Just in case you didn’t realise it – I am a fan of Netflix and I especially enjoy watching a good old historical drama. At the end of 2020 all the talk was about season 4 of “The Crown”. For some reason I’m not interested in watching this drama which follows the royal “ins and outs” during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Maybe it’s because I was part of that history and don’t want to admit that I’m getting old!
Continue reading “That’s Crowned it!”Mushroom Picker Stick
Jamie Oliver has been an inspiration for my son and I for many years. Recently Jamie challenged his Instagram followers to make him laugh in these difficult Corona days.
This was the photo he posted of himself holding a hand-carved walking mushroom picking stick. How good would it be to have a mushroom picker’s stick signed by Jamie and Gennaro Contaldo?
Is it Ollie the Grey from Lord of the Rings?
I couldn’t resist! Time to get the creative juices flowing. The pose reminded me of Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings, hence the name Ollie the Grey.
Continue reading “Mushroom Picker Stick”A “Wundertüte” of Words
It has been a while since I last wrote about my WOWs (Word of the Week) so it’s time to unpack my “Wundertüte” (bag of surprises) of English words which have kept me amused over the last weeks.
miffed: verärgert
E.g. Sally was really miffed because she wasn’t invited to the party. (Sally war verärgert, weil sie nicht zur Party engeladen war)
Continue reading “A “Wundertüte” of Words”Off My Trolley
I have a new saying:
Don’t mind me! I’m just having a moment but it’ll pass.
A Moment of Madness
Yesterday I had such a moment! Do you know the game “I went shopping and bought…”?
Well, I went shopping and I didn’t buy 1 butter squash, 2 pears. 3 bread rolls, 4 courgettes and 5 bananas!
That really did happen. I put all of these things in my trolley, paid at the till and drove home. Later I said to my husband that there were some “Brötchen” for our midday sandwiches…or I thought there were! They were nowhere to be found. Then the mystery began!
Continue reading “Off My Trolley”Ginger
To most of us hair is very important and can affect our day…especially if you are having “a bad hair day!” How did you survive the Corona time without a trip to the hairdressers? In our household the shaver was rediscovered. Talking about hair raises many issues (it can be a “very hair-raising” topic!)
Continue reading “Ginger”Much Hairdo About Nothing
A pile of hair words
Here are some useful words or phrases to do with the topic hair.
ponytail : Pferdeschwanz sideburns: Koteletten pigtails (bunches): Zöpfe plait (braid): Zopf bun (knot): Haarknoten* curly: lockig wavy: wellig parting: Haarscheitel bald: kahl hair (hairstyle): Frisur greasy: fettig dandruff: Schuppen frizzy: kraus mop of hair: Haarschopf hairline: Haaransatz blow dry: föhnen wig: Perücke split ends: Spliss layered: stufig to lose hair (folically/folicularly challenged): Haare verlieren**
She stood in front of the mirror and did her hair. When she was finished she was shocked to see how many hairs were on the floor. She realised she was losing her hair.
* When I checked the translation for “hair in a bun” I got the answer “Haare in einem Brötchen“! ** not really politically correct.
Continue reading “Much Hairdo About Nothing”Du hast einen Vogel
For my German readers it is obvious what is meant by the expression “Du hast einen Vogel!”, but to an English person this does not make sense when directly translated into “You have a bird!”. In England they really would think you were crazy if you said that.
Continue reading “Du hast einen Vogel”All Things Bright and Beautiful
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”Stereotypes
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”Words of the Week Update
I have had fun over the last few weeks deciding what word to take as my Word of the Week (WOW). Unfortunately I haven’t got round to posting them weekly – the last being in November.
Strangely enough I now have time because of the restrictions which have been caused by the infamous corona virus.
So here is a list of the WOWs that I chose. I think my customers have had fun using them either because they are simply funny words or because they have lightened the mood recently.
Continue reading “Words of the Week Update”