Funny Auld Life, Innit? (Part 1)

...so, there I was cycling over to do a rehearsal of diddly-diddly music for Irish Day on Saturday when who should come up behind me but me old mate Josephine from Brighton whose pub I used to play in many years ago in my slim-waistier days.

"Hey, haven't seen you for ages..." "Yeah, right..."

... etc etc

Jo looked down at my midriff, which is a smidgin rotunder than it used to be, and with typical Josephine-terror-of-the-hockey-field directness pointed a spiky index finger and said,

"...and what's this then?" ...prod prod... "...football's comin' home...??"

So nice to see old friends again, innit?

Funny Auld Life, Innit (Part 2)

"Right then", I said to myself - stung by these poison-tipped words from Jo, who is still as slim and young-looking as she was 15 years ago, "no beer for you for a while..."

And today, sitting in my 'office' in the midst of a Munich heatwave where the air outside is like thick warm cream, stuck in front on a hot computer, translating dry-as-dust texts about the origins of yodelling and the wonders of Excel functions, I am desperately trying not to think of a cool, refreshing, golden hop and malt brew slipping down my parched throat and quenching a thirst which needs not only fluid but also a certain sugar-based hydro-carbon ingredient...

"So, what's the next text?" as the heat increases and the sticky air outside starts to ooze ominously through the open window like invisible lava...what's next? Ah, economics...that should keep my mind off 'you-know-what...'

"A book about economics with examples of supply and demand drawn from real life and presented in a case study..."

Yep, safe enough...

And just what would this case study about supply and demand happen to be...?

Of all the possible situations this stupid bleedin' git of an author could have chosen, he picked a brewery in a small University town.

Supply of beer - demand for beer - how much beer does the average student need - if the landlord orders x amount of beer will he make a profit... aaaaaarrrgggghhhhhh!!!

You know if I did believe in 'someone up there', then I would have to say that he, she or it has really got it in for me!

Belated Congrats..

With all the different jobs I have going on right now one very important moment slipped through my internet... ( get it? interNET?? Oh, never mind).

My younger daughter Bid (don't ask) finished High School with excellent grades!

To say I was proud of her is nothing like enough! She really went through some low times at school but she kept on battling away and made a real success of it.

My little Bid, 19 and finished school...it's enough to make you cry!

Here's a picture. Bid is the beautiful one...

Phew, What a Scorcher!

After all the interminable whining and moaning I did about the long cold Munich winter I should perhaps to be fair do some moaning and whining about the long hot Munich summer...

But I can't cos it's great!!

It is just wonderful simply to go out in shirt and shorts, jump on the bike and pedal around a bit... no icy piercing wind, no splattery slippery snow... and sometimes with the right combination of scents from the flowers and bushes I could almost be in Greece...

I think - despite the decision I have just made to lose some inches around my spare-tyred, well-upholstered midriff - that today will have to culminate in a little beer-gardening!

All Together, "AAAaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!"

After 5 weeks of continuous English courses, translations and gigs interspersed only with a few vain attempts at getting some hours of sleep, I celebrated survival with a trip to my favourite beergarden just around the corner. Here it is...

...makes it all worthwhile.

6k!

Somewhere in the small hours of last night, a sad lonely soul out there became my 6000th visitor. Maybe he or she (or it) stayed for zero seconds and then zapped on to the next blogexplosion/blogmad page... or, he/she/it stayed for hours and was captivated... moved to laughter and tears by the poignancy of the prose...

Ah, ok... it was me!

Thanks to all the other 5999 visitors though.

The Quiz...

If you remember I was on quiz on German TV a couple of weeks ago. Well, if you can stand it (I can't) you can now watch it on streaming video - it is in German of course but it is totally excruciatingly embarrasing in any language!

Go to ZDF GlobalPlayer vom 1. Juli , click START

...and be amazed!!!

(By the way, just to give you some idea of the standard here, the original broadcast was at the amazingly unprime time of 01.45 on July 1st!! Unbelievably some people I know saw it - which only goes to show what a sad lot of friends I have!)

My Bleedin' Feet / Run Off / Right Now / I Am...*

"Inklant are out off ze Verlt Cap", my English students unnecessarily pointed out on Monday, "zey can't shoot ze penalties..!"

Well, far be it from me to engage in Schadenfreude ... but...

So, who's left now? A creaky, linament-soaked Threecolours; the crafty, wily, some would say cheating, Portly Geese and the Azure Squad who are supposed to defend and last night attacked as if they thought catenacchio was a double espresso with cream!

Who do we support now?? I think I will have to go for the pizza snafflers... what do you think??

*the title is just to keep you busy for a little while sorting out syntax

Bom Dia, Bom Dia - Oh Dear, Oh Dear

About ten years ago I had a camping holiday in Portugal. We were often the only foreigners on the camping sites and the Portugese were always very friendly... in the mornings they would always greet us with a "bom dia!" which of course means "good day".

The thing was though, the way they pronounce it down there you don't hear the "b" and they kind of swallow the "m" in their noses so it sounded as if they were all going round saying, "oh dear, oh dear" to us.

And strangely, after that-thing-yesterday-which-I-am-not-going-to-mention just now, it seems very appropriate that the Portugese should be saying, "good day, GOOD DAY!" and that to us English it should sound like, "oh dear, oh dear".

Quarter-final Day

Here we go again. This is supposed to be my day off from teaching, translating and gigging... but by 7 or 8 this evening I will probably be a quivering nervous wreck!

Everyone is talking about Son of Erik's tactical preparations (or lack of them) for today's quarter-final clash between Hin-ger-land and the Portly Geese but I am also having to pay a great deal of attention to my own strategic, survival-ensuring game plan.

I am going to base my system around this blond midfielder (see below) who is brilliant at defending against those twin threats up front, Tensioninho and Frustratiano and should help to release Unbounded-Joynando if we go a goal up and go on to triumph.

So the search is on for a beer-garden ...

C'mon Spirit of '66...!