although my dad points out that she's wearing the wrong type of hat...it needs to be black straw with a flower brim, but come on, this is winter, there's snow on the ground...!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Sunday Snaps 47
This one is for a fellow blogger, Jayne in South Africa, on her blog she has a pic of the Giles granny and when I was walking recently I was behind this little old lady who reminded me of her (the granny that is, not Jayne)
although my dad points out that she's wearing the wrong type of hat...it needs to be black straw with a flower brim, but come on, this is winter, there's snow on the ground...!
although my dad points out that she's wearing the wrong type of hat...it needs to be black straw with a flower brim, but come on, this is winter, there's snow on the ground...!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Just another night
Last night was the monthly Expats meetup at Lulu's, some months there can be just the 4 diehards of me, Rebecca, Ian and Kamesh and it's also possible for the bar itself to be pretty empty, afterall it is on a Thursday with the probability of an early rise the following day for most people, and then there nights like yesterday.
As well as the loud group of 9 Expats clustered at the bar (makes the flow of the evening so much smoother when you don't have leave the conversational group in order to get another drink!) there was also a long table behind us of parents and staff from the kindergarten that Rebecca uses for her youngest, and they were keen to compete with us 'foreigners' for the noisiest group trophy.
The evening started well, with a black martini* for me, and Ian and I claiming our prizes from the Christmas bauble draw (well, I say claiming 'our' prizes, that's not quite true, the prize I was claiming was the bauble won by my brother, he's won Sunday breakfast at the bar, shame he's a 3 hour flight away eh?).
It was a good evening as ever and I was even home at a respectable time (11pm), we stayed long enough to make sure we outlasted the kindergarten group (the majority of whom were probably drinking fruit tea or water) afterall we have an image to protect!
Now I shall try to rack my brain to see if I can remember what we talked about....
- the Royal Wedding, we're planning 'a bit of a do' here, featuring dusk till dawn TV coverage and accompanying bitching, bucks fizz & champagne (well what else does one drink at a wedding?) wedding cake (construction of which has already commenced) and of course the wearing of wedding hats is de rigueur - not only that it has to be a 'self made' hat. The house will be completely decked out with bunting and flags and we might allow the men folk to join us later (after they get off work (after all it wont be a bank holiday here)) so that they can bbq for us...
- the Rocky Horror Show is coming to Essen in October and what's more it's here the week of Emma & my birthdays so we're going to go, but it has to be done properly and that means dressing up - which piqued the boys interest, when the words stockings and suspenders were mentioned. Funnily enough they don't want to come along, neither have the legs to carry off fishnets apparently!
- squash, Ian and Kamesh were fresh from the squash court, where Kamesh has yet to beat Ian, who says that all he has to do is stand in the centre of the court while Kamesh charges around and keeps hitting the ball straight back at him. Ian tried to challenge me to squash but I dodged that one, blaming first a lack of depth perception (didn't wash as Ian says he also has none) then my bad knee**. I think I've got away with it for the moment but I can guarantee it's one of those subjects that will raise its ugly head again.
- Chrismas presents, who got what and who gave what. Rachel said her worst present was a glass angel that she looked at and wondered immediately who she could re-present it on to! I have to confess that this year the ugly present fairy passed me by.
- discussion about what makes a cocktail a martini, is it just the fact that it's served in a martini glass? Or is it the proportions of each spirit? Afterall the traditional martini is vodka and vermouth, but the cocktail list at Lulu's has everything from a chocolate martini to a fuzzy martini, there's even a virgin martin with no alcohol in it (shudder).
And that was just another night at Expats, here's to the next one!
* vodka and black sambuca I'm told
** hurt between Christmas and New Year, I had a bottle of red wine*** in each hand and fell up the wooden stairs from the cellar, smacked my knee cap right into the step. It swelled up and has bruised nicely, is back to its normal size now but not its normal functionality - it didn't enjoy Wednesday's step class much, nor parts of the pilates class, haven't tried running again yet.
*** importantly I managed not to break either bottle!
As well as the loud group of 9 Expats clustered at the bar (makes the flow of the evening so much smoother when you don't have leave the conversational group in order to get another drink!) there was also a long table behind us of parents and staff from the kindergarten that Rebecca uses for her youngest, and they were keen to compete with us 'foreigners' for the noisiest group trophy.
The evening started well, with a black martini* for me, and Ian and I claiming our prizes from the Christmas bauble draw (well, I say claiming 'our' prizes, that's not quite true, the prize I was claiming was the bauble won by my brother, he's won Sunday breakfast at the bar, shame he's a 3 hour flight away eh?).
It was a good evening as ever and I was even home at a respectable time (11pm), we stayed long enough to make sure we outlasted the kindergarten group (the majority of whom were probably drinking fruit tea or water) afterall we have an image to protect!
Now I shall try to rack my brain to see if I can remember what we talked about....
- the Royal Wedding, we're planning 'a bit of a do' here, featuring dusk till dawn TV coverage and accompanying bitching, bucks fizz & champagne (well what else does one drink at a wedding?) wedding cake (construction of which has already commenced) and of course the wearing of wedding hats is de rigueur - not only that it has to be a 'self made' hat. The house will be completely decked out with bunting and flags and we might allow the men folk to join us later (after they get off work (after all it wont be a bank holiday here)) so that they can bbq for us...
- the Rocky Horror Show is coming to Essen in October and what's more it's here the week of Emma & my birthdays so we're going to go, but it has to be done properly and that means dressing up - which piqued the boys interest, when the words stockings and suspenders were mentioned. Funnily enough they don't want to come along, neither have the legs to carry off fishnets apparently!
- squash, Ian and Kamesh were fresh from the squash court, where Kamesh has yet to beat Ian, who says that all he has to do is stand in the centre of the court while Kamesh charges around and keeps hitting the ball straight back at him. Ian tried to challenge me to squash but I dodged that one, blaming first a lack of depth perception (didn't wash as Ian says he also has none) then my bad knee**. I think I've got away with it for the moment but I can guarantee it's one of those subjects that will raise its ugly head again.
- Chrismas presents, who got what and who gave what. Rachel said her worst present was a glass angel that she looked at and wondered immediately who she could re-present it on to! I have to confess that this year the ugly present fairy passed me by.
- discussion about what makes a cocktail a martini, is it just the fact that it's served in a martini glass? Or is it the proportions of each spirit? Afterall the traditional martini is vodka and vermouth, but the cocktail list at Lulu's has everything from a chocolate martini to a fuzzy martini, there's even a virgin martin with no alcohol in it (shudder).
And that was just another night at Expats, here's to the next one!
* vodka and black sambuca I'm told
** hurt between Christmas and New Year, I had a bottle of red wine*** in each hand and fell up the wooden stairs from the cellar, smacked my knee cap right into the step. It swelled up and has bruised nicely, is back to its normal size now but not its normal functionality - it didn't enjoy Wednesday's step class much, nor parts of the pilates class, haven't tried running again yet.
*** importantly I managed not to break either bottle!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
It's a slippery slope
I know that I am guilty of banging on and on about the differences between life in Britain and life in Germany and I am also guilty of pointing out the negatives (as I see them) here, I do try to point out the positives too but I am clearly not yet unbiased enough...anyway here's a little story highlighting exactly how different matters can be:
The week before Christmas (or maybe it was the week before the week before Christmas) we'd had a ton of snow, a veritable shed load and the telephone tree for Jasmine's class sprang into action late one evening (after 8pm, very late for Germans, who normally wont stir themselves afer such an antisocial time) I was to take note and pass the message on that each child should wear appropriate clothing and take their sledge into school the following morning as they were going to spend second and third lessons in the snow*. Message duly noted and passed on to the next branch on my tree, I also then rang my English friend (who taught primary children before moving to Germany) with a child in the same class, and we discussed the possibility that someone could quite easily be spending part of the following day at the local A&E department, but maybe, just maybe the kids were only going to be sledging in the school grounds (it has at least 2 decent enough slopes for that age group (8-10 yr olds) and hopefully it wouldn't be just the one adult and 34 children...
Interrogation of child after the event showed that the class of 34 went with their teacher, Herr B, and 1 mom, into the woods onto the path that, whilst wide enough for a vehicle to pass down also has trees (big, old, solid trees these, not young little whippy, soft saplings) on either side, at least one bend and a drop at the end that is severe enough to warrant a hand rail (that a child on a sledge would shoot straight under). I'm so glad I found out these details afterwards, ignorance is bliss don't you find?
Compare that event to this week in the British press, here in the Mail and here and also in the Telegraph where the life of a design and technology head of department has been pretty much wrecked by the health and safety regulations which saw him lose his job in June 2009 following a day in February that year where he and 2 pupils took his 30 year old 'design classic' of a sledge down a snow covered slope. His mistake was failing to fill out the necessary health and safety forms required by the education system and not ensuring that the children were wearing protective clothing and head gear (he also chose to disregard the head's advice 2 days prior about keeping the children off the snowy slopes).
Mr Tremelling's 2 day hearing this week ended with a reprimand that will stay on his record for 2 years but will not prevent him from teaching again.
I dread to think what his punishment would have been had he taken 30 pupils, each with their own sledge out into the snow.
Told you life was different here!
* You can tell what an affluent area we live in, it is assumed that each child will have padded winter trousers, winter boots (and this doesn't mean boots that are worn in winter, this means boots that are fleecey lined and waterproof with grippy soles that would shame a mountain goat) and a sledge.
The week before Christmas (or maybe it was the week before the week before Christmas) we'd had a ton of snow, a veritable shed load and the telephone tree for Jasmine's class sprang into action late one evening (after 8pm, very late for Germans, who normally wont stir themselves afer such an antisocial time) I was to take note and pass the message on that each child should wear appropriate clothing and take their sledge into school the following morning as they were going to spend second and third lessons in the snow*. Message duly noted and passed on to the next branch on my tree, I also then rang my English friend (who taught primary children before moving to Germany) with a child in the same class, and we discussed the possibility that someone could quite easily be spending part of the following day at the local A&E department, but maybe, just maybe the kids were only going to be sledging in the school grounds (it has at least 2 decent enough slopes for that age group (8-10 yr olds) and hopefully it wouldn't be just the one adult and 34 children...
Interrogation of child after the event showed that the class of 34 went with their teacher, Herr B, and 1 mom, into the woods onto the path that, whilst wide enough for a vehicle to pass down also has trees (big, old, solid trees these, not young little whippy, soft saplings) on either side, at least one bend and a drop at the end that is severe enough to warrant a hand rail (that a child on a sledge would shoot straight under). I'm so glad I found out these details afterwards, ignorance is bliss don't you find?
Compare that event to this week in the British press, here in the Mail and here and also in the Telegraph where the life of a design and technology head of department has been pretty much wrecked by the health and safety regulations which saw him lose his job in June 2009 following a day in February that year where he and 2 pupils took his 30 year old 'design classic' of a sledge down a snow covered slope. His mistake was failing to fill out the necessary health and safety forms required by the education system and not ensuring that the children were wearing protective clothing and head gear (he also chose to disregard the head's advice 2 days prior about keeping the children off the snowy slopes).
Mr Tremelling's 2 day hearing this week ended with a reprimand that will stay on his record for 2 years but will not prevent him from teaching again.
I dread to think what his punishment would have been had he taken 30 pupils, each with their own sledge out into the snow.
Told you life was different here!
* You can tell what an affluent area we live in, it is assumed that each child will have padded winter trousers, winter boots (and this doesn't mean boots that are worn in winter, this means boots that are fleecey lined and waterproof with grippy soles that would shame a mountain goat) and a sledge.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Lemming or logical?
Germany is being rocked by a food scare at the moment.
Dioxin has been introduced into the food chain here through chicken feed*, that's bad news because Dioxin is classed as a POP (persistent organic pollutant) which means that it doesn't break down over time but remains within the body and can build up until dangerous levels are reached. POP exposure can cause death and illnesses including disruption of the endocrine, immune and reproductive systems, neurobehavioral disorders, and cancer.
This 'little' problem hit the news over the Christmas period when the dioxin levels at the firm in Uetersen were measured and found to be 77 times greater than the 'safe' level. Like I said, bad news, but it gets worse...this was December, but the daily Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung reported that a self-assessment (within the firm) showed positive results for unacceptable levels of dioxin on March 19, last year but was not reported to authorities.
So by emptying my shelves of eggs and chicken that isn't bio/organic I guess I'm shutting the door after the horse has bolted right? Except that as I mentioned, dioxin builds up in the body so better late than never in my attempts not to poison myself and my family eh?
Or by acting in this manner, reading all the sensational headlines, throwing away good (but possibly contaminated) food, buying organic where I wouldn't normally, am I acting like one of the herd, being a bit of a lemming by following along with what everyone else is surely doing (seeing as I bought the very last pack of organic eggs from the supermarket this morning) or am I being sensible and cautious and acting in a way to protect my family's health?
A bit of both I guess, while I object to the sensationalisation of the scare it would be foolish of me not to act in such a way as I can to protect my own and if that means spending more on food because I'm buying organic then so be it, it's probably better for us anyway!
* An animal feed maunfacturer, Harles & Jentzsch, has admitted it was 'careless' in mixing fatty acids meant only for industrial use into animal feed, leaving that feed potentially contaminated with the harmful chemical dioxin. This feed has been used only by 'breeder' hens who produce eggs and which are not used for meat, although there are concerns that the feed has been sold into Denmark and also that contaminated eggs may have made their way into other European countries in products such as mayonaise and the like.
Dioxin has been introduced into the food chain here through chicken feed*, that's bad news because Dioxin is classed as a POP (persistent organic pollutant) which means that it doesn't break down over time but remains within the body and can build up until dangerous levels are reached. POP exposure can cause death and illnesses including disruption of the endocrine, immune and reproductive systems, neurobehavioral disorders, and cancer.
This 'little' problem hit the news over the Christmas period when the dioxin levels at the firm in Uetersen were measured and found to be 77 times greater than the 'safe' level. Like I said, bad news, but it gets worse...this was December, but the daily Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung reported that a self-assessment (within the firm) showed positive results for unacceptable levels of dioxin on March 19, last year but was not reported to authorities.
So by emptying my shelves of eggs and chicken that isn't bio/organic I guess I'm shutting the door after the horse has bolted right? Except that as I mentioned, dioxin builds up in the body so better late than never in my attempts not to poison myself and my family eh?
Or by acting in this manner, reading all the sensational headlines, throwing away good (but possibly contaminated) food, buying organic where I wouldn't normally, am I acting like one of the herd, being a bit of a lemming by following along with what everyone else is surely doing (seeing as I bought the very last pack of organic eggs from the supermarket this morning) or am I being sensible and cautious and acting in a way to protect my family's health?
A bit of both I guess, while I object to the sensationalisation of the scare it would be foolish of me not to act in such a way as I can to protect my own and if that means spending more on food because I'm buying organic then so be it, it's probably better for us anyway!
* An animal feed maunfacturer, Harles & Jentzsch, has admitted it was 'careless' in mixing fatty acids meant only for industrial use into animal feed, leaving that feed potentially contaminated with the harmful chemical dioxin. This feed has been used only by 'breeder' hens who produce eggs and which are not used for meat, although there are concerns that the feed has been sold into Denmark and also that contaminated eggs may have made their way into other European countries in products such as mayonaise and the like.
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