Here I am sitting in my garden under a tree. We may only have a small garden but in it there are 3 trees. When we first moved in there were 3 little ponds. Next you’ll be asking if we have 3 little pigs.

Unfortunately I haven’t inherited my family’s green fingers. No pristine English lawn with its fresh green grass. My father must be ‘turning in his grave’ at the sight of our patch of moss. Oh well! You can’t be good at everything.

We live in a village on the main street and there is a constant flow of traffic during the day, so I can’t say it’s quiet. We are lucky, however, to have visitors of a furry or feathered kind, especially early in the morning or in the evening.

Continue reading “All Things Bright and Beautiful” →

National Stereotypes

It is all too easy to categorise people according to their nationality. Putting people in pigeon holes (Leute in eine Schublade stecken) and assuming that all are the same can lead to misunderstanding, intolerance and narrow-mindedness (Engstirnigkeit).

One thing I have learnt is that we all have prejudices, conscious or unconscious – it is human nature. I can understand my friends here who still think that English food is terrible, having had a bad experience on their school exchange 40 years ago.

Continue reading “Stereotypes” →

Recently I went for a walk in the woods and  noticed the abundance of nuts on the ground as they crunched under my feet. A great food supply for woodland animals such as deer, birds and squirrels.

Continue reading “Going Nuts” →

I recently had a bit of an embarrassing moment – a typical “Pat faux pas”. I was listening to two fathers reminiscing about attending “pre-natal” classes and how their respective partners were encouraged to breathe or “pant”.  All part of the preparatory exercises for childbirth. I was quite, however, surprised to hear them talking about crocheting.

Continue reading “Panting or Crocheting” →