And Then There Is Food Of Course

I Am Your Mother After All ...

... and I know best!

First you need to drink some water in this terrible heat ...

... and then you need a bath!

Good boy, good boy!

¡Adiós Diego!

First of all I have to say why I have not blogged or visited blogs for so long. It's the usual thing really, work, visitors and then a change-over between telecoms and an unwanted situation of no phone and no internet. Although I do not write about football a lot, I love the game and watch just enough not to upset the equilibrium at home, if you see what I mean. It's a fine balancing act.

But I just had to put up this post today. We were in Duesseldorf yesterday and the city was dressed in the German colours with vuvuzelas to go with it. It was an absolute carnival atmosphere, and this was before the game had ended. If you are at all interested you might know by now that a young German team beat Argentina (managed by Diego Maradona) 4-0. Some of the most skillful and best-known footballers in the world were beaten comprehensively by some youngsters.

As we were walking along to our favourite restaurant we walked past another one, and that's when I spotted this sign. I don't know how many customers it attracted, but we were quite a few who took photos of it. How is this for wonderful German humour?

I Believe I Can Fly ...

As I was washing up I spotted this unlucky creature on the lawn, a magpie without tail feathers looking rather sad. One can only speculate how it had lost its rudder like that. Those feathers must be there for a very good reason, the design has been perfected over generations, so how would it cope I wondered.

But all of a sudden it took off and headed for the neighbours' garden. So, yes, it could fly, but I wonder about the landing. Maybe it crashed and rolled over. I will never know. (It is somewhere in the middle, slightly blurred.)

 

Spring/Summer Animal Watch

Not only do I keep pen and paper near me or on me for when some writing ideas come up, but this time of year there is a lot going on in the garden, so my camera is never far away either.

When I wake up in the morning I often hear how young birds are calling for more food, now! They congregate by the feeders under our bedroom window. Since we are in mid June now, all fledglings have left their nests and ventured out into the big unknown, and it is fascinating and rather sweet to see how some of them are still trying to understand how to get to the food. They can see others eating from the feeders and those fatty balls full of yummy seeds.

This young greenfinch could not figure out how to approach and land safely to get some food, but ended up on the ground looking slightly bewildered.

   

   

This juvenile great tit is getting some help though.

 

Not only birds are hungry but also this female squirrel is in need of replenishing her energy levels. She is pretty agile and acrobatic!

   

When the great spotted woodpeckers fly in, the crowd of smaller birds disperse in a flash, and you cannot avoid hearing the young ones calling for food. In these pictures a male adult is feeding a young one.

 

Since I started supplying water I have also realised that birds do not only have a bath every now and then, but most of all how often they need to drink, and it is not only birds who come to drink. I have many times seen birds repeatedly visiting the water bowls between sessions on the feeder perch. When everyone else has gone to bed the hedgehogs appear.

   

No wonder I always keep both camera and tripod close at hand. Like yesterday when a jay turned up all of a sudden. I have never before seen one in the garden, only in the woods.

 

Last Week I Slept with ...

... a note pad and pen next to my bed. Why? To record my dreams? No, but that sounds like a fascinating idea. To help realise my dream of finishing my book that I am hoping to publish some time? Yes!

Often when I wake up too early, especially when on holiday, my brain kicks into action, and I often find myself thinking about plot ideas, expressions and words. I might even be half asleep, but my brain seems to go into a creative mode automatically.

I have many times cursed myself in the past for not remembering those thoughts later in the day, just like with dreams. So this is where the note pad and pen come into the picture. I found it very useful last week, especially since our French country house has several Velux windows (roof windows), and the ones in our bedroom lack blinds. If it is a sunny morning the room gets very bright.

It's funny how it works. Sometimes when you sit down and try hard to think, to be imaginary, creative, nothing comes out. But when you're more relaxed and just let your mind float freely, you're rewarded with even the odd eureka moment.

Early one morning in that bright bedroom I had a particular idea, which I used in my writing. I noticed that the light that was shining through one of those roof windows created an image on the opposite wall, and this projected image then moved with the movement of the sun.

The sun was shining through a big birch outside and projected the movements of the foliage onto the wall, just like a fuzzy black-and-white film.

I really should carry pen and paper all the time, because you never know when the writing muse strikes next. Or maybe I simply should go on holiday more often?

I managed to take a few photos as well, and I leave you with a solitary poppy in a crop field.

Visiting Tutor

Well, that's the peculiar job title for the work that I do at a boarding house for teenage children of British military personnel. The visiting part of the title might refer to the fact that I don't reside there, just stay overnight when I am on duty. The tutoring bit involves neither teaching nor tutoring as such, since I basically supervise the boarders, in particular the boys. (As a male member of staff I am not allowed in the girls' wing at all.)

There are clear rules about the most important issue, which is their "Health and Safety". Every time they leave the building they have to sign out in a book by the entrance, both time and destination, and then sign back in again on their return. Staff must at all times have a record of every boarder's whereabouts. That's our responsibility.

Then there are meal times, roll call, prep (two hours' homework) and bedtime to adhere to. We all eat the same food, although some boarders tend to buy and eat rubbish from the nearby supermarket. On weekend mornings it is possible to order one's own full English breakfast, which I only eat in the boarding house. At roll call after dinner there is also the daily opportunity to share information. I think I still hold the record for the fastest roll call, reading out roughly 60 names and getting answers.

Then comes one of the, sometimes, stressful periods, prep. For two hours boarders are expected to stay in their individual rooms and study, unless they have signed up to use the computer room. You can easily imagine that some of them come up with all sorts of reasons to leave their room; toilet visit, asking a friend about something, borrow something from somebody, get help from somebody, to print something off in the computer room, which all has to go through me as a VT. They should always ask permission before they go anywhere else. Since I have two floors to keep an eye on, the really "good boys" find me first. Mostly I am stationed on the lower floor where the younger ones are (14-15 yr old), since some of them are among "the more mobile" ones. As soon as they stick their heads out, I am there with a face saying "And where are you going?" But I have to admit that I am a sucker for a clever answer. As long as they sound believable I like to give them the benefit of the doubt, until the day they let me down that is. My idea is to teach them to be open, honest and truthful.

Bedtime is the other somewhat stressful and energy-sapping event, which tests your patience and composure. Any parent will understand easily, just multiply by 35! No, not all of them are tricky to usher into their own rooms, but you have to develop your own style and set your tolerance levels. As any good teacher will know, it never works shouting at them, because that's a sure sign you have lost. Some kids like to wind you up as well, so don't fall into that trap, that's all I can say.

Before they can settle they need to have some bedtime entertainment, no not me reading a bedtime story, but they watch videos, films, listen to music, play video games on their expensive little machines (some still actually read books!). So there is a heck of a lot of swapping, borrowing and negotiating regarding these items before calm is restored. Imagine having 35 of those dog leads that are extendable. One by one you have to pull them in.

The younger ones obviously go to bed first, so the whole procedure has its own repetitive nature, but in the end you get them there, into their own rooms. More than once (every night really) have boarders hidden in another boarder's room, behind the desk, in the wardrobe etc. Normally you gently talk them out, but if they are really silly and stupid they will be gated the following night.

I mentioned "Health and Safety" earlier and that is something I, as a Visiting Tutor, need to keep in mind always. I must for instance keep the door open at all times when I need to speak to a boarder, I cannot close the door behind me and be on my own with a single boy. I never close the door even if there is more than one boarder in the room. I always leave a dragging foot to prop the door open, which otherwise would shut automatically. It is about my safety as well, not leaving myself vulnerable to any kind of suspicion. Even though I have worked in this boarding house for six years, I still have to be vetted and checked upon for criminal activities on a regular basis. I am subject the the most rigorous checks available. And so it should be.

When it comes to the girls I am even more conscious of the demand for absolutely correct behaviour on my part, in particular since some of the older girls really are young women.

I realise that what I have written so far possibly might sound as if the work was not enjoyable, but it often is. As always when you work with young people, and in this case in a role somewhere between a parent, a teacher and an adult friend, you have all those positive moments when you are just another person to whom they can connect. You can share a joke, have an interesting conversation and sometimes give them some of your "collected wisdom", just be there.

So, after a long duty it is time even for the VT to go to bed, something which one boarder thought I never did because I was always there when he popped out of his room, but I have never ever slept particularly well in that room. It could depend upon the fact that I am on duty while asleep, but it just might have something to do with the sad old military bed that I have to sleep in. Good night!

My Garden

I will try, despite my previous post, to write about animal life in the garden. Thanks to some encouraging comments I have decided to blog about all the topics I mentioned, and I take the easiest option to begin with.

I never thought that I would turn into somebody being teased by his wife for observing and learning about the birds and other animals who visit our garden. Since we moved here over six years ago and I started feeding the birds, I have spotted approximately 30 different species. There have been everything from one-offs like a sparrow hawk to the ever-present greenfinches. Since our garden backs onto a copse, once part of a large mixed forest, we get a great variety of birds.

Before we moved here I had never knowingly seen a greenfinch, but I know them very well by now. One immediately noticeable characteristic is the aggression they show, in particular towards each other. I have blogged about this before, but they never cease to fascinate me.

They are also the only species who stay on the feeder peg and keep munching away at the seeds. Others, like the great tits, long-tailed tits, blue tits, crested tits, black caps, nuthatches and even robins, pick their seed and fly off to a nearby branch and start trying to crack the seed open.

Some other birds are happy to patrol the ground under the feeders to look for seeds discarded by other birds with a much more acquired taste. So there is room for everyone.

As soon as I see a new bird I try to photograph it and identify it using my European bird book. In doing so I have learnt a lot over the years, their names in both English and Swedish and also something about their habits.

I have in the past blogged about sunbathing birds (getting quite a few search hits), but since I have introduced water I have seen many birds both drinking and taking a refreshing bath.

I even saw a jackdaw clumsily landing to get a drink.

 

Then of course there are the red squirrels, very agile, quick like lightning and rather unafraid. I have posted many times before with squirrels in the leading parts. Sometimes you see them at their playful best, chasing each other up an down and round our big conifer trunk trying to outwit each other. The other week I managed to catch some of them in full flight across the lawn. Rather special don't you think?

  

  

 

I Have Nothing to Write About

Well, that's how it feels at least. I just can't get started. I find it difficult to focus on material for this blog. Self doubt has started to creep in.

I could write about the goings-on in the garden, the in-fighting greenfinches, the cheeky squirrels, the blackbird splashing in the bath, the new bird feeder stand in black metal and preying cats, but I don't.

I could write about the progress of the book I am trying to write (in Swedish), currently at around 100 A4 pages after a lot of editing (deleting mostly), how I struggle sometimes to write anything for long periods of time, the joy of actually achieving something, but I don't.

I could write about my part-time work at a boarding house where I sleep in an uncomfortable bed, supervise spotty teenagers and drink lots of tea, but I don't (partly because of confidentiality).

I could write about how I invigilate GCSE and A-level exams, but that would be plain boring, so I don't.

I could write about life as a civilian dependent in a NATO community in Germany, the imminent relocation of half of this community to the UK, the many second-hand cars in the main car park people are trying to sell before they leave, the anxiety of many colleagues because of an uncertain future, knowing the whole garrison will close in a few years' time, but I don't.

I could write about our own situation, where to move next, where to settle and eventually retire, Sweden (where only I have lived), France (where we only have a holiday home) or the UK (where both of us have lived), but I don't.

I could write about my health and the complication of doctors trying to establish which type of diabetes I have got, type 2 or 1.5 (LADA), but I don't.

I could write about the joy of still having my mother (87), my son and two grandchildren, other family and friends, but I don't.

Why don't I?

Via Elections to Düsseldorf Medien Hafen (Media Harbour)

After having missed out on voting in the UK general elections due to the simple fact that we have not had our postal voting documents yet, we ran into other election preparations in Düsseldorf on Saturday. (I could use a never-ending string of foul language to describe how I and my better half feel about the missing documents, but I will abstain since the odd under-age reader might take offence.) As some of my readers know, we live in a British NATO community in Germany, and we are dependant on the military postal services. Efficient they ain't!

We had gone to the lively, pulsating and cosmopolitan Düsseldorf just down the motorway. As always we had strolled along the main shopping street into the old town and had our regular meal in Fischhaus, a very popular fish restaurant. To stretch our legs afterwards this time we continued walking along the river further than we usually do.

We had seen some political banners etcetera and quite some police presence, but we did not think much of it. But when we had just passed under a bridge across the Rhine the place was swarming with media people and we realised what was going on. We were in fact standing next to the North Rhine Westphalia parliament building (Landestag), the seat of power for Germany's most populous state, and on Sunday 9 May elections would be held. Angela Merkel's coalition was under threat from the red-green alliance. (Exit polls indicate her coalition parties have lost it.) So in the end we experienced some, almost, first-hand election excitement.

But it got better! We continued along the river walk towards some buildings we had seen from afar and knew might be interesting. And boy, they were! We had to walk past the Rheinturm, which I wrote about in a post in 2007, to get there. We had at last made our way to the old harbour, now transformed into a modern place to work and live. In Wikipedia you can find some more information.

There were some weird and wonderful buildings. Guided tours were everywhere, there were people with maps and brochures and cameras kept clicking. I had held back so far, but now I had to give in to my instincts and I pulled the camera out, delaying our walk by quite a few minutes. Many features from the old working harbour were kept to give some sort of balance to all the ultra-modern buildings. I know I need to go back there earlier in the day because the light was dying as I took these pictures, and it was also overcast. But it was a truly exciting place. This was the first, but not the last time. I'll be back!