Christmas Party!

well, in all the mad developments over the last months in london and the rest of the world is has to be said that christmas time around my office is rather beautiful and the splendour of somerset house and its ice rink never fails to entice. that and a lovely christmas party, where my daughter and her friends played so prettily makes you almost forget of the horrors to come...

our garden in august

having spent a good deal of my holidays in the back yard, it is nice to see that our garden looked rather lush this summer, and indeed a few plants have already been added during last week. 

animal count: 3 cats (plus all the neighbours' ones), 1 fox, 1 frog plus tadpoles (i have not seen the toad this year), 1 stag beetle, numerous squirrels and then all the birds, led by a noisy gang of parakeets.

all pictures by our budding artist, frederike.

Marlene's London Guide

	MARLENE'S LONDON VISIT SOUVENIR GUIDE - MIT VOLLPENSION

 

DAY 1 – FRIDAY, 22^nd JULY 2016

Arrive in London, Manor Avenue

Mode of Transport: your own car

Event: Deac’s Birthday Bash

Food: Filet Steak with Pepper Sauce, Tagliatelle, Asparagus

Drink: Beer, Bordeaux (not for you, darling, you had lemonade)

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DAY 2 – SATURDAY, 23^rd JULY 2016

Event: Kent - The Garden of England. Visit Crockenhill near Swanley (where our friend Jane lives), and Cooling's in Knockholt. See Wildlife Trail.

Mode of Transport: host’s car

Food: Breakfast: Full English, Lunch: Fish and Chips, Salmon Burger, Dinner: Burgers on the BBQ

Drink: Beer, Bordeaux, Pinot Grigio

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DAY 3 – SUNDAY, 24^th JULY 2016

Event: Columbia Flower Market , Arnold Circus, Shoreditch, Brick Lane Market, Truman Brewery

Unsuccessfully tried to go to the horse in Bexley – Car broke down!

Mode of Transport: London Overground from Brockley to Hoxton, back from Aldgate East via Whitechapel to New Cross Gate, pick up from Deac

Food: Breakfast: Full Continental with Scrambled Eggs, Lunch: Pizza at Pizza Purist, Dinner: Pasta with Ham and Cheese

Drink: Beer, more Bordeaux, Pinot Grigio

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DAY 4 – MONDAY, 25^th JULY 2016

Event: Westminster, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Victoria, Knightsbridge, Harrods

Mode of Transport: Docklands Light Railway, Thames Clipper, London Cab, Bus, Underground

Food: Breakfast: Continental with boiled egg, Lunch: Sandwiches in M&S Victoria, Dinner:  Salad Nicoise

Drink: Beer, much more Bordeaux

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

DAY 5 – 26^th JULY 2016

Event: Tower of London, Horse Riding with Leon and Gizmo in Bexley

Mode of Transport: London Bus, your own car, horse

Food: Breakfast: Pancakes made by Rike and Marlene, Lunch: Sandwiches in Paul’s, Dinner:  Sausages on the BBQ, Guacamole, Potato Salad

Drink: Beer, much much more Bordeaux

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DAY 6 – 27^th JULY 2016

Event: Going Home to Hannover

Mode of Transport: your own car

COME BACK SOON!!! 
HAPPY TRAILS!!!!

LONDON IN EUROPE!!!

now here's an idea: a petition has just been set up to keep london in the eu and therefore split from the rest of the country. though unlikely, why not try. after all i have never seen a more international place in europe, and i personally would like to keep it that way.

sign the petition here!

EU referendum

with thanks to wolfgang tillmann's eu campaign!

purple cloud

nasa's tribute to prince - r.i.p.

Easter Splendour

the easter table bending under the amount of sweets and chocolate, and the frankfurt part of the family happily around it - happy days!!!

Happy Birthday Bienchen!

a big big birthday kiss from mum and dad - we love you so much! happy 17!!!! (don't know who the guy is but he does play rather nicely!)

BBC Young Musician Jazz Award

lovely news from the very talented kids at purcell school where young alex has just bagged the title of bbc young jazz misician of the year - and totally deservedly so! at my workplace we were of course early talent scouts by booking her and her friends for our last staff christmas party - and boy were they good! happens also to be daughter's room mate, so all in all a neat package - congratulations, alex!!!

cat shaped tiles

or tile shaped cat? you tell me, but i love the curves...

star and sternchen

our little star with the big and upcoming one, the fantastically talented karina canellakis. very grateful to hear such a wonderful concert!

the drags of the daily commute...

(admittedly this fab pic is not mine but was reported in the westminsterworld)

Happy Birthday my lovely Sister!

one for the post

it's donald, but not the duck!

with thanks to deac for posting

and yet another one gone

oh dear, the goodbyes continue - how about a few 'hellos'...

and so many more goodbyes...

... see our listening log for january ...

adé ap

the end of another era - no, not me getting more plants for our garden - but the once beautifully sited and all-time favourite nursery architectural plants has given up its location in nuthurst and has moved further west, which means we are much less likely to go and spend half a day in the centre and then cram the car boot full of ferns, bamboos, etc. 

a few years ago deac was determined to curb my jungle fantasies in that i was only allowed to buy a plant if i could tell him where it would go in the garden. fat chance - i still managed to completely get it wrong, and what looked nice and manageable soon was a monster in the making. our eucalyptus tree, which towers over the house now and should be close to 20 meters high, once came to london in the car - on the front seat, actually...

click on the album on the right side for more atmospheric pics from our darling daughter...