A cyclist's weird logic

Yesterday, I walked into town to stretch my legs. Standing at a traffic light waiting to cross a broad street in the centre, I noticed that a young man on his bike had ignored the bike lane and was in the part for pedestrians.

"That's the bit for cyclists," I said, pointing to his right.

"Habe ich Sie überfahren?" he asked. ("Have I run you over?")

What kind of logic is that? "I can cycle wherever I want so long as I don't run you over."

The swankiest street in this town has a sidewalk that is broad enough for two cars to pass. Should we allow cars to do that - so long as they can claim that they've not run us over?

I'm beginning to wonder if cyclists aren't allergic to bike lanes. 

Series recommendation: The Charles Paris Mysteries

Charles Paris is an actor who always seems to stumble across corpses in his working life, whether he's on stage, filming a corporate video or doing voiceovers. In that respect, he's rather like Miss Marple.

The books are written by Simon Brett, who has also written some excellent comedy series for BBC Radio 4, such as After Henry, No Commitments and Smelling of Roses, all with very strong roles for women. 

However, the best way to enjoy a Charles Paris Mystery is to listen to the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of the 20-book series. Adapted by Jeremy Front, brother of actress Rebecca Front, they star Bill Nighy. And I mean 'star'. Bill Nighy's voice on this series illustrates the meaning of the word 'louche' (verrufen, berüchtigt). If lounge lizard (Salonlöwe) were a paid profession, I'm sure Bill Nighy would have been top of the heap of lounge lizards. And the repartee (schlagfertige Antworten) between Charles and his agent Maurice are a sheer delight. Who cares about the plot when you've got these two people to listen to? 

Here is a YouTube account with quite a few of the BBC Radio 4 adaptations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMDaP-lICHU&list=PLt7u2F9iZsrn0w1_npLWDQpllita6DPzs

If you want to hear them in order of book publication, take a look at this Wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Charles_Paris_Mystery

If you want to give  your ears a real treat, I urge you to listen to these wonderful radio series. Great fun.

Here's a pic of Bill Nighy (Charles - to the left) and Jon Glover, who plays his agent Maurice.

Series recommendation: Spooks

If you're tired of cosy crime, try this series that ran between 2002 and 2011. Also known in the US as MI-5 (Military Intelligence 5), this series revolves around a team that defended the UK against home-grown terrorist attacks and the likes. Spooks is a term that means 'ghosts' and 'spies'. The spies or secret agents work 'invisibly' (to the general public) in the background, keeping everyone safe.

Eighty-four episodes in total, and each one meant that I held my breath for 45 minutes at a time - that's how exciting they were. 

A lot of very good actors that went on to become even more famous afterwards. 

But beware: it is definitely in the 'gritty' (knallhart) category. And if memory serves me, the first episode starts with a violent scene that's best not viewed. Be ready to close your eyes fast.

However, if you want excitement and a break from cosiness, this is a good series. I was gutted when it stopped.

Matthew McFadden and Keeley Hawes (the two on the left in the lower photo) are now married to each other.

Swimming pools are missing a trick

High temperatures have finally come to Germany again and I've been to the outdoor pool three times now, hitting the water some time between 8.15 and 8.30 a.m.

It's sooo good to be outdoors and in water again. This year, the outdoor swimming pool complex will have to substitute for Mallorca and my beloved Bad Orb, which has the best outdoor swimming pool facility of those that I've experienced so far in my life.

However, despite the recently refurbished swimming pools looking all nice and shiny, clad as they are now not with tiles but with stainless steel panels with studs on them, they are still relatively boring places to swim in.

What's missing is something nice to look at, as you swim with goggles on and your face in the water. What's missing are interesting depictions of life on the sea bed. Why don't they have paintings of sea creatures or coral reefs on the sides and the bottoms of swimming pools.

Bad Orb even has a pool that's filled with natural, unchlorinated water, water that is cleaned by a nearby reed pond, and what's missing - in my opinion anyway - are a few trout. That would definitely make swimming there more interesting. 

So why don't pool designers do that? Enliven the chlorinated pools by displaying images of underwater life, whether from tropical water or temperate. That would surely draw a few more people to the pools, wouldn't it?

This is my place to be in the early hours:

Followed by a flask of coffee and a bit of reading on the grass under a tree while drying off.

Series recommendation: Sister Boniface Mysteries

Yet another slightly cheesy and twee series set in the not-so-distant past of Great Britain, and an off-shoot from the Father Brown series, this is a feel-good cosy crime series that picks up on a different part of life in a small village and/or the 60s: prize vegetable shows, a children's TV show in the vein of the real, long-running Blue Peter series, pirate radio stations, chess championships, thin supermodels, and a band reminiscent of the Beatles. Basically, there's a bit of everything in this crime series. Two series have been made so far.

The heroine of the series is a sister, a nun, who lives in a convent. As she is a Cambridge science graduate and by far the cleverest person in the entire area, she assists the local police whenever crimes (usually murders) occur. The ensemble cast members are all very pleasant: there are two young good-looking male police officers, their boss (who is not a complete buffoon), a young woman police officer, and the landlady of the two young male police officers. After Sister Boniface, the landlady is my favourite character: she has the perfect face for her role. As do Sister Boniface's two fellow nun helpers.

It seems to me to be rather strange that so many UK crime series are set in the post-war era, but if you follow the news that comes out of the country, maybe it is no wonder that so many people hanker after the past. The world today is scarier than it's ever been - and than includes the decades when people lived 'under the shadow of the bomb' during the so-called Cold War.

If you like Father Brown and/or Grantchester, then you should like this series. What I like best about this series is that there are no 'tortured' or constantly unhappy main characters. They may not be always full of the joys of spring, but they're not raging alcoholics, unhappily married or wrestling with their past. Each episode is a little snapshot of that time with a neat puzzle to solve and everyone goes home happy. Pure escapism.

I do love her round face and twinkly eyes:

A new day with awning

Yes, you read that correctly. No, I didn't intend to write "a new day is dawning". There's no autocorrect on my computer.

Today, on 11 June 2023, I finally used my new awning (Markise), which I had had installed in February. For as long as I have been in this flat (August 2008, in case you're wondering), the rise in annual temperatures has been incredible. Which is why I finally gave up and actually spent a whole wodge of money of this 4.8 metre long awning earlier this year.

Last year, as in previous years, I was unable to sit out on my balcony after about 7.30 a.m. That's how hot it was. My poor balcony plants were exposed to vicious heat day after day. Two small sun umbrellas didn't help much at all.

This year, I thought I had finally stopped global warming. Well, in Germany, at least. This year, it's been too chilly in the morning to sit out for long. If only I had known that spending all that money on an awning would have meant cooler years and more rainfall, I'd have bought one 15 years ago.

But, finally, the day has dawned when the awning has finally been used. And that day is today.

Series recommendation: Mr & Mrs Murder

If you fancy getting away from UK crime series for a while, try an Australian one: Mr & Mrs Murder. Around a decade old now and only 13 episodes available, the series is about a married couple, Nicola and Charlie Buchanan, who are crime scene cleaners. A bit cheesy, but fun and at least you get to see a bit of the Australian countryside. And it's also nice to see some 'detectives' who aren't alcoholic loners with failed marriages behind them but very much in love with one another.

No Mow May

Every May and October, the municipal authorities send people out to trim the shrubs in the public spaces - and raze to the ground all weeds - or wild flowers, if you prefer (which I do).

This year, this hasn't happened. And it's been blooming marvellous. It's as though the countryside has moved into town. Long grasses everywhere. Common mallow plants that are higher than toddlers. And in some places a mix of red, white and blue: blue cornflowers, white daisies and red poppies. Wonderful.

Some people might think it makes the town look untidy. I think it makes it look more rural and I hope it will become a regular thing - especially since it is aimed, ultimately, at our own welfare. The more wild flowers there are, the more food sources (i.e. pollen) there are available for insects. The more insects there are, the more we can be assured that pollination of various food crops will take place. Without pollination, there are a whole lot of food crops that won't bear fruit, including melons, strawberries and apples. 

And, of course, the more insects there are, the more food for birds. Bird populations have also drastically declined in the last couple of decades. When I moved into this flat in 2008, I would be deafened by the dawn chorus of birds outside. These days, that is no longer the case. Very sad.

So let us hope that No Mow May continues every year now.