Norway and Ukraine and all are teachers in Berlin and Potsdam.

We settled around the tables in the garden to enjoy the strawberry cakes and coffee. Mmmh..very tasty plus lots of interesting discussions. We later sipped wine and beer before lighting the grill for the evening 'snack'.

As the evening advanced and it got cooler, the guests began to leave for home. I thanked our hosts, jumped on my bike and twenty minutes later I arrived home. A really great day!

A Visit

Last Saturday I was getting ready to leave for Bernau to see the Hussitenfest Procession when the phone rang. It was Bro1 from The Boyz. "Hello Opa, can we visit you, we have not met for some weeks and want to see you again". What else could I say but, "Okay". I decided to visit the Hussitenfest next year!

Shortly after, the bell rang and they arrived with big smiles. I just stared at them for they had different hair styles, beard and Bro2 had a very clear mustache. I burst out laughing but they just gave me a hug, as usual, and joined in the laughing. We then went to my local supermarket for they said they were hungry. I told them to buy what they wanted but they had to cook it. The agreed.

Here you can see Bro1 cooking the food they bought. I have discovered he is a good cook and even cooks where he lives with his family. Here is a photo of Bro2 stuffing food into his mouth but notice the hairstyle. They explained they had been busy at school, with sports groups and meeting friends. I told them that was more important and they could always come to my place.

They then wanted to watch a DVD in English, which they did, then slowly got ready to return home. They took all the clothes for their mother and sister kindly donated by friends of mine. It was really nice to spend time with them and I was sure I had made the right choice to meet them rather than go to Bernau.

Music Equipment

Last Tuesday I jumped into a local S-Bahn and headed east. My destination was Rahnsdorf to meet Harald. He is one of the original members of my 'Muggelsee Gang'. This takes us back to the early 1990s when I first met them in a retraining course. All have since done very well. A talented gang! I later met his father, a very experienced and talented English teacher. We still keep in touch.

Harald was on holiday and contacted me about a meeting. I readily agreed. He has a really nice, large flat to the east of Berlin and is making changes. One was to reduce two music systems to one. I pricked my ears up at this for part of my system is no longer working. Part of it is about 40 years old so perhaps no surprise that it is slowly falling asleep!

Over lunch, we talked about the equipment and it was agreed that Harald would bring his equipment to my place on Thursday and we would see if the bits were compatible. And so we move to Thursday and his arrival with musical equipment in the boot of his car. We brought them up to my place and had a nice cuppa green tea as we looked at the machines.

We decided to just install them and replace my machines. We did that and discovered that the radio worked as did the CD player via his amplifier. I played a CD of Lorraine Hunt singing Bach and Handel. Wonderful voice! I decided to leave his equipment as installed and later remove my old system. I took a photo. On the table you can see my old equipment and later  I shall remove the big, old speakers you can see supporting the new speakers. I shall share this with you.

Imre visit

Imre visited this afternoon. We planned a meeting at my place then on a bicycle tour. The weather forecast was not good for the afternoon so we sat on the balcony and waited. Surprise - the sun shone, temperature increased and blue skies. By then Imre had settled into life on the balcony, playing with his cameras, smartphone and tablet.

After more 'Kaffee und Kuchen', he contacted his lady in Manila. I got the chance to talk to her for the first time. Her English is very good. By then we had given up on the idea of a bicycle tour and retired to the garden to enjoy the sun.

More talking and taking photos for his lady. I had to take some using his tablet and smartphone which was a relatively new adventure for me.

When he arrived he gave me a gift. He was recently in Hungary so bought me a large bottle of Merlot. Very nice of him given that he does not drink alcohol. Many thanks Imre!

UPDATE: Someone stole Imre's Bicycle No 3 yesterday. It is the second time one of his bikes has been stolen. He has reported it to the police and his insurance. Even so, it is a shock to find your bicycle has been stolen. It happened to me a few years ago.

Supper

It started cool yesterday but improved as the day unfolded. I cleaned up my place, went shopping because it is a holiday weekend and the shops are closed tomorrow. I then cleaned the seats and table in the garden and waited for my visitors. Yes, my Kowalke Gang wanted to have an early supper in the garden and I found it a good idea.

They arrived on time and with lots of things to eat they had prepared at home. I provided the glasses and the first bottle of sparkling wine - my favourite from Spain! And so the clock ticked away, lots of talking, tasty snacks and more nice liquid in the glasses.

We raised our glasses to toast Colin in Australia. I have posted about him before. He plans a trip to Germany in summer and we are all looking forward to greeting him and having another summer supper party in my garden. See you then Colin - Prost!

Kvint

It's cooler. Only 25°C on my balcony. Tomorrow should be warmer :-)  Yesterday, I had a visit from Daniel. As you know, he is busy studying at a university in Berlin, and enjoying life as a student. He called to say he would like to visit for it was a number of months since we had last met.

He arrived looking very well, healthy and fit. No surprise for he is a regular visitor to a fitness studio.  Over cups of green tea we exchanged news. His English was as good as always and he no longer has English lessons at the university. His teacher said he doesn't need them!

He gave me a bottle of Kvint. I can hear you asking what that is. He visited his family in Moldova last Easter and bought the bottle for me. Here is some information from the bottle: "Kvint, Tiraspol Winery and Distillery - Divin - Aged 10 years. Product of Moldova. It is produced from local grapes and aged in oak barrels for 10 years, amber colour, rich and full aroma with a long-lasting and soft aftertaste".

I shall open it on a very special occasion and let you know how it tastes. Many thanks to Daniel for thinking about me and buying a bottle of local 'whiskey'. I wonder if I am the only person in Berlin with such a bottle.

June 2019 Things

It's hot. I recorded 36°C on my balcony this afternoon. Traveling on public transport you see most people staring into their smartphones - as usual - but now wearing shorts, vests and summer T-Shirts. Since my last post I have had a number of visitors, consumed 'Kaffee und Kuchen', met Peter and Andre at their nice house in Alt Landsberg and sipped a few glasses of sparkling wine to keep me cool!  June has many usual things before I move into holiday mood in July.

Who has a birthday in June? Nicholas Bolton. starts us off with his birthday in West Yorkshire with his wife and family on the 3rd. Teresa P. has her birthday in Berlin on the 23rd. That is it! Best wishes to both and have a great day with family and friends.

This month has many more anniversaries. Some sad and some funny. We start with the death of Peter Hartstein on the 5th in 2014. He was a member of my 'Muggelsee Gang' before moving to China. My iMac will be 12 years old on the 6th. It still works but I can't update anything. I am thinking of putting a Linux system into it but I need more advice from Thorsten. The 19th is a special day. My father would have been 107 on that day and my mother 101. Yes, they shared the same birthday. On the 25th, Hermann would have been 82. I miss exploring the area with him on day excursions which he really enjoyed.