monday 1 – katie and i surface quite early around 9am and laze about breakfast which for me is the continuing tradition of microwaved porridge (half cup porridge, full cup of milk mixed in a bowl and microwaved for 2 stints of 1 minute at 1kW power, sometimes a bit longer)

get downstairs to read meters and do a few jobs, meet stefan from top floor who is doing the same and gives me a hearty handshake

make a pineapple sponge which we eat some of for tea

tuesday 2, munich to clitheroe – packing, finishing a few things off then katie and i going out to the airport setting off around 1pm

flight delayed over an hour due to faulty fan in the passenger area, which they ended up disconnecting rather than fixing

meant we picked up the car later and got back too late to go out to the swan and royal to get something to eat, so we stop off at tescos for something to eat and we get back at about 10pm

wednesday 3, clitheroe and skipton – breakfast at swales then drove over to blackburn

pick up the 2GB memory for the iMAC for josh from maplins in blackburn, after first picking up some spare tiles from tile giant round the corner, but it took some finding since i came into blackburn from the wrong side and had to go thru the centre:
https://maplindownloads.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/N14GQDatasheet-2653.pdf

drive back to clitheroe then go over with the iMAC to josh’s and he is thrilled as he sees it boxed up in the boot

we set it up downstairs, then decide to pick up a desk from keighley, where he finds one suitable at argos
we man handle it together the long walk back to the car then drive back to skipton via visiting my mum at silsden, where she is having her tea, so i help feed her, whilst josh and i have a game of chess

katie comes over to skipton on the bus and we take margaret, james, celine, josh out for meal at brody’s – how i regret we didn’t ask helen there to take a photo of us all!

thursday 4, clitheroe and skipton – we meet up with david and anne from katie’s side and have a late breakfast from 10am with them at Swales cafe (Colbourne house), just down from the library. David said the family started off with a cafe further down the street in the place which is now the doctors which was called the “red rose cafe”.

Get an update from colin down under who has made it to the 4th test, 4th day with an interesting fact:
Jimmy Anderson is the only player in Test history to be out 1st ball of the day and bowl the 2nd ball of the day!
said he enjoyed reading the entry for may of 2017 and so I go back and edit it a little to make it more understandable

go over to skipton again mid-afternoon to build up the desk in josh’s room – he is good with helping me out, saying it reminds him of the engineering they do in school, fixing things together

we complete it and it looks good with the iMAC on it, show him some of the apps, web browsing and mail – hope it will be useful for schoolwork, but i suspect it will be more for facebook and games, however he does like watching films on it and it gets him maybe out of the way and independent, since he would previously spend a lot of time downstairs

in the end he was using it a lot for watching films, typically wrestling ones

friday 5, clitheroe and skipton – completing some jobs on the house – me with the cables under the stairs cupboard, katie by cleaning up

then meet up with susan and robert at swales (again!)
chatting with robert and he mentions his website:
https://humananimal.life/

after saying our goodbyes as they headed back in the camper van to sheffield, katie and i sing with mum in the quieter lounge, after taking her back from her tea in the small dining room
a few hymns and carols, since she remembers those and I make an attempt at “forty shades of green”, which she chimes in on

take josh for meal down to the bayhorse on keighley road and since he has eaten we just have starters and puddings, he choosing a chocolate brownie, me a rhubarb crumble, went well and we played “word up” with him at which he was really sharp at

saturday 6, clitheroe to munich – complete the sealant around the bath, shower control and kitchen, went ok and glad this is done to ensure we can use both bathroom and kitchen without risk of water leaks

still to do however as a priority, the jamb around the door, install a shower glass and get the bath surround

drop katie off at manor house in chatburn so that she can see her mum once more before we go back – she was sleeping, but it was useful for katie she said and she could get her morning walk in on the way back

trip to the airport was uneventful, apart from having to find a petrol station at the end, the one at the airport has been ripped up for more car parking space!

we are in good time and we enjoy the peace and quiet which is manchester airport on a saturday afternoon apparently, so we relax at pret a manger – the name always tickled me since gary from vpp on the eds project always used to pronounce manger as in “away in a manger” rather than as in french for “to eat” – we went in one together after completing a router install in the west midlands together

we arrive back at 10.15pm and eve is pleased to see us, she has been struggling a bit being at home, mostly on her own i think and studying

her and i have the rest of the pineapple sponge with some custard

sunday 7 – finished reading “The Go-Between” by L P Hartley.

helping eve with her chemistry by asking her questions on what she has to learn for upcoming exams – she has quite a lot on for the next 2 weeks

monday 8 – preparing for appointment tomorrow so filling in the form upstairs, collecting forms and printing stuff out, was finally ready at 11pm

tuesday 9 – got haircut, went to library, went to staples and got a new monitor – HP 27es which is really impressive, using it to write this!

we meet the girls from school at 2.45pm and walk up implerstr. to KWR round the back of poccistrasse where we have an appointment for the citizenship interview, which basically consists of us handing over documents for checking and leaving the copies thereof; was a lot easier than we imagined

had a coffee together in a cafe which katie recommended, stenz on lindwurmstr

go into ars musica across the way to try out some e-guitars and look for bass amp

sabs is overnighting, the 3 of us have curry for tea which was nice

wednesday 10 – back at work and trying out the new monitor setup – is nice having a reasonable resolution standing at the mac to one side or sitting at the desk, use the screen mirroring option of course, and it works well having everything attached via USB as far as possible, eg. desk speakers and means can get good sounds from spotify whilst working!

thursday 11 – go out to the office and we dine in freiraum on campus, dan gets annoyed at the food a little, but gives a useful quote:
“die Freude an gespartes Geld dauert nicht so lange wie der Ärger über schlechtes Qualität”
joy at getting a discount doesn’t last as long as the frustration with poor quality

he invites me to the bmw cafe across the way

guan comes in a little later and we discuss a little about the BGP challenges, also he gives this interesting link about sugar:
https://www.zdf.de/wissen/leschs-kosmos/videos/vorsicht-zucker-102.html

friday 12 – working at home and get everything completed for about 6pm then a rare chance to eat at home, pizza and salad of course!

katie and i sit down to watch the film shine about david hilfgott and shot mainly in australia
it’s about his trials with his father and with his music, especially rising to play the hardest piano piece, considered by many, rachmanninov’s 3rd symphony

saturday 13 – thought for the day talking about redemption and the danger of mannekism (that things are forever just black or white) and that we can’t change and redeem ourselves and that social media is taking us backwards in this respect compared to modern psychological and spiritual thinking

tidying up office downstairs until lunch then we have arranged to play basketball

katie and i play basketball in west park as one team against hannah and eve – within 5 minutes eve has clashed into me and i go clattering to the ground
fortunately was ok, just a little shaken, the ground is cold and hard, but there’s only a graze and some shoulder pain
we have a good practice session – taking it in turns to attack/defend with a line on the football pitch delineating when the change from attack to defence when the ball crosses it
do also a few layup, dribbling and passing practices
was good fun and think it helped them a little, am amazed at how little from the technique they have been taught, eg. passing from the chest or not dribbling too high didn’t seem to have been taught

katie makes stuffing and baked veg for tea and we share a mild barolino chiaretto

sunday 14 – stay at home most of the day to clear out the office a little and practice (finally!) some drills on the guitar about timing and must admit the first exercise even at 40bpm gets me concentrating and in a sweat/trance like the part in the film shine where he’s playing the rach 3, just having to focus on the music (the same one note!), the foot movement and the metronome sound is very challenging

monday 15 – hear eve chatting with hannah as they set off, they both have dr martens now, burgundy and in eve’s case black, also sabrina, was telling her how with her hair flowing she looks like she is back in the seventies, what with the docs and her penchant for 70s disco music, yvonne elliman, bee gees, night fever!

go to swim training and get a lane to myself, not many there and a nice easy program to get back in the swing of things, eg. 20 lengths one “badewanne” and the other crawl sprint – nice 4’er to practice:
strecken
ziehen – or better: knicken
then below water the same
strecken
ziehen/knicken

goes with my timing practice on guitar, which is getting better but infuriatingly difficult for what is essentially a simple practice

get back and eat supper, baptist is there and sabs announces is staying over

tuesday 16 – breakfast together all five of us and the topics around milk (vorzugsmilch v pasteurised v UHT, taste etc), arab countries and maths (which came from the arabs/egyptians over into greece and italy)

working at the office today

lord singh, uk sikh leader on thought for the day talking about personal responsibility and not escaping or shying from this, commitment to personal responsibility and service to others eg. the “other” 3Rs – right, wrong and responsibility – we cannot outsource personal responsibility

pavelka discussion with a guy who was diagnosed with diabetes type 2 – some points mentioned:

    curiosity, asking the why connection, trying to connect the dots, understanding and getting the details on what’s happening
    getting back to the basic, whilst keeping it simple –
    taking a more balanced approach
    go with the emotion of what you want to achieve, eg. how will i feel when i complete this
    you are your own obstacle
    regret was that it had to be diagnosed before he had to change (although the doctor said years earlier he would end up diabetic if he continued) – can be so engrossed = counter by taking a step back, looking at things and working out what is going on to see the signs early
    making commitments – in his case, not to depend on the medication, which it took 5 years to get off after diagnosis
    behaviour change and ability to try, monitor results, immense patience, eg. changing a 20 year lifestyle to be able to wait and look a long way off for results
    goal-setting, in context with other things, eg. build-up, start small
    you have to show up for yourself – jessy
    making the small changes and committing to them
    seeking help and having a supportive partner to stay accountable (wife gifted a personal training session for his birthday – he did it for a month and this created a habit – in his case regular gym visits)
    put the meaning behind the change you want to achieve – get the why behind it – jessy
    working out what was important => re-arrange priorities

Overall
we fill our lives with lots of things, we can often do too much => have to prune
had to re-visit his work-life, often it is mostly self-imposed, you decide either enjoy it or you’ve been over-indulgent somewhere and got behind schedule
when it goes well, you feel a burst of energy
at the time he was drinking coke with every meal, except breakfast – he stopped this and lost 5kg straight away, further changes took off another 30kg!
“the only thing you will always live with is your body”

other comments from people in the chat column were:

    read Dr Rupy Aujla ‘The Doctors Kitchen’ – fascinating insight into diet from a Dr with lovely recipes! that even i want to cook …and i dont cook!! All about looking at your diet as medicine
    another person mentions: My mum got rid or her diabetes through diet even though her doctor said she couldn’t
    from Pavelka Ltd (Guest) to Everyone: We love to say farm not pharmacy!
    what you eat ends up being part of your molecular system
    if you cant see what you are eating as recognisable, don’t eat it
    bacteria in the gut gets to signalling that it wants sweet stuff if we’ve gone too far as a craving
    give yourself permission to be flexible, accept and get back on plan next day/time
    what sits will with it, awareness about what decisions we are making
    => commit to one simple change and write it down, share with an accountable person
    slowing down and not going too wild, getting back to the basics

other “resolutions” about how they are going to get Back to Basics?

    I’m going to watch less TV
    I am de-cluttering everything that does not spark joy (KonMari) and also with regards to food, by more basics less processed product.
    I have been buying more fruit, so that every day me and my family have some healthy break instead of cookies or sugary things.
    Hit my weekly move goals and enjoy it versus just ticking off the goal :o)
    Less pick ‘n’ mix!

had 3 games of chess with sabs, she seemed to enjoy it now and even eve was asking if there were positive benefits, who knows maybe i can convince them it’s a great game

weather: started very sunny with foen/pressure overhanging which gives clear definition – the clouds were just above the alps and it gives clear definition as if they are a lot nearer – then in the afternoon it rained cats and dogs

wednesday 17 – weather: fierce snowfall, but only lightly staying on the ground

thursday 18 – weather: strong winds then endless rain overnight to next day

friday 19 – thought for the day has Nick Baines Anglican Bishop of Leeds mentions how we make decisions with little or no idea of their consequences (eg. the churchill film “darkest hour” out at the moment – keep the peace or go to war), miscalculations can often be seen in hindsight: the powerful desire for one thing, can blind us to another – but how prophets analysed choices in the past and warned against short-term measure, studied, thought and wrestled with their imagination of consequences, without invoking fear,

driven by fear and feeling insecure we reach for fast solutions whereas the asian philosopher kazouki kayami advocates in “3 mile an hour God”, slowing down and working things out, not making connections which aren’t there or reaching for wrong conclusions but taking time to think things through carefully

saturday 20 – getting prepared in the morning then taking an s-bahn out to haar to meet up with chris, in order to install a teufel raumfeld on their stereo and a bluetooth speaker in the office for listening to music; streamed from spotif, the wifi reception for the raumfeld to the ipad wasn’t great, but that was going to be fixed, so hopefully things will work out

got the work done as fast as possible, as katie was concerned it would take a long time, so was determined to get back for supper at reasonable time and made it for 6.30pm

sunday 21 – taking sunday school which went ok and i joke with jan as he asks me how I’m doing and say, recovering from trauma, but actually it went ok and the chess game i took and used to pacify a couple of lads, was actually not needed and a bit of a distraction, we talked about internet usage and the book i was reading:

tuesday 23 – get involved in new project, munich’s city-wide network for schools, kindergartens etc

wednesday 24 – guitar which was back to notes/meloday and something from a book called ‘let’s groove’

thursday 25 – katie flying back to uk today for long weekend

running training in munich, the first leg of my “training roadshow”, went quite well i felt, 4-5 people, some good questions and a few things to clear up

easy tea for eve and me, just the goulash which katie had prepared

friday 26 – graham came around and we practised a few songs after sharing a pizza, went well i feel although still practising the timing exercises which are slow but coming along

saturday 27 – messing about downstairs then making tea, which ended up just being me, since hoth girls went out, then later eve comes back which gives me a bit of shock as she was planning to stay over

sabs staying over at baptist’s after a party

sunday 28 – stay at home and put in a few hours work to prepare for training
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-22/south-korea-tops-global-innovation-ranking-again-as-u-s-falls

monday 29 – katie flies back from uk today, so the last breakfast to make/get up for
have porridge and we listen just to music first some quiet guitar music then dirk darmstaeder and just timed it right so that sabs hear “pop guitars” as she goes into bathroom, as she likes that, but think it maybe got lost on her; thereafter fleetwood mac’s rumours

do a round of recycling under the bridge, posting a letter then a few things from supermarket then down to work and preparing for flight to düsseldorf tomorrow and running the training

go swimming but get out early so as to get back early, still a good programme:
8l crawl slowly focussing on style, esp flat hand hitting water first, grasp, bend, stretch then high elbows, again bend, then stretch out to side
after each 8l, 2l slow to recover, worked well

eve mad on abba at the moment, carrying on the 70s theme and has an abba playlist going strong for hair washing

tuesday 30, duesseldorf – get up at 4.15 for my 6.30 flight to düsseldorf on this the second leg of my “training roadshow”

it felt strange exiting the flat and jumping straight into a taxi which arrived simultaneously, felt like a rock star exiting a hotel in the middle of the night for the next gig

good if strenuous, testing, challenging training with lots of hard questions, a few slide mishaps/errors and a few flipchart drawings which made it very spontaneous and interactive, enjoyed it, especially seeing as i don’t get up to see those folks here much

get late flight back and treat myself to a red wine on the flight

wednesday 31 – suffering a little from the late flight back yesterday and am really tired today, happy then that guitar practice in the evening wasn’t too strenuous