The last week in the year.

To round off a very quiet and peaceful Christmas we had a link with my brother and his wife yesterday evening. It was a very enjoyable one and a half hours of catching up on ones news and with lots of laughs on both sides.
Christmas Eve day was spent like always setting up and decorating the Christmas tree, the custom being in Germany, that the tree is set up and decorated on Christmas Eve. Also the Christmas presents are given on Christmas Eve.
Father Christmas does not bring the presents but the Christkind (the Christ child)
The main celebration in Germany is Christmas Eve and a pure family one, very quiet and solemn entirely different then the English Christmas Eve. For the foreigner one would think one is morning the death of Christ not the birth.
The words in Germany for Christmas Eve are Still and Besinnlich.
In the afternoon I went out into the woods looking for some moss for our crib. This year my wife stayed at home because of the weather conditions they were rather bad due to the large amount of snow from a few days before.
Our meal for the evening was very traditional, potato salad with Vienna sausages, which we have every year washed down with a bottle of Italian Chardonnay. Afterwards we sat back and watched a very seasonal film on TV.
Christmas day like most families, the morning was spent mainly in the kitchen cooking the Christmas dinner. After the large meal of Turkey, roast potatoes and red cabbage and a bottle of wine we had a well-deserved afternoon nap.
The weather had once again turned around on us giving us fairly warm day and with it melting most of the snow. We can’t complain at least we had some snow for Christmas this year that for our part of Germany is very rare.
Boxing day is one of those days were one seems to loll around the house wishing that the Christmas holidays would soon be over and one can get back to normality.
Once again we have managed to celebrate Christmas without any mishaps, I wonder how many families have managed that?

Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss

The photo is one taken with my wife’s camera on my way to the shops last Monday and I have done a little processing with photoshop.

Christmas comes but once a year..!!

I have just got back from the shops, (bought the last small items that we need for Christmas) and the shops are full, what with only one and a half days to go till Christmas everyone seems to be in a hurry and I would say most of them are in a stress situation as well.
The last week saw the start of the winter here. On Wednesday and Thursday it snowed and on Friday the temperature were 14 degrees below freezing.
On Sunday it snowed all day from eight in the morning till around nine in the evening, that gave us a round about 25 cm new snow. You can imagine what the road conditions were like? During the night from Sunday till Monday morning there were 1000 accidents alone in our county.
I myself haven’t touched my car since we’ve had snow.
My wife and I will be celebrating Christmas by ourselves; all though we are alone we shall be having the traditional English Christmas dinner Turkey, Roast potatoes and Red cabbage. It’s the only time in the year that I cook and on the occasion I cook the turkey with the roast potatoes (Smile ha ha.)
Looking back over the year we think it has been a good year all in all for us. We have bought a new car and we get our new kitchen at the beginning of January, but the most important thing is, we have not lost any money due to the financial crises.
Health wise it could have been a better one for my wife, what with her fall in spring and then the problems with arthritis in her wrists, which still bother her.
Never the less we can’t complain there are lot’s of people out there that are a lot worse off then we are.
On the Blotter side of things I know have slowed down considerably, my main interest now being focused on Flickr and my photography. This doesn’t mean that I shan’t be making a blog any more, it means that in the future they won’t appear as often as before.

I wish every one a Merry Christmas and a peaceful and healthy New Year.

Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss

The photo is taken from our study window after the heavy snow fall.

Better late then never.

No I haven’t gone into Winterschlaf (hibernation) it’s just that life slows down in winter for us.
I have just got back from my evening walk with the dog and for the third time this week we are both drenched. The weather is absolutely miserable it’s raining most of the time and it’s far to mild for the time of the year.
The flu is on the march I’m glad that my wife and I have had both the normal and the swine flu jab.
We wanted to go to visit the local town Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas bazaar) on Friday evening but once again the weather put a stop to our plans, it poured down.
We are going to (if the weather permits) go to Düsseldorf on Tuesday or Wednesday evening to the Christmas bazaar there, it’s much larger and of course there is much more to see.
My wife is suffering at the moment with arthritis in both her hands; it’s causing her much pain and handy capping her movements a lot. She has been to see the doctor but I have the feeling when you get to a certain age they don’t seem to be very interested in helping you, they put it down to old age.
My wife has been surfing in the net for forums on arthritis and has found one or two interesting articles. One of them being, you take a tablespoon full of cold pressed Sunflower oil in the morning when you get up and chew it or move it about in your mouth for ten minuets then spit it out. There should be some positive affect after about four week.Will keep you posted on the development of this curious method.
Between rain showers I have managed to get out and about with my camera looking for interesting things to take photos of. I have decided on the next nice day I shall go into Düsseldorf for the day and see what I can photograph there.
Yesterday my wife and I backed mince pies; my mate Colin brought back some mince when he visited England early on in the year. We backed 41 pies and we are going to make some more later on in the week. We have given some to both our neighbours to taste because they don’t know what mince pies are, must say there was a positive echo.
Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss

The photo speaks for it's self.

New Car!!!

Today is Sunday and it started off weather wise quite nice with blue skies and sunshine, quite different to yesterday were we had rain all day I was out in the woods by nine doing my 10 km run, didn’t run yesterday because of the rain. November is in my mind a horribel month, will be glad when it’s gone.
A week ago Friday we the opportunity to buy a car, not that we were actually looking for one, our intentions was to buy one next year in March-April. Sometimes things happen and you have to make a quick decision so to say on the spot.
The car I’m talking about stood in front of our house with a for sale sign in the side window. I had been with our dog for his evening walk and was just going into the house when the sign caught my attention.
The car, a Ford Focus Ghia, silver in colour 21,000 km on the clock 2 years old for 9,000 Euros. I rang the doorbell of our flat and told my wife she should put a coat on and come outside and have a look at the car. After having a look we decided to give the guy a ring (there was a telephone number on the for sale sign)
After taking to the guy I made an appointment for the next morning so that I good check the car out properly and have a test drive. The guy who owns the car is a second hand car dealer and the next morning when we met my first question was why was the car so cheap and had only 21,000 km on the clock.
Apparently the first owner was an old man of eighty and the car had stood in his garage for nearly a year without being driven and he had decided to sell.
Well to cut along story short I asked to see the documentation of the owner and of the car, I also had a test drive and found nothing wrong with the car as far I could tell.
My next question was how much for my old car? I asked for 1500 Euros he offered me 1000 and all the cost for registration and TUV (which is the German road ability test) it also went through a technical examination with a written report and no faults were found.
We now have a super car with hardly any kilometres on the taco and for 8000 Euros and both my wife and I are thrilled to bits about it.
The only negative thing is, my winter tyres (which are good ones) don’t fit the new car, which means I have to buy new ones and also new hubs as well.
I have been out and about with my camera over the last two weeks when I find time and have put quite a few of my new shots in Yahoo Flicker. If you want to have a look at my photos go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/trills/ and there you will find my photo stream.
Tomorrow is first outside clearing leaves, and there’s a lot still to clear and then at 20 past 11 dentist appointment, half yearly check up.
In the afternoon it’s the fitness gym with my wife to get her signed up for 50 hours of fitness training for her back, the national health pays for them.
Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss
The photo is of a very old Akazien tree, which has cancer, those are the large deformation you can see in the photo. I thought B&W does it justice.

The new kitchen

Late Sunday afternoon just come back from a walk with the dog. The weather is cloudy and dry, but extremely damp both my wife and I hate this damp weather it just seems to get at ones bones the older one gets. Yesterday was a big day for us. We have been talking about buying a new kitchen for sometime now and yesterday we went and bought one. The planning for the kitchen, as been it process for the last few weeks and last Friday someone came and measured out the kitchen. Yesterday morning we spent three and a half hours with a designer putting the kitchen together. No easy job I can tell you. The delivery date is the third week in January but before the kitchen can be fitted I have to do a lot of alterations, such as retiling, redecorating and fitting new power points, also the sink drainage as to be altered all in all a hell of a lot of work. My wife is suffering at the moment with arthritis in both her writs and fingers and she is in a lot of pain, of course the weather is not helping her. If the attack doesn’t ease in the next week she will have to go and see the doctor. I did a bit of photography last week nothing outstanding testing one or two features in the camera. Took one or two shots in RAW but to be honest I don’t really know what to do with them. My biggest failing is my lack of knowledge in Photoshop, it is of course the darkroom of digital photography and with out it you are absolutely lost if you want to compete with others. In the East and South of Germany they have had heavy snow falls last week with up to half a meter, two days before people were sat in beer gardens and the temperatures were around 27 degrees. It makes you think doesn’t it? Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss The photo is of a old hut not far from were we live, actually a old man lives in it. I changed it to black and white gave it a touch of colour to make it look old.

Autumn.

Well another fortnight has gone by with nothing really exciting to write about. Last Friday evening I had a link with my brother, we had a good chinwag catching up on each other’s news and as always it was an enjoyable hour.
My wife is having problems with her teeth at the moment and is running back and forth to the dentist. The thing that is annoying us both is that there is no consultation what so ever about the problem, it’s more like do or die attitude but that is how our medical service works due to one reform after the other over the last few years. If you are privetly insured you get the best of treatment that is going but if you are insured with the Krankenkasse (like the national health) then you get only limited service.
I have been out and about photographing over the last fortnight. I went out doing night photography the other evening but made a mess of things due to the fact that I had the camera settings wrong on nearly all the photos I took. I can tell you I was so frustrated with myself because some of the images were really good. Never mind I shall try again in the near future. The nights are closing in on us fast now and the days are getting colder, yes autumn is upon us and the trees are shedding their leaves it’s a lovely time of the year I think.
Take care out there were ever you are Tshüss.

The photo is of the Gasthaus across the way.

Photography.

I haven’t vanished from the face of the earth, not yet anyway. It’s just that nothing really has happened over the last 10 days worth mentioning. I have done quite a bit of photography over the last week and placed them in the Webb. I have a photo-stream in Yahoo Flickr and have joined 4 groups in which there are discussions about photography and also forums. I must say it’s what I have been looking for; some were to share my photos. I’m not good compared with many but on the other hand I am better then a lot, which gives me inspiration to carry on and improve. My link to Flickr is http://www.flickr.com/photos/trills/
After a slow start with the Canon G 10 I am now getting to know it’s capability’s better, there is a lot more that I have to learn but that makes it all the more interesting. I also must learn more about Photoshop, I must say I find that not so easy as I thought I would.
I was up on Saturday morning at six and quarter of an hour later I was out on my bike with my camera and tripod. I cycled five km to a near by lake hoping to get some early morning photos but alas no such luck. I took about half a dozen but none of them were good enough for my liking so I deleted all of them
On Saturday afternoon I went for a run. I have changed my routine instead of Sunday morning it’s now Saturday afternoon. Yesterday I choose a new route it’s a round course 10% tarmac and the rest tracks or paths that go through woods. The distance is about 8 to 9 km but I shall confirm that when I have done the course on my bike.
Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss

The photo is one I took a couple of days ago, it’s called Red & White

Flooded out.

This morning I was up at ten past seven and out doing my Sunday run by half past. My wife and I had decided to change our normal Sunday schedule from an early breakfast and a later run. This morning I was back home at twenty to nine and after a shower we had breakfast and I must say we both thought the new schedule was better.
Last Wednesday in the early afternoon someone rang our doorbell and pounded on the door, on opening the door I saw the young lad from the flat above us running up the stairs shouting that there flat was flooded. When I reached their door I saw that the hallway and the guest WC was flooded. The mother was shouting, “I don’t know were the water is coming from! I can’t stop it”, also apparently she had slipped and hurt herself in doing so because she was complaining about her foot. I went into the bathroom were the main valves for the hot and cold water are and turned them off. The mother and her son stood there dumfounded and there was no inclination from them to start mopping up the water so that it would not seep through the ceiling and ruin our flat.
Taking stock of the situation I told them to start mopping up the water with every thing, like towels sheets and any thing else that was available. In the mean time my wife had appeared and had started to help mop up the water. On checking the other rooms the water had run into the bedroom and also into the bathroom. It took us about one and half-hours to mop up all of the water. If they had been out of the house all day like they normally are there would have been a major disaster for them and of course for us. What was the cause of the flooding? The cold-water tap pipe was corroded and had burst, if they had been out of the flat all day like they normally are there would have been a disaster not only for them but for us as well.
I have started putting photos into the Web (a thing that I always intended to do) I started with Picasa but soon f+*/# that up didn’t I? By deleting nearly all my Blog photos and the after messing around for a few hours I managed to delete all the photos that I had put in the Web as well. Thank goodness that I have a brother http://no1broadstreet.squarespace.com/ who helps me out of my predicaments, he advised me to leave Picasa and open an account with Yahoo Flickr, which I have done. I am going through the program with care this time and I hope to God that I don’t make a ball’s up of this. I have downloaded ten photos up to now and the reaction is good. I have had three comments, which for starters is very encouraging.
Now to a different subject. On Tuesday we drove to Holland, mainly to buy coffee because it’s a lot cheaper there then by us. We do a bit of some shopping as well and of course it’s a day out for us. We mostly drive to a town called Venlo, this time we arrived to find that there was a cycle race starting from the market place in the middle of the town just across from the shop from were we do our shopping. The race is from Venlo Holland to Lüttich Belgium it was shown on TV and is one of the top races in the year. The weather the last week wasn’t up to much, in the middle of the week the temperatures sank, yes the autumn is in the air but they say the next week will be an Indian summer week. Let’s hope they are right.

Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss

The photos are The shop in Venlo and the Motorway near were we live running from Düsseldorf to Wuppertal. The photo was taken Friday midday and that’s mostly normal on a Friday.

Dog on the run.

On Wednesday morning I went to the post office to post a letter and like mostly I went on my bike. Earlier in the morning my wife had used her bike to go to the doctor, on returning she had left it out side for me to put it in the cellar later on. On arriving back from the post office I opened the house door and left it opened while I got the key for my wife’s bike not thinking one minute about our dog Toby.
I didn’t realise that he had shot out of the door behind my back while I was getting the key, when I did it was too late. It took me a few minutes to orientate in which direction he could have gone. I took off after him. I saw him coming out of the woods, on seeing me he took off in the direction of the main road, which is a dual carriage way. I just managed to get to the bend in the lane to see him run straight across the Zebra crossing of the main road, luckily for him the traffic lights were red.
Across the road I dashed just to see him run down the main road that links with the dual carriageway. He had probably gone about 50 meters when with out stopping swerved left straight into the road, how the car missed him I will never know. A lady that was taking her dog for a walk on the other side of the road screamed when she saw Toby run across the road in front of the car. Not for a moment did that bother our Toby up the road he ran then left into the woods that line the side of the road.
Now this is were fate came into it, I was probably 30 meters behind Toby and really didn’t know which path he had taken in the woods, when suddenly this dog from the lady was at my side and with it’s nose to the ground. I put two and two together and followed the dog, my hunch was right. About 20 meters down the path there stood Toby and the other dog. On see them together I thought I could coax Toby to stay were he was, on calling his name he looked up turned on his hind legs and was off like the wind with the other dog after him.
This when it started to get difficult, (for me that is) through dense undergrowth he ran me after him, brambles and thorns were tearing at my legs (I had shorts on at the time) I didn’t have a clue were I was then suddenly we were in swampy ground. This didn’t stop our Toby or the other dog both of them ran full pelt into the swamp, Toby got further then the other dog being the lighter of the two, he got to a point were I could not follow him.
Behind the swamp there was a small pond of fowl water, into it he sprang and started to swim for the other side. Suddenly he stopped and started to swim back and managed to crawl out onto a mud bank about 15 meters from were I stood. He was totally exhausted and led there panting. All my coaxing couldn’t get him to move, the other dog was prancing around and barking but Toby wouldn’t move.
There was only one thing I could do, shoes off, shorts rolled up and into the swamp I went, I had no idea how deep it would be but I was lucky it went just above my knees. I got Toby by the rough of his neck tucked him under my arm and started back to dry land. The mud that I stirred up stank horribly just like a sewer.
Back on dry land I realised that I had lost my bearing I didn’t have a clue were I was it took me at least 20 minutes to find my way out and another 10 to locate the owner of the other dog. Meanwhile my wife had also gone off into the woods searching for Toby. On arriving home I put Toby in his box and as filthy and stinking like a sewer as I was got on my bike and went looking for my wife. After having a shower and bathing Toby I was exhausted.
PS It took at least 2 days till I got the smell out of my nostrils.
That was my week, never a dull moment.
Take care out there were ever you are Tshüss.

Normal week.

Nothing exciting about this week, no running into signs or anything silly like that. What I did, I managed to get out with my new camera for a couple of hours, and this is really the first time since I bought it. I must say I was very pleased with the results but need more time to get really acquainted with it. I seem to have less time on my hands then I did when I was working full time. I have put a few of the photos in this post to show you what I have taken. On Tuesday I was at work all day and on Wednesday morning I took the dog to be trimmed, this takes up most of the morning, so you see nothing exciting just a normal week. Oh! On Thursday afternoon my wife and I went for a bike ride to a beer garden. We took the dog with us, we have a basket for him that fits onto the pack rack on the back of my bike, it was a pleasant afternoon. We have rarely done any bike rides this year because of my wife’s knee. On Tuesday morning she has an appointment with her doctor and she should find out if she has to be operated on or not. Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss

How daft can one get.

How daft can one get? That is a question I asked myself last Friday afternoon. The Florescent strip lighting was on the blink and I decided to drive to the local DIY store and buy a new one. After first calling in at the grocery shop to pick up a couple of items for my wife I drove to the DIY store. Now this is a large new store with ample parking space and on arriving I parked in a lot far from any other vehicle. After getting out of the car I went to the front and inspected the touch up work I had done (chips made by flying stones) on Tuesday. Now this is were the daft part comes in to the story, noticing that there was a flower bed separating the parking lots from each other and being lazy sod and not wanting to go all the way round them to get to the entrance I sprang over the flower bed and to my surprise landed on my back at the side of the car in a semi conscious conditions. I had the feeling that I had been hit with a baseball bat. After picking myself up and making sure that no one had seen what I had done I checked my self for the damage. I was very lucky no loss of teeth, nose not broken, glasses not damaged or broken, there was no blood flowing but I can tell you I felt bloody awful. What had I done? I had leapt straight into a large METAL advertising board. Now how the hell can one not see such a bloody large thing like that is beyond me. I was so bent on inspecting the car that I had not seen the F#/ing thing. I have done some bloody silly things in my life but that beats them all. On arriving home and telling my wife what I had done, she just couldn’t believe it, and after inspecting my face and finding that I had only a thick lip (badly bruised inside) a surf wound on my forehead and a whooping head ache we both couldn’t stop laughing. On Wednesday I had to go into hospital and have my hand cut open again. After having the stitches removed a week on Friday the infection had got worse and the swelling larger then before. My hand was hurting me so I rang the doctor for an appointment for the next day but he sent me to the hospital were they once again cut out the infection, so I am now back to square one. The stitches will be removed on the 18th and I hope that was it!!! That was my week and what a week it was. Hope you have a good laugh about a silly sod like me (I deserve it) The photo is the large METAL advertising board. Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss

Running,Jogging, Nordic Walking.

On Saturday evening my wife and I had a Skype link with my brother and like always we enjoyed it. It brings us both closer to each other all though thousands of miles separate us. I was glad to hear that his walking is on a daily basis and he is enjoying it. Sometimes his daughter accompanies him and gives him a good run, or should I say walk for his money. On Sunday morning while I was running a few thoughts came to mind about how long have I actually been running and to my amazement after some consideration I find myself now in the 38th year with one or two breaks in between due to illness or job. Running, Jogging or Nordic Walking, it doesn’t make much difference which one of those one does they are all good for your health and also helps to keep you fit. I took up running purely for health reasons. After coming out of the army after serving six years I was naturally top fit and my weight was around 66 kilos. My wife and I had decided long before I was demobbed that we were going to live in Germany because of the economical situation in England at the time. Well to cut the story short, what with having to learn the languish and the job I was in an extreme stress situation and totally neglected my health. I was smoking heavily and over eating and what was worse than that I did no kind of sport what so ever. My weight increased to 82 kilos I was out of breath if I did anything strenuous, in other words I was in a hell of a mess. After a total medical check up and on the imperative advice of the doctor I stopped smoking and started jogging, Later on I joined a group of runners. My average weight today is 71 kilos.
I myself like running but I know a lot of people who can’t understand when I tell them I enjoy myself during a run, I have the feeling that they think I’m telling them a load of rubbish. Of course there have been many of times when I have asked myself, why am I doing this? When for instance a ten-kilometre run feels like I am completing a Marathon. After showering and because of the extra intake of oxygen during the run, which makes me feel I’m on top of the world, it’s always then, that I realise it was worth the effort. I am getting to the age now when the long distance runs don’t interest me all too much. I do a 15-kilometre run now and again but mainly stick to 10 kilometres. I only hope that I can keep it up for a few more years. Movement for old people is a muss but also for young people too.
Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss

Operation successful.

This morning my appointment for surgery was at ten. I arrived five minuets before and on entering the building I thought they were giving something away for free, so many people. I found out later the cause of it, the doctor goes on holiday at the end of the week. It was a long wait, I finely ended up in the room were the surgery took place at half past eleven. The cause of the infection and swelling on my hand is was (like I thought it was) a tip of a thorn that had gone deep into the flesh. A cut, and three stitches later I was outside. The Operation was successful.
Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss

Landslide tips house into lake - The Local

Landslide tips house into lake - The Local

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Landslide

We all have our problems and sometimes the world does not seem to function for us as we think it should, and then you see such tragedies on the news like the hotel bombing in Jakarta or this large landslide in northern Germany taking with it a two story house with three people and a half of the next door neighbours house too.(look at the last post) On Thursday evening I was out on the town with the boys so to say. (My birthday present) It was a very enjoyable evening. We went on the bus to Düsseldorf; from the bus terminal it’s only five minuets to the Altstadt. The weather was perfect a very mild warm evening and the Alstead were full with tourist and local people. I think during evening I drank my twelve glasses of beer and really enjoyed myself. Tomorrow I have appointment with a surgeon, I have a thorn in my right hand and no matter how I have tried I couldn’t get it out. Three weeks have past and it’s gone bad on me so tomorrow I shall have it cut out (Basta!!) Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss

The 11th of July.

The day after yesterday! Another year older! Time just seems to fly by and the older one gets the faster time fly’s, or is it that we live in a age that is hectic were people never seem to have time? Going back to yesterday, I got up around seven then I took the dog out for his morning walk. On the way back I pass the three houses that I look after. To my amazement in the middle of the footpath was a large branch that apparently rotten from age had broken off during the night. This of course meant work for me, (naturally after breakfast).I think it must have been my birthday present from the God’s?
I then mounted my trusty bike and rode off to the bakery to get fresh rolls and croissants for breakfast. In the mean time my wife had laid out the table and made coffee, also there was my birthday present and a card waiting for me. My wife had bought me a new Morgenrock (dressing gown) my old one was over twenty years old and still like new (so I thought, cough). Remember, I also had received money early on in the year so that I could buy my camera so I did very well. Straight after breakfast I went out and removed the branch that was blocking the footpath, it took me a good hour to remove it (early morning sport) thus turning a negative incident into a positive one. Around half past ten the doorbell rang and on opening the door their stood our two neighbours wife’s (their husbands being away for the weekend) and after a very out of tune happy birthday they presented me with a scroll and on it (very nicely illustrated) was a free night out with their husbands in the Altstadt in Düsseldorf. The Altstadt is famous for it’s old pubs and their good beer. I thought that was a super present, will tell you all about it in my next post. The ladies had just sat down when the door bell rang again, this time it was my friend Colin with three bottles of wine and best wishes, sorry to say he was as usual in a hurry and did not stay long.
Normally and yesterday was no exception I take our dog for a walk around five, on my walk I met a man with a small dog, we stopped and passed the time of day with the main topic being focused on our dogs, when suddenly from no were this large black dog appeared and attacked our Toby without any warning. With out any hesitation and not thinking of what harm the dog could do to me I pulled the dog off only to my dismay the dog slipped out of my hands and once again attacked Toby viciously. Again I managed to separate them and this time the man came to my assistance holding the large dog at bay while I held Toby in my arms. Lucky Toby was not hurt just a bit shocked. After hearing all the commotion I should imagine, the owner of the large dog came running across the road, he was very concerned and really could not understand why his dog had behaved in this manner (They all tend to say that afterwards) My remark to my wife on arriving home was “ what with the shifting a half a tree this morning and now that I think I will go to bed and get up and start the day all over again”.
For the evening we had planned a meal in a small Italian restaurant, which is not to far away from were we live. We both chose a Pizza and between us a bottle of red wine. We were home for ten and I must say what with the two episodes during the day all in all it was a very good birthday.
Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss
The scan photo is the invitation for a evening in the Altstadt.

Party &Polterabend

Sunday afternoon and I am still not really top fit after celebrating with our neighbour her 50th birthday last night. It was an enjoyable evening; she had invited family friends and neighbours around to celebrate her birthday. The food was excellent and the beer was cool and from the barrel. The evening was quite a long one it started at five and we left at half past twelve being a little bit worse off for wear and tear.
Last weekend a young couple across the road from us had what they call here their Polterabend. (See link Polterabend) they had put up a notice in the surrounding houses letting the people know that it would be a loud on the evening. When I heard the first crockery being smashed I decided to go out and take a few photos of the event with intentions to put it in this post. After getting the permission from the bride to put the photos in the Internet the bridegrooms father came and asked me if I would like a drink to toast the bride and bridegroom on there forth coming marriage. Well, not wanting to offend anyone I said “yes”, he gave me a plastic cup ¾ full of Vodka!!! With a splash of Bitter Lemon in it. I had the feeling that the bride’s family were German immigrants from Russia from the sound of the dialect from one or two persons that I spoke to. Naturally, according to their custom there was plenty of Vodka flowing. After ten minutes and with still two thirds of the Vodka in my cup I discretely left not wanting to get involved in a family celebration. My wife and I drank the rest of the Vodka together. The weather situation over the last week has been, not to say the least unerträgich (unbearable) very very humid and HOT with temperatures over the thirty’s. On Friday afternoon we had a very bad thunderstorm with local flooding and large amount of damage caused through lightning. We were lucky but in some areas not to far from were we live they had up to 100 litres of rain per square meter causing severe road damage. It is still very humid and we have just come back from a walk with the dog and in the distance there is the sound of thunder and I have the feeling that we are in for another storm. On Tuesday I was at work for the day, nothing unusual took place; I spent most of the day at the desk writing up maintenance documents for the machines in the production. To round the week off I paid a visit to my dentist on Friday to have a filling seen to, nothing dramatic but never the less a necessity. Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss The photos are of the Polterabend and the 50th birthday.

Hot and humid

With the sound of distant thunder in the background and hot humid rainy Saturday afternoon I thought I would attempt to write this post, although of interest little has happed since my last post. I had a link with my brother no1Broadstreet a week ago we discussed the problems he is having with his oldest son, he gave me a good tip (BBC 7) in Internet were I can hear the old comedy radio shows (Hancock’s half hour and so forth) all in all it was a very good link.
The weather over the last few days has been very hot and now it’s turned into something intolerable, hot with a very high humidity and heavy showers with thunder.
Yesterday afternoon we went for a walk with the dog we figured out that we would be gone a good three quarters of an hour and would be home before it started to rain. On the way we stopped in at our local garden centre to price some roses that we have in mind to buy. On the way out the sky just opened and it poured down, we stood there for over 20 minuets and there was no sign of it letting up. A decision had to be made it was no use us all getting drenched so I give my wife my mobile put my head to the rain and ran all the way home to get the car. I had only got about 100 meters and I was absolutely drenched, my shoes were full with water and I didn’t have a dry spot on my body, talk about laughing! But we old soldiers know no pain.
On the Internet side of things we are in the process of changing our provider. We are breaking away from Telecom completely (far to expensive) and have chosen one called Alice. We have double flat rate, Internet and telephone for 30 Euros a month; the phone is only for Germany. They provide us with a router, which doesn’t cost us extra the only thing that I am anxious about is the setting up the bloody thing because I am not all that clued up in setting up a Internet connection. Never mind I will have a go at it and if I don’t succeed I have to get someone to do it for us.
Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss
The photo is something that caught my attention while out walking. Don’t know why the boots are hanging there?

Another step into the 21 Century.

This week we have made one more step forwards into the 21-century by buying a LCD TV.
This might come as big surprise to many but we had been discussing the idea for quiet some time and on Monday we went out and bought one, (that’s how we function).
We bought a 37-inch Samsung with a built in digital receiver model LE 37 B 679 it was delivered on Wednesday morning. Our next big step forwards will be a DVD recorder but that will have to wait for a while, maybe our Christmas present!
Naturally we had to do some alterations before we got the TV. I had to dismantle half of the living-room cabinet to get at the wall sockets, cable had to be newly laid (don’t like having cables all over the place) A picture had to be moved to a new position and have again decided to move it even yet a little lower, that I will do tomorrow because today is a holiday in most parts of Germany (the holiday being a Roman Catholic church one called Fronleichnam).
Last Monday I had an appointment with my eye doctor, I have been putting drops in my eyes now for four weeks and she wanted to see if the pressure had been reduced. Glad to say that the drops have been more than successful; on my right eye I had a pressure of 26 and on my left 22 now I have on both eyes 14, which is very good.
On Friday afternoon I donated blood for the 129th time, at the moment I can donate till I am 68 years old that means next year in July will be the last time for me but you never know they may update that and I may be able to donate till I’m 90 (laugh)
My wife is still having problems with her right knee (still swollen) the doctor told her if the swelling doesn’t go down then she will have to go into hospital for a operation and the idea of that she doesn’t like at all.
We are having a bad spell of weather, it’s cold and with it lot’s of rain, nothing like the month of June at all. The forecast say it will pick up at the end of the week, we hope so because we plan to do a BQ on Saturday evening to celebrate our 45-wedding anniversary.
On a sad note I am sorry to hear about the problems my brother no1 broadstreet is having with his oldest son and on a good note glad to see that the blotter is settling down in his new flat.

Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss
The photo speaks for itself .

Folder-Gluer.

Last night (Sunday evening our time) we had a Skype link with my brother no1broadstreet it lasted over the hour and was, from the conversation side of it most enjoyable. The link was the best one up to now, no interference, no voice break downs, in fact very good.
It’s now Whit Monday morning the weather is perfect, blue sky’s a light wind and I’m sat outside writing this post.
Tomorrow I am at work and I have to make maintenance documents for two Folder- Gluers, which will take up; I should say most of the day. I always enjoy the days at work something entirely different then the normal day procedure, I only hope the job holds out awhile longer. One never knows now days what with the economical situation, although last time I was there all the machines in the production were running. I spoke to the production manager and he told me it’s all ups and downs nothing constant.
I’m teaching my wife to make a video so that she will be able to make them for her Face-book. The limited time for a video in Face-book (2 minuets) makes it difficult to make a decent one and you have only a 100 MB which means you have to compress it when you are finished losing a lot of the quality in doing so. I useVirtualDub to compress the videos, it’s simple to use and quite effective.
Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss
The photos are of the Folder-Gluer.

The 70th Birthday.

The wife is well and fit again, thank goodness. It’s good so because yesterday was her 70th birthday which we celebrated very quietly just the two of us.
I got up first and took the dog out then off I went to the bakery on my bike to buy fresh rolls for breakfast. Arriving back before my wife was out of the shower set the table for breakfast out side on the patio because it was a wonderful morning.
When my wife came outside every thing was finished, fresh coffee and rolls and her birthday presents were laid out. I bought her a pair of ear-rings (she picked them herself) a modern necklace in black and white and some perfume from Jill Sanders called Soft (Jill Sanders being my wife’s favourite brand)
My friend Colin called in at around half past ten with a beautiful bunch of flowers and a birthday card also a good friend of my wife came with a basket filled with plants. Later on in the morning our next-door neighbours came round with flowers and to congratulate my wife.
In the evening we went out for dinner to a local Gasthaus were we spent a very pleasant evening. On arriving home we sat out side on the patio for an hour with a glass of wine. Both my wife and myself agreed it was a perfect day. All my wife’s Face book friends sent congratulations, which made the day for my wife.
We both, has my brother no1broadstreet puts it advanced into the 21 century this week in that we bought our self’s a new mobile each, nothing sophisticated something that is suitable for people over 65 a Sony Ericsson T303 I must say a vast improvement on our old mobiles. I bought them through Internet in doing so saved some money.
This morning I did a 10 Km run, I was a bit late in setting off because of the late night yesterday and the drinks that I had consumed during the day. The run went better than I thought it would go, naturally I felt the lack of sleep and the beer and wine did not help but I did it and that’s the main thing.
We found out last week that at the end of the year our neighbours will be moving, they have bought a house, which at the moment is being built and should be finished in September. We will be sorry to see them go, they are 30 years younger then we are but have been very good neighbours. Let’s hope our new neighbours will be just as nice?
I am sorry to hear that my brothers Blog is suffering because of the new Twitter rave I shall continue to write my Blog so long has I know someone is interested in reading it and once in a while writes a comment on them.

Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss
The photos speak for themselves

A strenuous week.

Talk about a strenuous week! This last week health wise was a bad one for my wife.
On Monday morning she had an appointment with her orthopaedic doctor about her knee, he X-rayed it to see if there was any bone damage, thank goodness that was not the case. What she has is a Bursal Synovitis (Schliembeutalenzüdung in German) and has to cool it to cure it.
In the Afternoon we drove into Düsseldorf to do a bit of shopping, my wife wanted a new pair of shoes and a blazer for the summer. Later on during the night the coughing started, my wife suffers with a bit of bronchitis so we did not take too much notice of it.
On Tuesday it developed into something what I would call whopping cough also she became fever that’s when we started to worry. The coughing started to get worse and more frequent and by midday she was in bed with a temperature of 38.7. Our first thoughts were, had she picked up the so called Swine flu I looked up the symptom’s in Internet and although I was certain it wasn’t the Swine flu I was uneasy
On Wednesday the coughing was worse and we could not get the temperature down.
I had an appointment with my doctor at quarter past ten with my stomach and I’m glad to say it’s nothing serious, a very small Gall bladder stone and really not worth mentioning. I was told to cut down on the cheese (which I eat a lot of) and watch the fats, butter salad creams ect.
I told the doctor that my wife was in bed with a very bad cough that had appeared out of nowhere and that she had fever, his remark was that bed was the right place and if it got any worse I should let him know.
By Friday the coughing had turned into a very bad cold with all the symptoms, I can’t remember when my wife had such a bad cold as this one.
When one is young one gets over a cold very quickly but the older one is the longer it takes to make a complete recovery and that is the case with my wife.
For me it’s hell when my wife is sick, I can’t cook, absolutely useless. I also had to do the weekly shopping, for me, well let’s put it this way I would rather do a day’s hard work then doing the shopping, again absolutely useless.
As far as photography goes with my new camera, well I have made four photos just testing it and I have made myself acquainted with the technical features I just haven’t had the time to do anything else.
Thursday is a national holiday and we are hoping for some better weather because for the last few days it rained most of the time, only in the north of Germany they have been having good weather.
I have been reading the post of the Blotter’s predicament of having to find some were new to live. Personally I have never gone through such an experience but I know someone that has gone through it twice and he told me the best way to cope with it is never look backwards just get on with your new life. Anyway I wish the Blotter all the very best for his future life.

Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss
The photo is the old Düsseldorf city sky line.

Canon G10

After coffee and a piece of homemade cake I sat down outside on the patio intending to write a post for my Blog. I first clicked on my brothers Blog to see if he had written a new post and his Twitter entries caught my attention. One and half hours later I had registered in Twitter and posted a comment to my brother. I must admit I don’t know really the potential that it offers but knowing my brother he will give me the gen on it when I ask him.
On Friday evening (our time) I had a Skype link with my brother the main topic was his heart attack and we were glad to hear that everything is ok with him and has usual we enjoyed the link.
I showed him my new camera (Canon G10), which I had just bought and I must say I think I have bought the right one. Of course all cameras have there plus and minuses. I was looking for a compact camera with good technical features and coming close to a SLR at a price what I could afford or I should say was prepared to pay (529 Euros).
My wife has appointment with her orthopaedic tomorrow morning, her left knee is still swollen from her fall and she is in pain with it. She should have gone to the doctor the next day after she had fallen but one is always wiser afterwards.
I have to see my doctor on Wednesday about my stomach; I’m having a bit of trouble with it at the moment the same complaint that I had after working in Russia.
I had my eyes laser scanned on Monday that cost me 80 Euros. They checked out my optic nerve and to my dismay they are not OK, which means I have to use medication in drop form for the rest of my life (what a thought) The pressure on my eyes are far to high and has to be reduced to stop me from going blind (Green Star). It’s not that dramatic because I’m in the early stage and the doctor said "there is nothing to worry about".
It’s bloody awful growing old but what the hell.

Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss
The photo is the first one taken with my new camera, it something that caught my eye while out with the dog.

Heart attack.

On Friday I received E-Mail from my brother No1Broadstreet telling me that he was in Hospital with a light heart attack. This information struck me dumb; I just couldn’t believe what I had read.
Now Stress is a thing that some people can live with all theirs lives and have no problems, with others it builds up inside and then can turn out to be a killer (heart attack, stroke).
I think my brother has had his share of stress over the last years with his boys and on top of that the job that he does plus shift work and now it is showing. I only hope that he takes this warning seriously and acts accordingly in the future.
I remember sixteen years ago when I had a total nerves breakdown, due to too much work and daily stress situations. When I arrived at the clinic to start my convalesces the doctor, after he had examined me told me, that unless I changed my way of life the next one would be the big one (Heart attack) he said “ Stress Kills”.
Apart from this shattering news the week has been a very quiet one, weather wise it’s been sunny and warm. On Friday afternoon (1st of May) we had some friends round for coffee and cake and a few drinks was quite enjoyable.
Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss
The photo was taken on Saturday morning while we were having breakfast outside on the patio. (Young wine)

Priorities.

There are times in life when you have to make decisions because of priorities and I have made a decision this week. I am not going to buy the Canon 50D which I intended to, not that I have lost interest, no not at all. Next year we need a new car. (A good second hand one). Our car will be 11 years old coming year and it has a kilometre stand of 320000 and a bit more. We have been looking at the Mercedes “A” class, we like the design and the size of the car is ok. Last week Monday I was talking to a neighbour about cars and he told me that he had just bought a new Mercedes a “C” class. During our conversation I told him of our plans for a new car. Apparently he has good connections with a Mercedes dealer and knows the advantages both plus and negative on the “A” class. He told me to buy the “B” class instead; it would cost me four thousand Euros more than I intended to pay for the “A” class. “I wouldn’t regret it,“ he said. Also he said he could get me good conditions, all I had to do was let him know a few weeks before I intended to buy.
I then, after some thought decided not to buy the camera, there are so many reasons why I am not going to buy, the main reason is the 2 thousand Euros will go to the new car instead. I am going to buy a so-called bridge digital camera, I have picked out three that interest me. As far as the price goes there is not much difference between them, they differ from 485 to 529 Euros. The first is the new Sony Cybershot DSC-HX1 the second is the Nixon Coolpix P 90 the last one is the Canon PowerShot G10 I have been doing some reading up on all three and I tend to favour the Canon.
On Monday an old friend that used to live in Germany paid us a short visit (two hours) she now lives in England and was over here for a confirmation of her grandchild (her son lives here in Germany) It was nice to see her again after sixteen years and we had a good chat about the Good old days over coffee and cake, my wife had backed a cake for the occasion.
The rest of the week was normal, on Tuesday I was at work; it was a day of hectic because I had to do some updates on twelve machines.
Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss
The photo album is of some very old slides taken years ago with my Canon A1.

Easter week.

After reading the exploits of my brother no1broadstreet over the last week I thought it was time I made a post, although there is nothing that can compare with my brothers activities in this part of the world.
Easter came and went like all years before only this year the weather was perfect, well most of the time anyway.
I mowed the lawn on Thursday and shuffled around in the flowerbeds, (shuffled is the word my mother used to use when my dad tided the garden up) so that every thing looked nice and neat for Easter.
My wife and I sat outside on the patio most of the Easter holidays relaxing and enjoying the fine weather we also went for a long walk or two with our dog.
I must say I needed the rest because the Sunday before Easter I did a ten Km run, which I do most Sundays. I was so shattered during the run that one would have thought that I had completed a marathon. It was more a walk then a run with stops and starts the whole ten Km. When I arrived home I said to my wife “ that my batteries needed recharging and that I shall take time out over the next two weeks”. I had done a lot of work in the gardens grounds of the houses that I look after and that had used up more of my energy than I had realised.
Wednesday morning I took our dog to be trimmed, I must say it was high time he looked more like a Lion cub then a Norfolk terrier. The lady that trims him took two and quarter hours to do the job and the pile of hair that was plucked from him was unbelievable, next time I shall take my camera with me. There was two other lady’s present in the room all in all three with the women that trimmed Toby. I can tell you, the natters from the three, which was mainly about dogs and dog shows got on my nerves and I was glad to get out of there I can tell you.
That was the Easter week, not at all exciting but very relaxing.

Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss

The photos are as follows. The Dandelion, I always find it’s a lovely flower. The figure of the lady I took when passing a garden, they have been cut with a laser. The one of our garden Nome my wife took.

A right scare.

Last week weather wise was superb, we had a week of blue sky’s and the temperatures rose steadily as the week past by which meant we sat outside on the patio most afternoons.
On Monday I cut the lawn and applied fertiliser also tided and straightened the garden up which took up most of the day.
The evening walks with our dog; well that’s my privilege. Some times my wife goes with me but mainly I go alone.
On Monday evening my wife volunteered to take the dog for his walk because I wasn’t finished in the garden. When my wife leaves the house my last words are always “be careful” and it was the same “be careful” this time when she left with the dog. About one hour later my wife came back in a hell of a state, she had fallen and was in a bit of a shock. Apparently she had not realised that she was so near the verge on the road and slipped with her left foot causing her to fall onto the road. After she had recovered a bit we examined her knees, they were badly grazed also she had a cut above her lip and her chin was grazed. She was very lucky that she hadn’t broken any bones or broken her glasses, during the evening her knees swelled up and we had to cool them with ice. She has now on both knees a whopping big bruise the cut on her lip has healed very nicely.
Now there is a coincidence for you, I have just read the post from my brother no1broadstreet and his wife has fallen as well, glad to hear that no harm was done.
My wife was on to me about getting rid off two large ceramic tubs with boxwood shrubs in them, which we have in our garden, they are at least 15 years of age and she says she can’t stand the sight of them any longer. Now I’m a person that hates to part with things and my wife is exactly the opposite but after listening to her going on about these boxwood shrubs I decided the best thing was to get rid of them (the clever man gives in) or so they say.
I asked one of the neighbours in the street if she would like them for her garden she wanted to see them first of course; one hour later we had transferred them from our garden to hers and like I always say “ a good job done”
On Saturday morning we went into the local town Hilden, my wife wanted to look for a light jacket for spring and we had a stroll over the market before having a coffee sitting outside a small café looking on to the old market square. From there we drove to a new large D.I.T super-market that has just opened which is not to far from were we live, very handy.
Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss.
The photo was taken in Düsseldorf Hofgarden were they had just let the Swans out for the summer.

Videos

My wife asked me last week if I could make a video of the garden for the Face-book.
In the past I had messed around a bit with videos for the Internet but I was actually never satisfied with the out come. I have down loaded Virtual Dub so that I could compress the data to a reasonable size, for instance from over 500 MB down to 130 MB in an AVI file, naturally the quality of the video suffered tremendously. I am at the moment experimenting and hope in the near future to put a video into my Blog.
I have tried Window Move Maker, which is a simple way to make a short video but on my laptop (I have Vista) it always shuts down on me. Anything to do with Windows Media Centre just does not function, its very frustrating and no one seems to be able to help me! I have looked the problem up on Internet, found lots of forums were people are having the same problems and there are hundreds of so-called remedies, have tried one or two with out any results.
I have a program called Pinnacle Studio 11; it’s a very good creative video-editing program with lots of good features in it and for my photos I have a program called Magix for making slides shows.
I have been doing some reading up on the Canon 450D and the 50D also went into a photo shop and got some first hand information on both the models. I have decided that I will save for the 50D instead of the first intended 450D; it means I will have to wait awhile longer before I can buy it but I think the wait is worthwhile. If I recall the Blotter has the 50D and from what I can gather he is very satisfied with it.
The weather is playing havoc at the moment, last week it was lovely and warm and everybody thought that at long last the winter was gone and that at long last spring was here.
This week it’s the other way around. Yesterday for instance I was at work and on my way there I left a rainy countryside to arrive in a snow covered one (the distance is 100 KM). All the morning it snowed heavily and in the afternoon it turned into rain. The temperature is no more then six degrees and slowly but surely we have had enough of this cold and dismal weather.
I was pleased to hear that my brother (No.1Broadstreet) had a very relaxing weekend with is wife, getting away from everything once in a while is a good thing.
My wife and I went on a three weeks holiday in the mountains of Switzerland years ago, in these three weeks we never saw a news paper heard the radio or watched TV, there were no mobiles, no laptops with Internet connection. We did long hikes every day, cooked our food mainly every evening on a grill and washed it down with good Swiss beer. The three weeks did us the world of good.
Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss
The photo, well there is no explaination needed. Taken 26 years ago.

Little to write about

I seem to have got off to a slow start this year with my Blog, it’s not that my interest is lacking the problem is there is not all that much happing just at the moment worth writing about. I hope when spring comes (if it ever comes) that there will be more to write about.
Last week in a small town called Winnenden in the Bundesland Baden-Württemberg (you will have seen or heard about it in the median) a young man of 17 ran amok and killed 15 people most of them scholars in the school were he used to attended himself. A most appalling and tragic catastrophe, which catapulted the people living in this town out of the normal daily life and brought pain and grief to 16 families. When something like this happens I ask myself a lot of questions has it something to do with our form of society we are living in? Or has it to do with Internet? Video war games? I don’t know and I have the feeling the experts don’t know either.
On Friday evening we had a Skype link with my brother we wanted to congratulate him on his birthday (in New Zealand it was Saturday morning) There we sat my wife and I each with a glass of sparkling wine in our hands and when the link opened we sang happy birthday. Sadly to say the voice link was there but not the video link because I had downloaded an update of Skype and I forgot to change the setting for the video link. We enjoyed our chat, which lasted about one hour, had a few laughs and caught up on the family news. We were sorry to hear that thing weren’t going too well at the moment with my brother, hope our chat cheered him up a bit.
Last week I cut back a lot of bushes and some of them had long thorns. After I was finished my hands and arms also parts of my legs looked like I had fought a Porcupine. Three of the thorns went deep into the flesh and broke off and no matter how I tried with a needle and a pair of tweezers I couldn’t get them out. The one in my arm turned septic after a few days, so I had an other attempt at getting it out. I had the feeling that the beast was so long it was nearly showing through on the other side of my arm. With a needle (poking) and squeezing hard it suddenly popped out (thank goodness) it was five millimetres long. The one in the leg and in the finger I have managed to remove as well.
On Saturday afternoon we drove to a Garden centre just to have a look round and came out 36 Euros less then we went in with. The place was so full, hardly a space to park, you would have thought they were giving the plants away for free. Now me and my wife can go any day in the week to the garden centre but no we have to go when the rest of the world is not working. Daft I call it.
Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss
The photo was taken 26 years ago on a walk in Northcote New Zealand.

No story today about the army.

Rain, rain and nothing but rain.

After two consecutive days of rain without a let up one starts to think it might be practical to start thinking about building a Ark (or something similar) just in case. After such a long and cold winter and now this cold and very wet period it’s time we saw some sun. Every one you meet is kind of dismal and definitely depressed with the weather situation, according to the weather forecast there is no change in sight, not in the forth coming week anyway.
On Tuesday we drove into Düsseldorf to do a bit of shopping, for instance a new kitchen-slicing machine was on the shopping list and one or two other small articles. We had lunch first, pepper steaks with French fry’s and carrots and peas and to wash it down a bottle of Alt beer. Afterwards we did our shopping, it’s always a mix of actually shopping and window-shopping when we are in Düsseldorf.
During a phase of window-shopping my wife saw a pair of earrings that she liked and I picked up the hint straight away that they would make a perfect birthday present, (My wife’s birthday is in the middle of May) I said to my wife “ If we wait till May they won’t be they’re any more” and really, I would rather buy something that my wife has picked out herself then me buying something that she doesn’t like, (I’m good at that)
A few weeks back I had reserved a table at the local Stadthalle (Town hall) for a jumble sale. Last year in September I did the same and I quite enjoyed myself also I made some good money out of things that we didn’t need anymore. This time I was there at half past six and the doors opened at twenty to seven. Seeing that the sale is over at one, being there early is important. Things went well for me in the first three hours, I managed to sell my old analogue video camera and one or two other pieces which brought me a total of 112 Euros, this will go towards buying the Canon 450D which I’m saving for.
In the afternoon we drove to the cemetery to tidy up and plant some spring flowers on the grave of my wife’s parents. We hadn’t been there for nearly three months due to the weather but were surprised to see that the grave didn’t look to bad.
Tomorrow I will be going to work instead of Tuesday because I have an appointment on Tuesday at the dentist, (just a check up)
On Friday I donated blood and was told that they had increased the donating age from 68 to 69, which by my reckoning gives me another ten years to go. (Laugh)
With this I will just say “I hope spring finds it’s way to Germany very soon because we have had enough of winter.
Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss
The photo was taken in 1982 I think from Devonport? New Zealand.

Short story’s of past incidents in my army life (funny and sometimes sad)

After 12 weeks of intensive training the finial day came for our passing out parade. Parents, wives and lovers were invited to see us pass out. Parades in the army are equivalent to a theatre play, you rehearse and rehearse till it’s perfect then you have a complete dress rehearsal, then the rest of the time till the actual day is spent bulling you best boots and getting your uniform ready for the day. A daily nuisance is the frequent inspections of your kit to see if it is up to the required standards.
On the day, my parents came and I think my brother was with them but actually I can’t remember. After we had passed out we were given a few days leave. On reporting back to the barracks we packed out kitbags and then was taken by lorries to Preston railway station, there we boarded a train for Portsmouth. On arriving in Portsmouth we boarded a boat, which took us to the Isle of Wight were the Regiment after returning from a three year tour of Hong Kong was stationed . We were picked up by lorries in Cowes and driven to the barracks just outside Ryde.
To be continued.

Carnival and rain.

This week is the start of the street carnival; it starts on Thursday with what they call (Altweiberfastnacht) which means roughly when women assume control for the day.
The high light of the street carnival is Monday which is called (Rosenmonntag) and that is when the street processions take place, something like in Rio only on a smaller scale.
Last Monday we had snow again but it only lasted a day. Compared to the south and east of Germany also Austria were they have had a lot of snow we have been lucky.
On Saturday afternoon we drove to the local town to do a bit of shopping. My wife wanted to buy some wool for the socks that she is kitting. We had a gander around the shops and my wife bought a pair of jeans for the spring and I bought myself a light lumber jacket. In the town we met some old neighbours that we hadn’t seen for thirty years, they are about the same age as we are. I myself thought Wow!!from their conversatio with us that they were old people, strange, afterwards I thought, what did they think about us!! (I don’t think in anyway what so ever that we are old, positive thinking!)
It rained during most of the night and this morning I decided not to do my run in the wood seeing that the paths in the woods would be to muddy, instead I did a road run. Just before I had finished my run it started to rain again and it’s never stopped since.
Take care out there were ever you are. Tshüss
The photo I took some years back but it reflexs how the weather situation is just at the moment.

Short story’s of past incidents in my army life (funny and sometimes sad)


When we were out on the square practising drill there were also other squads doing the same. One or two funny episodes I remember rather well
We had one lad in the squad that never wore his braces (although that was an order), well one day we were marching back and forth and every time we did an about turn or we halted we stamped our right foot hard on the ground (the British army way). The sergeant noticed that this lad’s denim trousers were slipping because he was trying to hitch them up all the time with the inside of his arms. The sergeant moved closer to him and kept shouting, “Swing your arms shoulder high you horrible man” and at the same time he made the squad do a lot of about turns till eventually the lads trousers were around his ankles. The funniest thing though was the lad didn’t have any underpants on either. He made the squad stand to attention for a good five minutes in the middle of the square while the wife’s of the training staff passed bye on there way to the NAAFI to do there shopping.
This lad went AWOL (absent with out leave) the same evening. I myself never saw him again.
The second incident that I remember took place in another squad they were also doing drill and apparently one of the lad’s couldn’t keep instep. Later on I found out he was a farmers son from the Lake District. The training sergeant of the squad brought the squad to a halt then ordered two squaddie’s to bring an empty dustbin. When the dustbin arrived he told the lad to get into it and hold the dustbin lid over his head then he told him to sing Good King Wenceslas. It was so plain ridicules and very funny but you didn’t dare laugh because if you did you was the next one in the dustbin.
One day we were told that during the morning we would be marched to the medical centre for inoculations of some kind (I can’t remember what they were) anyway we were doing rifle drill and in the middle of it we were marched to the medical centre to get our jabs. After we had all received our inoculations we were marched back onto the parade ground to continue with rifle drill. We were in three ranks and at open order practising present arms when suddenly there was a loud bang, which startled most of us. We all turned round to see what it was! One of the guy’s in the last row had fainted and had fallen forwards straight as a log. We naturally all went to help him, which in the eyes of the sergeant was wrong, “ stand still were you are you’re like a bunch of F--- schoolgirls” he shouted. He then ordered one of the lads to fetch a medic, he then moved the rest of us away from the guy lying there and we carried on with our rifle drill.
Later on we heard that the guy had broken his nose and fractured his jaw in three places. We never saw him again.
Discipline was very hard but sometimes it was just plain stupid. For instance we had in each boot sole thirteen studs if you lost one, say going from your barrack room to the morning inspection you were charged with being improperly dressed on parade. In one case a ladybird landed on the beret of one bloke during the inspection and he was charged with having a dirty beret. One guy had to sweep the edge of the parade ground with a toothbrush for an hour or so, these things were of course done deliberately to break you and then make you into a soldier or so they thought.
Two of the worst punishments that you could get (in my view) were one, cookhouse kitchen and the other cleaning the washrooms and toilets. I did one day in the cookhouse kitchen in basic training and I vowed I would never do that again and I didn’t.
One thing you learnt very fast was, never volunteer. They asked for volunteers for a weekend guard duty, we were told that if we volunteered then we would get a long weekend pass the following weekend. I volunteered thinking that it was a good deal, the next weekend we were on a exercise that weekend. Another time they asked if any body could play the piano, one guy volunteered and was sent to help out in the kitchen cookhouse for the day.

To be continued.