Stormy Monday..

I awoke early once more and took my tea and toast to the top of the island, a slight gale was
blowing along with a spitting rain. This dramatically increased throughout the day ..not the toast..maybe the tea..but the weather!! Galeforce winds and choppy seas certainly have an allure on an island ..
Warehouse is looking much better now...we moved more random planks of wood of varying sizes - the
carpenter, A is doing all the DIY in the corner, probably where all the sound equipment is going.
This guy R said is studying woodwork and because hes the best, the president of somethingorother is
gifting him a new box of tools only gold bars could buy... ooh.
I just did general tidying, nothing interesting really..athough i have to plague them to give me a job. Its ok for M -since he was here last year so he knows what could be sorted out, plus much of it is heavy lifting..more so than with the camels in Austria !
In afternoon, i discovered the washing machine Woohoo! and also folded their mountain of clean clothes away.
So in between wrangling jobs, quenching my thirst at the bar..going for a wander ...its been a non eventful day..however the atmosphere is starting to feel friendlier ..on my account that is.

Its about half 5 now and everyones decided thats if for the day ... so perhaps more story writing ..i think its a tad too windy for a walk, i might get blown of the island...although its quite a tempting adventure.

Speaking of adventures, sounnds like Thurs will be a grand one..live music and party!! Also was informed of the finale on sunday night over in Flensburg which is only going to be for vips, hosts and volunteers..weyhey...definitely sounds good!!

Nice pic of Axel, Angelika and me and Ameile ...good times! And i totally forgot to mention a random moment which i forgot to put in my blog...After all that twig bundling ..i realised staring at the grass that i could now touch my toes without bending my knees!!! Hahaha, simple things eh! Before all i could do was wave at them!!!

Restless Spirit!

Yesterday was alright. The uh stoned chef ..and he thought i wouldnt be able to tell was a bit more pleasant so to speak. plus i found out where the teabags lived, normal tea for Brits haha ..guzzling coffee..beer and sparkling water all day is not so great. The beer..ok gassy water no, it doesnt even taste of water.
Moved the tables around and laid places for at least 60 people..did a few other odd jobs after which i disappeared for a walk, no where else to go really, always pretty though. I came back to find R and wrangle a chore from him ..oh lucky number washing dishes. But it wasnt so  bad, there were loads of wonderful aromas ..we were at the back of this stainless steel box..we, me and the Polish guy..he washed.. i dryed...and drank cider. Apparently we were super fast compared to other helpers, I wondered ; its just swishing a cloth, how long can that take someone? M was didigent with the suds, he said at some point he was cooking and cleaning for the polish army ..500 men and only 200 plates .!!

I turned around at one point to find the little icelandic pony having a nibble at the compost bucket...sneaky bugger ..had to put the wheelbarrow in front of the gap where the door was wedged open, but she stood guard, trying every way to get her head near those juicy greens.
Took a break..for the bar and some yummy food from the kitchen..its like eating at a 5 star hotel seriousl;y schmeckt! .. afterwhich i vanished once more over the hills ..not so far away....
Bah such a monotonus mission, dirty dishes for 60, so thats plates for 2 -3 courses,inc cultlery, coffee, and the equipent ..on gigantic scale .. .

M works too hard, like hes high on something, hacking away at the mud by one of the tracks that
visitors use to make a drainage system. which noone asked him to do, he saw it would be a good idea
straight after lunch ..making me feel guilty.
I mamanged to break a mug by the way, but it doesnt count becaus it fell off the trolley ..and they
have hundreds as N said, so smashing them ,no problem we need to get rid of them ! Ikea. 
When most of guests had left...god was there a lot of food left .. i was out the back after having raided the fruit platter like i was deprived of vitamins .(such a bad health change.smoke - beer - coffee, lack of exercise on island, i try to combat it with as much fresh air and oj as possible haha ..nutter...speaking of health i remember as i was munching on the crumbs from the gigantic cake tray i found myself fretting over all the food they were wasting thanks to my pro bio month in Germany...dont throw that away the donkey will eat that, and sheep eat anything! Gah its crazy, i even loath to chuck tissues in the bin because back at the other place we collected em separatly for the range or to burn for heating...yup im all GREEN concious now!! )

Chilled out with K a bit more today, woman with dog called Cooper, who must be somekind of cross between alasian, wolfhound..and something else! Found some common ground to talk about, noticed her WACKEN braclet ..word must have gone about because before N left he mention how Flensburg was a big prog metla/alternative scene, and if i wanted to go out with him and his gf one time, to let him know. ..okay sure, cool so hes going to look up some good concerts, whilst i worry slighltly what ive let myself in for ..crazy chef. !
Yes today was better, although it still feels like just a job, work that you might do anywhere ...note my listless end her.....which by and by ..... I've figured out....certainly eased by the CANDLELIT BATH i had that night!!! sensational soothing for the restless spirit!

Now where are, totally lost count of days of the week...sunday, which i guessed when nobody had turned up in the bar at 8 this morning. I worked my way through three types of black tea, stitting out on the deck watching the sun on the water. Then i wandered up to the top of the island to see the other side still in misty hazes, the sun hadnt quite burnt through and you could see the outline of shadowy land further away! Amazing.
Sometime after 9 people began turning up ...the lads went to get stuck into the boathouse which is going to be the stage for FolkBaltica this thursday ...CHAOS..I looked earlier and its like your average garage, but this place is supposed to host about 200-300 people! Meanwhile R sorted me out wth sewing..a nice girly job apparently ..2 huge felt sail size drapes to go around the stage..these had been rolled up in dust since the last time by the looks of them. I vainly attempted to remember how to use the sewing machine but gave it up as a lost cause and settled for some handy work...toooook me hours, although it was warm and a plenty of music to keep me going ..must have been gone two in the afternoon by the time i was finished. As we shook them out and rolled them back up, a few parts tore..Oli - ah you can just sew em again, ..har bloody har! You'd have to catch me first!

B said that was probably it for the day. So i go find the blokes and see if i can help out...Well if you want to..they say...i did half an hour of shifting planks of wood and decided, no, actually i didnt want to ..much prefer playing in the sun. Hence I slipped away with a can of cider, notebook and blanket to take to my favourite spot overlooking the beach and expanse of blue. Good thing about all free time...i can pick up a pen!
Time passed by..and i managed to write a page of my new novel..woop! well really its a condesement of a smattering of my other novel ideas with (i hope) a better plot line brought on by my travel experiences :)
New daylight hours are still a bit freaky, i rocked on down the hill at gone 7pm with sun just setting...also just in time for dinner!
Funny how yesterday i was complaining over lack of healthy fodder, tonights essen was an ensemble of vege left overs!!
Its nearly half nine, everyone else went to bed at 8! Im in the bar listening to the clock tick ..hmm i hope i brought my torch with me..dont want to squish a froggy !!

in two dimensions at once

Day 2 ...
Slept like a log, missed waking up to the sunrise coming through the loft window... went to the bar around 7.30, i thought R had said meet at 9, which i assumed was breakfast together, just as well i munched on jam and bread because 9 was when we went to work. Dolt.
Wait!! i forgot to mention the frogs! I stumbled to the kitchen last night in the dark to make a cuppa before bed..just along the side of the house where my room is ...on the way back i hear RIVERT RIVERT ..oh shit, i fumble around for a flashlight hanging by the door and shine it to the floor..two frogs..god i hope i didnt murder any ...
The chef arrived this morning, i forget where he is from ..still doing a masters in culinary or whatever, but hell hes a damn fine cook. ..Danish i think
As i was about to dive into the bread basket, upon realisation of no 'fruckstucken' .,Olie mentions toilet..cleaning...i guess i do the jobs no one wants and work my way up the list. Thankfuully the loos were pretty clean so it was simply a matter of shiny disinfectant. Afterwards i mopped the floor in the bar area ..and put some freesh daffs and snowdrops in pots on the table. First day of opening season for Store Okseoe .... celebrated by one sneaky sheep and donkey in conspiracy over mission to overturn the flower pots on the deck!
It wasnt as busy as everyone expected. and i was not used to having so much free time, which for some reason was an awkward feeling. Especially as a helpXer ..i felt like i should have a job to earn my keep...R told me i should take the pauses when they come. Okay no problem ...grab beer and go for walk in the sunshine with notebook. good time to shift through all the arglebarble in my noggin . .
Displacement could be ther word .  As i was rambling to the highest point of the isle, warm spring air ..blue sea..wondershon ..yet i felt uncomfortable. It not that the people here arent friendly or welcoming..though they jabber away in deutsch most of the time..or even danish...blanghbaaabbbballh ..cold sausage.....and are slowly using their english with me. I want to practise german with them like A/A but...they dont seem so inclined or bothered...I did manage to snag a eng-deu dictionary from B so i can continue ..stun them with a few german phrases perhaps!
my mercurial feelings are prob because the last place was so homely ...now it really feels like im back on the road again. N..the amazing cheif..chef? i dunno how to spell it...pissed me of today with his constant quips antagonising me over why i WASNT smoking/drinking...i was seriously ready to tell him to bloody well F OFF. .... not a good idea to bug me when im in a bad mood..or confused mood even. ..Mate, i still feel like an outsider..i dont particularly wish to be puffing away like a factory and drowing myself in drink only to fit in and ease stress. I have alota heartache back home and if you cant say anything nice then keep your gob shut because i dont wont to hear the shit coming out of it....wow that guy rattled me .. i didnt say this buy the way but it was going through my head as i went Grr.

Met some more inhabitants, old bloke called Jens, with young woman who i forget the name of. But the macedonian helper said he asked how old his daughter was. Well apparently its not his daughter actually is his gf....whos about 20. so we;'re either the same age or shes younger.....hes about 60 ...ick..awkward.

Anyway once i reappeared from my stroll I asked B, to give me a goddamned job...gardening woo! A polish helper had turned up at somepoint during the day, M..loudly expressive pole, but nice and really embarrasingly better at the garden work than me! just weeding and tuidying and raking the beds, hell he could have whopped alan titchmarshes ass..uuurrhh. Anyhow! we did a good job and were greeted by a fancy dish from the kitchen for lunch..core i could get used to this.
After that, was pretty much done for the day...wandered around.....

I was sure there was more stuff i was going to blab on about but it escapes my mind

Stormy Isles...

Store Okseoe
Well...its now April, time for diligent debriefing again! Bah Humbug! Right I happen to be in Denmark on a wonderful tiny island..less than half hour to wander around the shores....sitting in the bar..wooo drinking chocolate milk and coffee! They are all smokers here so i will have to keep an eye on my flimsy will and its penchance for social smokin. They were quite delighted when i came in emergency camel  ..more on that later... in hand after my breif exploration of the island. I wont be filling my lungs with tar everyday, or every hour ..i dont get chimey chains..it stains your fingers seeps into your clothes..and the taste...only good when the situation calls for it. Like when y'ou've been dropped off by the bus in the back of beyond with a mobile that refuses to work and you're not sure if anybody knows you are here..

30th ... warm spring like day, my last day with Axel and Angelika..I didnt prepare as much as I should have because I wanted to enjoy every last moment, like washing pots in the morning hah, but in the afternoon we all took a long bike ride to a prehistoric burial mound. I stayed up late that night writing a poem to express my experience with them ... i would definitly come again, it was like being with family, unlike in Austria ... I certainly wont be going back there to work! Next morn, supposed to catch the 8am train hahahah put it off til 9 am ...then the weather was going to be rainy and bleak all day hence i changed to make the 11am train, to travel straight to Flensburg, making no detour in Lubeck. It felt weird leaving, i didnt actually want to go...
Flens is a nice town, all the old buildings are still in tiptop condition as it missed all ww2 bombs..S my CS host was another great er host, shared an awesome flat with mexican girl .
S took me on a walk through the precinct, unfortunately the weather was absolutely shit! Thus I brightened it up by releasing a few gold coins in the body shop, and on a pair of converses, yes ladies and gents i have embarked into the fashion of trendy shod feet.!!! Actually it was a necessary buy because, A i didnt bring any soft shoes travelling with me ..just yard boots and Rohans..and I deceided to temporarily
abandon my muckers with A/A...can awlays send money for them to post em to me or go back and
pick them up! It also made my bag lighter, although i reckon those jam pots made up for the things i sent home! At least i had condensed my baggage down to the duffel and rucksack. ..I can still feel my feet sending waves of gratitude ...
Back to CS night, M cooked up totilla espanja with happy salad with mozzerlla and salmon treasures and glass of red!
we all spoke english, m is learning german since she moved to study here with DE bf.  S teaches sports and art, so she had to be up for school next day so we declined going out with M ..I pretty much zonked out at 9pm ..was a lonely night, felt really homesick and somewhat depressed wishing i could jsut go back to A/As .... News back home has not been the best of things lately
so first Grams pops her clogs and then Uncle H, ..Mum has operation...best mate gets cancer (and
I'm not there for her) Auntie B, goes to hospital whence they find a benighn brain tumor, which cause
a slight stroke!! Seriously, i scream and cry wtf is going on in the world! Okay so i admit i opened
the waterworks that night..has to happen ..did i mention i broke two plates last month..accidently
because i had put off thinking about all those, those ....arrgglllebarrglesss!
Hmm morning arrived with hopeful sunrise and clear skies...made my way down to the buststation
for the 835am to get across the boarder to Sonderhav..no hassle was only 30mins. Although I did
fret somehwhat when sitting on the bench starting at a couple of islands on a lonely road, thinkin
am i here? Rang home no. Rudinger said yep coming across now...snmall boat sails across 5 mins later
which i approched cautiosly until the guy..olie...scraggy haired weathered sailor.. waved Cmon on!
Woop i made it!!

Met  inhabitants ..less than 10 people, R speaks most english, his wife B was a little hesitant, nice people though..also carpenter bloke and another worker, apparently M a previous helpXer is coming tomorrow, the start of the tourist season. oooh. F are German family ..so maybe i can improve my german..verlich. R and B live in thatched house, all lovely wooden beams everywhere, i have theend room, sqaure, it has a bed and a bath which is good enough for me. Hope the heating comes on, tis getting pretty chill now. ..Took a wander after i did my job of dusting down the shelves behind the bar and wiping cloth over the glasses etc ..met the other inhabitaents..old dog, a shetland, a donkey and a small flock of sheep!

Hmm was meant to write up those last few days with ..my german family lol i know, soppy huh!
Finished off the twig bundling by the way, it was blooming sunshine when i tied the last one, after which i just sprawled out on the grass with a big sigh!
We also made kurbis chutney, mmmm and more muffins....and they took us to their Irish music session
just folks practising..was lovely to hear, bit like shire music hehe
planted the tomotatoe seedlings ..they get really grumpy being put into their own pots, theres a
disease gardeners term which translates as  falling down drunk, when the stalks go kaput.
Spent some nice moments in the conservatory with a brew...I lasped into watching dusty try to take on
a Hen sitting on her nest and caught the tail end of the convo...will explode.
I startle - What will?
The vegeatation says Angelika laughing...no a tank of gas, :p
Went to Hamburg for demonstation on atomkraft nein danke..i made tshirts for us with the sun on front
and greenpeace slogan on back..not bad if i do so say myself. Cold day but clear, at least 40, 000
people turned up, for peace protest, speeches and march towards town hall for more speeches.

paste from a blog i started earlier but never finished...

Freitag and the end is drawing nigh, hmm perhaps I should say was since its saturday now so much for daily blogging. OK to recap - Wednesday and thurs were blue sky raptures awash in blazing sunshine. And I was still bundling twigs! Adding a few more bats to the belfry cursing dead pieces of wood and having general convesation with myself
To be honest i cant remember much of mittwoch the sun probably blasted everything away ..
i love the smell of the sun in the spring air, with dry grass reminds me of longbegone times
summers that went on for weeks on end
Later Amelie and I drove into town with A / Bad Bederkesa ..we only had half hour but managed to circumnavigate the church, wander into a few bookstores, where i came out with yet another notebook..(for my novel as i have lots of fresh ideas) and i would have definitely left with book in hand if i could only read German a bit better! Found the icecream parlour ...70cence for a scoop - heaven in a chocolate cone!
Did i mention Axels brother hasnt left yet, I think Im starting to pick up A's vibes of displeasure. It was mixed emotions at first since he came bearing gifts for his birthday, but he arrived without warning and this is the first time he has been here and met Angelika in god knows how long.
Before he came Axel was saying how he and his brother never really saw eye to eye, always argueing and that Deitman was always the strongest. D certainly rattled my cage - I was ready for a good bitchy gossip, though thats not something i would approach with A/A of course or Ame..(gah soo many A's)
le, completely nice all through, quiet and reserved...so i grumbled out my negative vibes to the sheep, ha!
Hum, there seems to be a round of bad mumbo jumbo of late, it must be this desertion into wilderness..
no no, Im actually content with being n the middle of nature..its the lack of a local pub or just a knees up in civilisation ..
Bah D isnt really that bad,a apart from having all the table manners of a monkey, ick.. my opinion somewhat mellowed when he explained that his LOUD VOICE was due to working in a mechanics factory for 16yrs, you could never talk, just SHOUT.
Seriously
I think i could get a slight deaf right ear if he doesnt go soon.
Well he did go, in fact he disappeared early one morning ..never even said goodbye..weird bloke.
Spring really was making a fabulous entrance ..we did a lot of planting...like the tomatoes seeds which i mentioned earlier i think, but when A left to get something i started making earthy castles with the plastic pots, by the time A had come back i had a keep with a straw flag, a moat and wall with stones for a drawbridge....heck who needs all this techno toys, just play in the good ole dirt :p
A/A had a helpX guest book which i naturally managed to take up 3 pages off..so many fun moments ..on the last night Axel made laugh so hard when Angelika said that we were going to have a party and invite all the nice young men when he goes for his Greenpeae meeting...Axel in his most nancy experession with gay hand says, oh you can invite them i like nice young men too. .. Never saw that one coming!

By a strange twist of fate, Angelikas trio band is actually going to be playing at Folk Baltica on the very island i am on right now, this thursday !! So i am quite happy about that !

Back to Denmark..its 830 am now as i tidy this blog up..people have started arrivign for breaky..we all eat in the bar because theres about 8 of us ...theres heavy fog outside and the sheep and donkey assulated the plant pots on the deck outside ..wonder what my work will be today...the locals are starting to be a bit more talkative with me..its funny because maybe they are uncomfortable with sopeaking english, just like i am shy of my german skills ...

Aslan's Mane...

The Lion roared and bared his teeth ...i think it might be safe to say SPRING has come again !

Yes, the weekend was full of brilliant sunshine and descending blue, we made a striptease in the fields :p
If memory serves the previous post finished up with saturday, thusly I durst declare I shalt begin with Sunday. Woop, a second innings of earths' sweet being! Amelie was due to arrive that morning, Axel drove to the station to pick her up but returned post haste because he forgot there were two different arrivals depending on which direction she was coming from...he picked the wrong one - hehe - I promised not to tell Angelika. Amelie is French, married? to one of the guys in my hosts music group, though I think they live in Hamburg...also some springful news - Amelie ist Schwanger! Funky word for ...I dont like the word pregnant, it has a harsh 'gn' sound...much prefer 'with child' ..or if you really have to say it ..bun in the oven, ha - but schwanger (sccch---wen-ger) is good!
ANYHOW ..I gave her the tour and then presented twig duty, for a little while - since she proably shouldn't do too much. Quiet, amiable girl who can also speak a little German - she's diligent and practices it more than I do when talking!
Afternoon, aha my turn to cook lunch, lemme lose on the Range! Took a bit of patience to get the fire going, I had my head bent over the grate blowing the licking flames and turned around to see Dusty on the stool behind, paws on the back rest, leaning over inquistively, 'what ARE you doing?' was his expression !
At first I hadn't a clue what dish to make, something tradtional perhaps? But i have to make use of whats in the larder...cue light bulb! Toad in the Hole! I really should have taken a photo, it came out perfect, which suprised me completely. I used the electric oven to bake and got worried a few times as tendrils of smoke came pluming out each time I opened the door.
Thin bratwürste instead of meaty bangers, plus a good accident of dried lemon balm instead of basil. I urge you to try this since it makes the batter taste..lighter? On the range I had to rustle up some of yesterdays leftovers, rice and veges, with carrot extension in a creamy mustard mix...whodathunk that would be a success!

Later on as I was outside reading, soaking up the vitamin D, I heard Amelie playing the accordian... she's only been playing since June, still shy about performing for an audience, yet those French waltzes really made me want to get up and dance....in fact, i did! All this fair music, (Amelie on the accordian, Axel on violin, Angelika on clarinet) got me motivated to have a tinker on the Grand Piano..slightly out of tune. Claire de Lune came back to the ole digits easier than I thought....until Dusty (in Tiger Mode) rushed in to attack my slipperless feet!

Montag..

There's quiet a drastic change between day and night at the moment, below zero actually as the moon rises. Cant be good for anybody :p Full moon, damn I must post some pictures soon..I managed to capture it on camera, I was MOONSTRUCK haha, it was honestly like daylight !
A few friends might be glad to know that my mobile alarm clock has changed from the 'Carry on Screaming' theme, to a much more gentle wake up tune, 'He's a Pirate' from PoC :p ....So as I was repeatedly hitting the snooze button, mine eyes fluttered open to a loft full of soft rosy golden hues. It took a few moments for my sleepy head to realise that dawn had banished the clouds ...in no time i was getting dressed and off for a ride on the bike. Bliss.

Since I posted my second pair of Jods back home, I finally had to wash the other pair. Angelika dug out one of her own for me to wear in the meantime. They're pretty comfy, even though its a for a shorter person, saying that I whipped out meine Lime Green Hosenträger to help keep em up! Axel said i could be a trend-setter haha! Reckon i appear quite the landgirl now, mit jods, leg warmers, baggy workshirt and bandana ...

Wood wood wood wood. I cant wait til the job is done. But it was nice for a change to build my own fence of dead wood. In the afternoon I got somwhat grouchy and i hoped no one noticed. Mainly because I overslept....yes we have high noon naps here folks :p .... and then people just kept asking the wrong questions, if you catch my drift? I spun myself in a vicious circle remembering how A keeps analysing how i eat my meals....it really got to me at breakfast, everytime I spread the butter, or picked up my mug ...I hadnt been bothered about it until the day before when he told me i was folding the cheese wrappers wrong, and i also remembered then how he had been staring each time I had done it !
So i was thinking, WHAT, am i leaving jam in the butter dish, have i spread on too much honey, are you offended by my sticky finger prints on my cup ...because having at least 12 different marmalades to choose from is going to be a messy affair!! It all sounds pathetic and trivial ..it was..i was moody... and was missing going to the pub for a pint :p
Later I was having Deutsch drilled into me and A ensured i wrote down the receipe for his bread rolls at 10pm ... and I think that Kirsche Wine got stronger overnight...like PeaPod Burgundy in the Good Life!

Tuesday...

Sunbeam hues through the loft again!! YAY Although I chose to soak them up from a place of comfort :p
Cant believe how warm it got...i was seriously considering sunglasses and just a vest under the hosenträger! The bark debris is nearly at an end .. I've started on the final field and there's only one length left for tomorow...I hope they havent got any land hidden elsewhere...because I've quite had it now I must say, each time i close my eyes I see twigs imprinted there!
Amelie cooked Onion Tarte for lunch..mmm.. later I baked Scones ...technically Axel's birthday meal, despite the fact that he neglected mentioning it all day! His brother came to visit, a suprise i think..since we had just been talking how he lives on the Austrian boarder. I'm not sure if A was pleased to see him or not...
As dusk was beginning to glow, I set off on the bike for a wonderful ride ... fresh smell of earth, cool breeze, golden radience through pine trees, deer in the field...so so very beautiful. Do people know we have Eden right here on Earth! I reckon if everybody spent a few weeks in the country, sowing and reaping with nature, they would learn to care for the world better and realise we have it all right here.
Okay, I should call it a night before going totally philosophic on Mother Gaia and all that Jazz!

A week and a bit to go...looking to really make use of my interrail ticket and perhaps make a Cs trip to Berlin, Lubeck and Flensburg before Denmark....however A mentioned this evening a weekend of Celtic workshops (the first weekend in april) ...music, dancing, cooking, crafting...sounds pretty awesome but I think if i tried to work that into the agenda ... it could equal one screwed up hell bent voyage...

EXTRACT

I wrote this all by my onsey :p

Gestern nachmittag bin ich mit Angelika nach Bremen gefahren. Das wetter war etwas kalt und windig, arber immer noch sehr schön. 
 Ich liebe das Schooner-Viertel und die ungewöhnliche Geschäfle, wo man viel ''Nice Scheiß'' kaufen kann! Arber ich habe mein Gelt in Schokolat investiert. :p 
 

Burning Bright ..

Dienstag 15th ....

Ahhh drinking sweet sweet homemade wine, a quote comes to mind; 'Sometimes i just like to sit and think ...and sometimes I just like to sit''. The world is such a mess right now, I dont know where to start, so I'm not going to ...but I might just insert a Blackadder quote to revive those happy thoughts: (yes its all about the quotes today..)

''This is a crisis. A large crisis. In fact, if you've got a moment, it's a twelve-story crisis with a magnificent entrance hall, carpeting throughout, 24-hour portage, and an enormous sign on the roof, saying 'This Is a Large Crisis'. A large crisis requires a large plan. Get me two pencils and a pair of underpants.”


Anyhow today was another fine day of gentle work, after breakfast, which is always at 8am featuring a table bedecked with 12 kinds of Jam ...we made 6 loaves of bread, shesh I am going to have plenty of receipes to write down before i leave. I cant wait to try baking my own bread, hmm all of a sudden a memory springs to mind when i attempted Finnish Pulla...my housemates called it THE MONSTER IN THE OVEN!


                                                 ----------------------------------------------


Ok so back again this time with the non-alcoholic Becks (different day by the way haha). Gah alkohol frei, slightly redeemed with Rum infused chocolate! 


Now where was I? Ahh yess contemplating how each day is like a gentle bubbling brook compared to the Rapids ..aye with capitals.. of Gs farm. Simply put - tidying the garden and fruit plots from winter's  breath, playing with the cats, baking and brewing....essence of 'The Good Life'; all useful ken for later, plus I'm becoming more involved in politcal BIO motivations ..nah im not a rioting activist :p .. but i have beento a couple of gatherings of ''Atomkraft? Nein Danke!'' Pretty well backed up since the colossal destruction in Japan. Yet the German government still refuse to believe such events could happen with their Nuclear power stations, and they reckon if a terroist attack threatens then creating fog willsave the day ..all this reliance on technology what has happened to common sense ..........and
another thing youdathink they'dve seen Jurassic Park !! The world is going to pot, and if
we're not careful human beings will go the way of the dinosaurs, nature doesnt need us, we
need Her!

 Bah okay rant over...well not quite.

The atomic cheery on the gateau of disaster was to find out that my best friend back home has breast cancer. Shit. I received an email earlier in the week but it hadnt really sunk in until a few days ago. My first response had been to barrage her with optimism (by proxy me also), the tone of her message was nonplussed so thats the line I followed. In the past 'being gushy' about matters together wasnt  an option, I mostly got pushed away, ergo I say 'Heck, you'll be fine',  because i couldn't handle thinking otherwise.

This is a particular vice of mine, it can make my reactions to important things appear cold, as if

I brush off the situation. Such an example would be when my Ma had an operation and then my uncle died, I held allmy emotions at bay until one day i burst into a torrent of tears during a driving lesson. Super. 

A song from Shinedown hits the nail on the head: 

The more the light shines through me

I pretend to close my eyes,

And the more the dark consumes me

I pretend that im burning bright... 

Thats the ticket lou, when the going gets tough, I bugger off..........ocassionally to the pub. 

A few days ago, she (j) started up a blog..which was good since then I'm almost with her virtually..and I believe writing is a great relief for the soul. Some comments popped up which i recognised, 'you'll be fine, i know people who have gone through it' .. which naturally infruiated her. I wrote J asap because, (although i gathered i wasnt the only one) i didnt want her to feel like i didnt care or understand how she must be feeling. Thats when reality completly sunk in to my heart, I was morose and sombre until i heard back next day, whence she told me i was being 'Gay' and not to be 'such a gushy old bean' 

which made me smile. Like this XD 

                                                            ----------------------------------------

Hmm practically halfway through March, normally i would be flusterd, but the rags of time hath no meaning here, only hopeful sounds and sights of honey bees and snowdrops, even despite the grey breaking dawns of late. I had been planning for bike rides every morning, but when theres no sun... equals no motivation to make the bloody sacrifice, haha ..so i continue to snooze in the loft. My Grey Haven .. 

Bear with me whilst i work backwards. 

Mittwoch 16th 

I've aced this twig routine now, I know it sounds silly, but honestly any task done well, however

small can be very gratifying, especially as you string up bundles and turn to discover a field

of progress. Although i have spotted a few piles i missed which i shall descend upon tomorrow

with a fully charged ipod, without which i would be clawing the walls, or terrifying the deer

with my singing ! 

Its quite funny working with Axel, he has a great sense of humour, as we toiled away at either

end of the pasture we looked up every now and then, making a show of checking watches and patting 

stomaches...mmm Ich habe hunger! Following the aroma of lunch, Axel mentioned getting ready to 

go off to the city soon, so I asked if i should get changed before or after essen. Well, he repiled

its 10 mins until das essen ist fertig..pause...you'll probably want an hour...for putting on makeup!

cheeky bugger! 

Its his birthday on the 22nd! Angelika told me, he kept quiet about this and whodathunk hes going to be 72. Certainly doesnt look it, Axel was joking earlier about how he has a gift for chopping wood. 

Bremen!  Ah one of the best German cities i have visited, even though it was an overcast and bitter afternoon it didnt dampened the resplendence of the renaissance buildings in the heart of this hanseatic city. Angelika took me on a breif tour before her music meeting so i could familarise myself with the streets ..err^r knochenhauerstrasse...bone cracker street, did witches live here? . .

I began with the Schnoor Quarter - Bremem's oldest district, a maze of 15th/16th century tall creamy coloured houses lining crooked alleys, another trip back in time - and no blue box haha! Its home now to a bounty of quaint curiosity shops; homemade crafts, goldsmiths, and touristic gifts. I was a very good girl, spending just over a euro. 

Next stop was Bottcherstrasse, an arcade mostly built with old bricks which makes it beautifully inkeeping, the 'secret hight street' is the local name. Above the museum was a glockenspiel triangle  .... 

Last but not least I paid a vist to the Hachez Chocolate shop, oooh the aroma was divine! Not only schokolade but tea and coffee too! This is where my purse suddenly became a lot lighter! 

The Marktplatz is a large square dominated by fabulously opulent buildings with a dark golden mixture of gothic and renaissance facades. St Petri Dom is also an impressively gothic Cathedral ..although such beautiful hetitage was somewhat marred by the ugly modern Burgerschaft (state parliament) ..Boom, glass and grey brick smack in between 13th-17th century architecture . 

Bremen also has famous Roland statue - he stands at 5,55m tall ..a curly haired knight with a faint smile..the city's protector and a symbol of trading rights and freedom. 

I then happened across the Bremen Towm Muscians, towered in the shadow right on the western corner of the town hall. Yes your eyes doth not decive ye, a roster on a cat, on a dog, on a donkey...the story is quirky one from the Grimm Brothers. 

Probably gone 7pm by the time we got back home...I wrote up a few lines of my German diary which i shall post ad hoc. 

Donnerstag. 

The cats left a suprise for us in the hallway, I happened to be on my way out to the washing when i noticed them playing with something, musing and shoving clothes in the drum I realised it must have been a dead animal! But it was gone when i returned! ARG then i found Benny in the living room batting it about.. IT..  on closer inspection turned out to be the back half of a baby rabbit. I had to scoop in up on a plate as Dusty lunged in for a mauling. This poor dead half, little hind legs and tail seemed ironic on a saucer. Angelika put it down with their food, saying 'might as well let them finish it' ...next morning the whole thing had disappeared. We're hoping its not been hidden in the house. 

Another cloudy day, Im starting to feel the sun withdrawal symptoms. Its strange how last month I always found energy to get up and go all the time, but now laziness has crept back ..im getting soft with such luxury lie ins until 7am ! 

Although on the up side, haha see what i did there..ahem my wrists arent swollen, now i can actually get my thumb and fore finger around them again. Twig tribulations for the morn and bundle duty ..i got a little aggrivated having a scuffle with the branches ..prickly sods! In the end I ran of to help A in the garden, raking leaves has never been soo much fun! Later we both went via bike to their blueberry patch to do some pruning. There was a small shed of hay on this pasture too, A pointed out that an owl had been using it, she picked up the remains of its meal, when they spit up all the fur and bones, tearing this sausage sized clod open to show me half a mouse skull. Fairly interesting, but No im okay i'd rather not pick that all apart to know what it had for dinner! ...I'm obviously not a fully fledged country bumpkin yet...

The bike was much more intriguing, a green old british bike, which is collapsable and had been used during WW2 by soldier parachutists. Axel has a few stories from that era, though the first one I blundered on was his father being shot by the Nazis when he was a baby.

 I unearthed that one asking about the family tobbocanist tradition, which Angelika likes to put as ..Axels first job, a drug dealer...haha, we saw the place where he took his exam in Bremen for this but he couldnt stand beign stuck inside all day and left the family buisness. Another story cropped up at supper, when he and his family evacuated to the south of Germany..just before a french occupation, the Dairy factory gave out all the Swiss wagon wheel cheese, i guess so the French wouldnt get all the good victuals ... which must have been a godsend since they had only apples for nourishment. 

Dienstag...
I seemed to have flipped around he days somehow..

A day of baking bread and more twigs under the heavens stuffed with cotton wool! Sometimes i imagine those scenes from Larkrise to Candleford, when the men are in the fields with their scythes, singing and hacking in rythym, the sun blazing like the golden cornfields they reap. 

Montag ...

Day trip to Bremerhaven ..rather drizzly, or 'A grand soft day' in Ireland. ...And randomly is twinned with Grimsby in UK and Pori in Finland...

Posted off a box of clothes i decided i could do without to England, lets hope i have a happy face when it comes to repacking again.
A and I strolled along the harbour..I love tall ships, actual sailing ships and not a hunk of steel and propellers. Its another golden past, probably belonging to a chivalric world - mighty ships and seafaring dreams on unending waves ..vintage ensemble along the port, first docked was a replica of a very old viking merchant ship which they had brought up from the bottom of the river bed, then a much smaller more modern sailing boat with green sails that had been to the Arctic on research expeditions...turn around and next to the Uboat is a huge merchant vessel the Seute Deern (Sweet Girl) although the inside has been part converted into a cafe, oh well.
I was treated to lunch at the chippy. Yum. The German chippy, with the best fresh battered pollack i have ever tasted, mit sweet potatoes of course :)

Skip forwards to Freitag!

I managed to make it down the ladder before 7 this morning..well i had to since fruckstucken was 730.
Mind you that ever-hungry sheep, Old Gal Munchie, was BAAAA - ING at the gates like a third alarm clock....whilst the Rooster was snoozing! ..
I've started to name the animals..there's a thin white sheep called Wooly, yesterday i named her sister, a big fat white fleecy gal whos the least afraid of the flock to come and say Hi, #Milka' .. also when we let the Chickens into their run, there is always one hen who manages to escape, aptly named Ginger! Ha ha..
We all drove to Bremervorde straight after breaking fast for the local farmers market..I could have been right back in Chichester on friday, eyeing up the Belgian buns 'as big as your face' ! A number of the stallholders asked where i was from...core these towns are vicar of Dibley size where everybody knows everyone. A bought cheese, olives and 30 pots of pansies..all organic trademark.

Clouds, goddamned CLOUDS! Give me rain or wind, at least there is some interaction with the elements, instead that neutral monotone off-white dome above my head!
A second helper will be arriving on sunday, so i ought to tidy up a little..i dont have much but its still easy to spread about the place huh! Actually i think she is a gf to one of the guys in Angelikas band,, I'll find out soon enough!


Saturday....SUNSHINE AND BLUE SKY

Perfect time for an afternoon ride with the Vet. Nice neighbours to let me join them for a hack in the woods without even having to muck out the stables in exchange. They saddled me up with an old Tinker horse called Joe, who was supposedly pretty slow, but i guess the spring air was invigorating since he was always chomping at the bit to go faster. Fine by me..yeeha!
Earlier Axel and I had been teasing Angelika that we were going to have a party whilst she was away for the weekend with her mother, tehehe! It kinda came true. well tea party as Axels daughter turned up unexpectedy, which was a lovely suprise for Axel. I left them chatting away to race of and take pictures of the sunset...must have got THAT from being in Finland towards winter, capturing sunshine moments because you never know how long it will be before you see it again! 

----------- Photos, COMING SOON!