I’m a Ford Cortina, rescued from the scrap heap many times. My heyday was the 1960s and ‘70s, and my speciality was Family Holidays. Seatbelts were not considered necessary; you just crammed several children and a dog onto the backseat and set off. There were no child safety locks; you just banged the doors hard….
Surprises
Give a dog a good name
A dog by any other name….? My daughter’s been longing for a dog for years. When she was about 5 she chose a book in a shop in Germany with the title “Ich will einen Hund”, by Helga Bansch. “Ich will auch einen Hund”, she said. It’s a great story about a girl who pleads…
Travel journals – blogging in Germany, 1912
Just for a change, I’ve been traveling in time for this post! How I was given a family travel journal from 1912 When I started studying French and German at university my Grandmother unexpectedly gave me a leather-bound travel journal written in 1912 by her German grandfather, Johann. Until then I had no idea that…
Hygge, and how we recreated it at home
I first heard of the Danish word “hygge” last winter, but this winter it’s all over the place in the UK and helping to sell lots of Christmas decorations and gifts. Candles, thick brightly-coloured socks, books, pastries, coffee, hot chocolate….The closest translation is “Gemuetlichkeit” in German. We don’t have an equivalent in English but the…
German textbooks: how they’ve changed!
It’s easy to forget how much language learning has changed over the years, unless you think back to your schooldays. You probably spent five lessons a week with “La Famille Bertillon”, and got to know them very well. Longmans Audio Visual French? Le Francais d’Aujourd’hui? Jean Pierre est dans le jardin. Beep! I’ve been looking…
“Victorian Bakers” – and Butchers
My daughter and I watched the recent “Victorian Bakers” programmes on BB2 and were shocked at what a hard life the people had and the things they ate. Someone was making a bone marrow sandwich and we saw them slicing up a very tongue-shaped tongue. That reminded me of stories I’d heard about our German…
Twixtmas, a new word in English
Ever heard of Twixtmas? Well, we hadn’t either, until yesterday. Twixtmas, we found, refers to the 5 days between Christmas and New Year. It’s being promoted by a non-profit making organisation called the Flexible Thinking Forum and the website is www.twixtmas.com. For each of the 5 days (27 – 31 December) they suggest things to…
Mysterious Mistletoe
This week includes the longest nights of winter, with winter solstice on 22nd December and sunrise at around 8 am. But if you look at the weather forecast and choose potentially sunny mornings, you can find an open space and go on spectacular walks starting at around 7.20 am. Around the summer solstice you can…
