There is no need to be further embarrassed today

 There were pictures of small stick statues to be done until two this morning. Time just flew past, it was just a matter of steadily setting up the little statues and taking their picture, a constant take and repeat and repeat again.

Time had its revenge this morning, a strange feeling of tiredness and weakness. Make breakfast and take the pills in the hope that this improves matters. There is marginal improvement. There are invitations in the mail for a halloween party this evening. It will only be possible to go there for one hour, but it will be possible to put in an appearance. These are the local friendly big band and swing musicians.

Time flew again this morning, working on the pictures from last night. The morning was gone, and the decision was made to go out to the Thai place for a bowl of soup. The soup was very nice, but there was some unexpected company, the Argentine. There was no time today for socialising, and the humour was particularly bleak after the inappropriate attempts by the man to seduce a woman in the pub. The woman did not want his company and he did not understand. This was an embarrassing disaster. There is no need to be further embarrassed today.

and many that are livelier

 The morning was not a morning for early rising, the discussion on Tuesday night was impossibly late, and there was no need to accept the gift of that last drink. It was unnecessary, it was just one too many.

After breakfast try out the camera with the adapter, and then try it out with the Imagon lens. It all works well, it is even possible to focus the Imagon. The result is a very pleasant diffused soft focus, one that enhance shapes and subdues surface marks whilst causing highlights to be spread. All very nice, all quite as expected. It is nice to see something that works well and as expected.

Take a walk around town. Start recognising that it is not a particularly nice town, there are ones that are even less nice and many that are livelier.

in good condition and functional

 There is a voice at five in the morning, it is the son wishing a good and pleasant day, for he has to go back to Bayreuth because of some lecture or examination. He is now keen, for he has realised that he can manage his courses. This is encouraging. Five in the morning is early, for what will be a two and a half hour railway journey. Wish him all the best, and thank him for having said bye the bye.
Look into the computer, there is no great news. Solve the days Wordle puzzle quickly, start to feel the cold in the room.

Back in bed try to rearrange the bedclothes, but they resist, and somehow cold air from the room creeps in. Eventually get them into an acceptable state, and then it is eight in the morning and the sun is up. Get up, make breakfast and then read the news. There is much american trepidation now in advance of the election there. There seems to be a cate for rough and simple people wanting a rough and simple leader. Those that are neither rough nor simple are in a minority, much the same as in other countries.

Take a shower, this is a pleasant experience, and put on the clothes. This has become easier since the time that the clothes have been separated from those of the rest of the family.

Telephone the doctor's practice, there is a need for prescription covering those blood pressure reducing pills. The doctor's assistant needs to check the insurance card first. 
This means a drive out to the doctor's practice.
That business is taken care of quickly.

Visit the café there.at the traffic roundabout in the middle of an industrial zone. The coffee is good, the egg roll is awful. So much for that.

At a quarter to twelve there is a message that the parcel has been deposited at the small shop. Wander down there, visit the grocery store on the way, and collect the adapter.

The adapter is in good condition and functional. It is late, but that is now no longer a problem.

This is all not credible

 The house was deserted this morning, but for the cat. The cat was complaining and then it vanished. Made coffee for breakfast with the eggs, the toast, the bisected avocado, and a small plastic and paper container of plain yoghurt. That was all quite fine. Then proceeded with the nasty task of cleaning and scrubbing the surfaces in the bathroom. This was not so easy, but it did not matter. The floor was very dirty indeed. In the kitchen heard a scratching noise from the wife's room. Open the door which had fallen too earlier. The cat emerged, it had been locked in.

Later the cat was upstairs, and sat on the human knees and was really very cuddly.

Then saw that there was a note on the computer saying that a parcel could not be delivered to the house because there was nobody there. This was not true, but then there was a message from UPS saying that it had been delivered to a delivery point in a shop specialising in refurbishing cartridges.

Walk down to the shop, thinking all the while that this was very irritating. At the shop the unfriendly person there spent a long time with his back to the waiting customers doing something to a printer's ink cartridge. Then he gruffly turned around and after looking at the identity document said that the parcel had not arrived yet.

Walk on to the supermarket and buy a loaf of bread.

At home again, there is a message on the computer explaining that the package was undeliverable because the printer shop was closed.

This is all not credible

where none really are at all

 The upstairs room has become cold now and is uncomfortable. It was bearable for breakfast but as the afternoon proceeds it has become unbearably cold. Now that October is ending the winter's cold is coming.
A pleasant walk was had through the park today, using the new devils bridge for a second time. The camera collector was up near the children's playground, and he gave a long talk on the possible long walks in the area. Finish by reconfirming the promise to make those repros for him so that he has the pictures of his youth complete. Then he will return the album in which they are, all complete, all untouched. The old Sony camera which has been converted to work on the old reproduction stand takes some gtetting used to during the test run. There are just too many options with these cameras, some are only remotely photographic. But it does not matter, the things work anyway.

The cafe was pleasant today. 

Last night was curious, there were a whole crew of laughing men in the pub, all in their sixties. The evening turned nasty and embarrassing when the one of them could not stop talking about his perception of the nations problems, problems that he saw as being solely connected with illegal immigration. He hardly ever saw an illegal immigrant.

Silly man, who can run around drinking all night and having his prejudicial nature see problems where none really are at all.

improve these accounts

 It is two minutes to three this saturday afternoon, the day has been spent walking and then taliking to the group in the gallery. The group were very friendly today, there is no real reason to understand why. They are strange people who have come together in strange ways. More is not to be said about it. The pictures displayed in the gallery are good, but they are missing that  small piece of pep that would make them excellent, that would make them worth looking at.
One is really good, the rest are not to be understood.

Return home and fill the washing machine.

The cat is lonely and bored, she comes up to peer out of the window, and then starts to measure the distances that she would have to jump to get out of the constraints of the building. The distances are all too great, it is too risky for the feline mind. maybe she has no lives left to spare.

There are things to buy this afternoon, romance free things like toilet paper and cat litter, eggs and bread. Now that the washing machine has been filled this work is to be done.

The job for the near future is to improve these accounts, for those that show interest.

two people and a cat

 The early and optimistic awakening ended after breakfast with a shivering attack and some pain in the legs. Also, there was dizziness and a general faintness. It is sad, but it is now a quarter to eleven and a large part of the day has been lost to the unconsciousness that was not experienced last night. Yesterday evening there was what turned out to be a curious event. The prize for cultural excellence was awarded to the photographer who runs the local photographic gallery. It was a strange event with strange speeches referring to other's greatness, all marked by a failure to exactly quantify the reason for the decision. It was a pleasant and showy event.

There may be another one of these low periods approaching, the ones that were so present a few months ago. A personal feeling of depression, even though it is absolutely clear that there is no real reason for it. It will either get worse or go away. The weather outside is grey. It is necessary to go out and take a walk, to drive away the stiffness in the legs, and the feeling of omnipresent hatred here in this huge house with only two people and a cat in it.

this is a small town

 What is it today, what is to be done today? There is no great joy in awakening after having been up late for most of the night, There was a wakening from the smartphone, somebody who complains of sleeplessness decided to prove it by texting at three in the morning. Not knowing why it was still so dark and silent with no bells or anything start to get up, then realise that it is really far too early. Look at the notifications on the computer, the culprit was probably the dinging noise that the smartphone make signifying the arrival of a text message. Write back, and send the man a few ugly pictures of himself.

The real awakening was later, and made a real breakfast after that. Read the news and play the games. Read an article in which Kamala Harris agrees that she sees Donald Trump as a fascist. Later read another article criticising that she called him a fascist.  There is a difference.

Downstairs, empty the dishwasher, clear away the crockery.

The wife talks for the first time in a long time. She wants her share of the tax returns. The tax office has not made any returns yet, this has to be explained. But the accountant has made a prediction. This is lower than expected. This leads to umbrage. Maybe not talking is the easier option, But what is to be done?

Write out two cards, one saying hello and one saying thank you. Make a telephone call inquiring as to what is going on at the artists, they complain that they have endless amounts of work. It is pleasant to hear her voice again, her husbands is in the background too, or maybe not. Reception is difficult on the mobile phone.

Take a walk through the park which is beautiful and autumnal. The are all the reds and greens and browns to be observed. Walk over the new devil's bridge, a sturdy steel construction now. This will hopefully last longer than the last model, which simply rotted away and was removed before somebody got hurt. The castle outer walls and defences are having work done, they are all encased in scaffolding.
This evening there will be the official presentation of a culture prize. It is a strange business, it is hard to tell who is organising the matter, the laureate or those presenting the prize. This is a small town.

the only way with the mountains

 The cat was elsewhere this morning, made breakfast, and ate it upstairs as has become habitual. Reading the news, there is all the misery available at once of the fractious nature of German politics, and the childlike man who wants to be the next president of the USA. There is news of North Korean interference in the struggles in the Ukraine.
The legs are sore, that is what happens when old men climb mountains without preparation.

The cat turns up as the crockery is being brought back downstairs. Give her food and stroke her back. On the way to the shopping mall meet the parcel delivery service, there is one parcel. It is a further copy of the wedding album made last month. This is a request from the brother in Ireland. His wife wants a copy. She is their only daughter, after all.

Walk down to the shops and buy a small amount of groceries. Everything is sore, the only way with the mountains is to climb them again, regularly. Or else never to do that again. 

Upon leaving the shopping mall it starts to rain, hurry for a nearby café and wait for the rain to end.

Afterwards visit another shop and buy a sack full of cat litter.

At home again, take a rest, see that the washing machine may be started. Fill up the salt for the water softener and start the machine.

And the remaining situation at home is ugly, it is untenable.
The mountains are preferable to this.

fifteen minutes late

 Today, a strange day. There was a greeting from the cat at the top of the stairs, she seemed to be disturbed. Gave her some food, she tried some of it and then disappeared into some corner. Breakfast was quite all right, and then the decision was made to take a day trip to Berchtesgaden. Packed a rucksack and headed for the station. 

On the way there received a phone call cacelling the film evening on Thursday. Now it will be possible to attend the colleagues prize presentation. He had to finance the show himself.

The train down to Berchtesgaden was pleasant, and the walk took about three hours. It became clear that the hills were steeper than the memory of them, and that this body just was not fit any more. But still, it all worked out. The mountains were visible in all their beauty.

The train journey back was marred by the fact that the direct line to Landshut was closed, and the only route available was with slow trains over Munich. This was made worse by some disorganisation between Landshut and Munich, the final train added insult to injury by being fifteen minutes late.

Give them a small sum, and they are happy with that.

Yesterday evening in the pub was a long evening, one that was in a sense satisfying and in another sense not so great. There was a long time answering the questions placed by a German engineer, a local man, and another long time listening to the Argentine reporting on the conversation that he had had with his ailing American friend. The friend is feeling better now that he has arrived in the United States, but there is doubt as to whether or not he will improve.

It was a long conversation,

Awakening this morning to the usual small chores of making breakfast for the own self, and of feeding the cat.

Certain things just are not easy, and at the moment there is boredom due to retirement, suddenly there is no work to be done for other people. It will be time to turn to the housework soon, just to drive away the boredom.

Walk to the railway station, and then walk the long way back. At the shopping mall be accosted by a Modavian who speaks Italian. He is with a woman purporting to be his wife, and they want money, quite a large sum.

Give them a small sum, and they are happy with that.

They claim to have a family of three children waiting for them in a tent in the park.

That is hard to believe.

a very pleasant idea

 A dull Sunday, so much warmer than expected. The balcony door was open all night, and in the morning the air was cool and fresh. Wait for a while until the bathroom is free, then go downstairs and make breakfast. The son has a friend staying over, the wife is at home and the cat has been fed. Said animal follows up the stairs, it feels curious.

Walk around town, then realise that the jacket is too warm and that the pullover is unnecessary. Return home, change the clothes and commence walking about town. It is no longer possible to enjoy the atmosphere, or any thing at home. That is too bad. There are many people out and about in Landshut, enjoying the weather, taking their dogs and their fancy bicycles out. Cyclists ring their bells to clear the pedestrians out of their path, it is all rather impatient. Consider the purchase of one of those machines, that may be an idea.

There is a message to be answered. Apparently the old man with cancer had successfully reached the United States last week, after being driven to a Portuguese port from his small Bavarian town by his son. Also, the care that he is receiving there seems to be doing him good. Answer this in a suitable fashion. There is a prompt reply to meet in the pub later on. This speed can be uncomfortable, but these are modern times.

Later on, at home, the son comes up and offers a cup of coffee, that is nice of him. He also extends an invitation to visit him in Bayreuth during the week. That is a very pleasant idea.

bits and pieces

The legs, the arms and the back are all making their presence felt as the slight pain that comes in the aftermath of exertion. Three days travel to and from Munich from Landshut and two days walking all over Munich have taken their toll. 

Today is Saturday, and Clare, the visitor has already written that she is safely in the airport and is due to board her aircraft with will take her back home. The three days in the old friends company were a delight, it was good to have company speaking English at all times, it was all pleasant. To end the three days the son came to Munich from Bayreuth and joined his father and his visitor for an Italian meal. It was all very nice.

Wake up today, and go back to sleep. The body is politely pointing out that it needs to rest. Breakfast is delayed until ten, the eggs and the toast may wait.

During the preparation of breakfast a small parcel arrives. It contains a soldering iron, this will do fine to repair a few small electronic items.

Breakfast has turned into a midday meal. 
The attempt to hook up a tracking device with the smartphone fail. This is unfortunate. Take the smartphone and the devices out and go to an area with better reception to try again. The attempt fails again. Then go to the café, but the coffee is just not enjoyable at all.

Return home and write a complaint email to the maker of the tracking devices.

This is a tired day. Perhaps it would be an idea to go out and get some shopping done. And then the pictures taken during the last few days can be made ready for showing.

perfect day

 Another day in Munich, a lovely day, almost a perfect day.

Left the house and went to the bank in the morning. It is a clear day, it is not really hot, it is just pleasant. Take a walk to the bus stop, catch the bus, and drive to the station.

At the station there are many dissatisfied rail customers staring at the  electronic notice boards. A switching system has failed, all trains were delayed for an hour.

Caught the train that should have left an hour before, it was overfull. That did not matter.

In Munich took the U6 underground to Sendlinger Tor Platz, and then changed for the U1 to Harras. 

Met up with young Clare in her hotel, and talked and walked together to the Theresienwiese. There we admired the stature of Bavaria and looked at the workmen taking down the tents belonging to the Octoberfest. From above, their enormous size is clearly visible.

In the Kaufinger Strasse Clare proceeded to shop for things she fancied and things that she needed. In a shoe store she found an ideal pair of Birkenstock sneakers. Then there was the Munich Cathedral to be looked at. There was a shop selling Harry Potter and Marvel comics trinkets, this gave her great pleasure.

The son telephoned, it was possible to meet him in the railway station. We all took a walk up to the Goetheplatz, and then took the underground to Harras. 

An evening meal at a friendly Italian restaurant, and that was the end of the day.

The son went to visit a friend in Munich.

The journey back to Landshut was long, and upon returning fed an angry and hungry cat.

nine in the evening

 Siri started playing her tunes at seven, as hat been arranged four hours previously. This was a rude awakening. Get up, go downstairs, make breakfast so that there can be at least some awakening at that hour. That works, the breakfast is eatable.

Then dress, and leave the house in a hurry. The bus arrives in five minutes, and the train leaves seven minutes after the bus arrive at the station.

Munich is fine, the weather is good, and the connections with the underground transport services work well.

Spend all day with Clare, the visitor walking through the English Garden in Munich, to finally arrive in central Munich, at the Marienplatz. There a small amount of shopping took place. It was all good fun, but after the very short night's sleep it was tiring. An expensive meal at the Pschorr Keller and a very good glass of their beer helped.

There was a walk around the Victualienmarkt afterwards and then the return journey to Clare's hotel was undertaken. A quick espresso there, and then the return journey to Landshut was undertaken.

Apart from the usual chaos at the main railway station, the journey in the overheated train was uneventful. There was a young child who was a bit noisy, but that does not matter.

Now it is nearly nine in the evening and time for bed.

this will have to stop

 Again there is the sound of doors slamming just before six in the morning, the wife is under way to work. Get up and go downstairs to the bathroom, and then go on to make breakfast in the kitchen. Breakfast, the same as every day, never mind the blood pressure. Upstairs again, take a ret deliberately after finishing the short meal. Do the Wordle puzzle in the New York Times without difficulty, then go on to read about the escapades of Donald and Kamala. The ability to blind people with showmanship and untenable promises never fails to amaze.
Read about the antics of those who have lost their belongings and their homes to storm and can do no better than to attack those who would help them.

Rest for a while, then get up and start to arrange things, leave the building for a walk about town. Town is as uninteresting as ever. Take a circuit, have a cup of weak coffee in a café and return home to deal with the washing. The washing has been washing since this morning.

The son telephones, he would be happy to meet the Irish visitor who will arrive by air from Dublin this evening on the coming Friday. That would be pleasant, it will be necessary to make some arrangements.

And now the washing machine will have finished, so this will have to stop.

pleasant habit

 Awake, early, go downstairs, bathroom and then realise that the house is deserted, but for the cat. And that cat wants food, and thus it gets its food. The cat is not fat, it appears to have lost weight. Hopefully this is just a sign of ageing, and not a warning of something else.

Make the usual breakfast, go upstairs and read the news. Try todays world puzzle and fail. The five letter word that was required was unusual.
Read the news, and realise that the chances are good that fascism will take over the United States, and along with it the free world. People will realise what it means to live under a dictatorship and that once they have allowed it, it will be hard to return to the lost freedom. It is their own fault.

Start to feel strange, unwell. There is dizziness, and the urgent desire to lie down. Also, start to feel cold and tired. Take the blood pressure pills and lie down on the made bed and cover with a spare blanket. After an hour, things are better again.

Decide to measure the blood pressure. There is an instrument for this in the medical things. Try it out, its batteries are no longer functional. Put in fresh batteries, then try it. The reading is impossibly high. Try it again, this time they are only high. Try it once more, and the results are much the same. This means that the blood pressure is too high. Is this old body finally failing?

It will be necessary to speak to the doctor about this.

If it is the moderate alcohol consumption, then that will have to stop. And the coffee will have to stop as well. Neither of these things are the sole purpose in life, but they have got to be a pleasant habit.

morning, and later, much later

 There is the sound of the first aircraft of the day flying in to Munich Airport taking a turn over Landshut. It is five twenty seven, and it is chilly.The balcony door open, keeping the air in the room cool. There are the sounds of other people in the near neighbourhood. Maybe there will be a short return to the care of the god of sleep before getting up and making breakfast and starting the day.
There is also now the quiet sounds of commencing traffic outside, it is Monday, and it will be a matter of minutes before it gets really noisy. A single church bell outside rings three times, this is strange for it is only five thirty five now, what does that signify. Perhaps some setting has become undone.
Going to bed early last night was probably a good idea, feel wide awake today. There was the sound just now of the front door closing, perhaps the wife has gone off to work now. Summer is past now, though a hot spell is forecast for this week. After the cold weather of the last few weeks, this is something to look forward to.

It will be another quarter of an hour until breakfast.
That awakening at six this morning was a bad manoeuvre, fell back to sleep and that was that. Breakfast is done. It is simply time now to get over the indolence of the last few weeks.
Or maybe, that of the last few years.

autumn park.

 Breakfast at the open balcony door with the rain coming down heavily outside was a delight. The eggs were great and the avocado just right, neither too hard nor too soft.
Today is the day where nothing is really planned at all.

Going around town make a few more pictures. These things are worth doing, it is all good for practice. The weather is colder today, but that is no problem at all. Returned home and put the practice pictures onto Facebook. But there has really not been much to do today at all.

Solitary drinks bottle in the autumn park

The situation is, as usual, cold and not really pleasant. It was all right in the café, but there was some elderly woman there with an incredibly loud voice who just never stopped shouting her banalities. The picture in the park was taken after leaving the cafe, that is all some time ago now, and it is time to leave the house again.

perhaps there will be more later

It is three in the afternoon the church bells are ringing outside and it's a lovely day. The meeting with the artists and the café is finished, and the photographer has given me an invitation to his next exhibition, an exhibition showing pictures of wrapped up ice on a glacier.

The day is quiet after the strange night at the garden party yesterday. There was a crowd of people being really very Bavarian, The box with the wine tube was thankfully accepted, and vanished into the hosts private store in his garden shed. It appears to have been well received by him, and he wants to share it with other guests. He made a point of saying thank you for it at the end of the evening.

That is the reason for today's late start, a walk about town ending in a visit to the gallery. That is all that was done today.  The chat with the gallery people took a long time, and it is difficult to remember what exactly was talked about.

Perhaps there will be more later.

however

This morning started with a new sensation. The stomach cramps and is very very sore. This is a novelty. The only thing that had been eaten last night was that sandwich in the local pub. Usually the sandwiches are okay. Or perhaps it was the beer, I really don't know. It is now the evening of the 11th of October and and soon there will be a walk down to the wine depot to buy a box of wine for the party this evening. There is no knowing whether a box of wine is too much or too little but at least it will be plenty and the host can drink the remainder at some other time. As he is having his celebration in the garden he may water his plants with it if he pleases. 

The day has been very quiet, there has been nothing specific to do, and nursing a stomach ache has precluded any further movement, in fact walking has been quite difficult. The ache on the lower stomach makes the body bend over, just like a very old man would. Much time was spent trying to repair the tracker buttons that had been left in the car and attached to that wallet neither of them worked correctly anymore. After some time fiddling around, Established that the devices needed to be reset. After resetting them one device worked. The other one not so much.

The weather is difficult, it is too cold really for a garden party. Dress up warmly for the evenings entertainment however that may turn out.

perhaps, perhaps not

 It is evening, it is getting dark and there is the sound of a jet aircraft above flying into Munich airport. There is a turn marker near Landshut for aircraft flying in to Munich that is used when the wind is coming from a particular direction.

The day started warm and is ending cold. There were pleasant conversations with the son, he left for Bayreuth an hour ago. He is due to have an examination in logic and other information technology things at his university there. Wish him luck as he is leaving. The young man loves trains, it is easier to prepare for the exam on a train than it is to the same whilst driving a car.

The walk around town today was uninteresting, and the visit to the hardware store a necessity. It was possible to buy two long-shafted cup hooks their, which support an old broom handle under the low ceiling of the back room. This is a useful bar to hang all those ironed shirts upon, the shirts that otherwise vanish in the chest of drawers and are difficult to find again.

Not much was done today, apart from making plans as to what may be done next.

Perhaps there will be sense in going into the pub tonight, perhaps not.

the sound of the emergency services over the rooftops

 Walking around the corner at the museums in Landshut realise that the tinnitus has gone. That is a happy feeling, it really is. There is no reason for it to have gone, but it is silent.

Walk on, through the park in the centre of the Neustadt town square, pass the church and go on down to the supermarket in the basement of the mall. Do a small amount of shopping, chat to an acquaintance, and then go on with the walk. The route goes past the Italian restaurant and proceeds along the river. Near the centre of the old town there are a few rather seedy restaurants catering to tourists. Buy a slice of warm meat loaf in a roll at a butchers.

Return home, collect the mail from the mailbox. There is the town advertising a shopping Sunday next weekend. These stupid events, why on earth should people wish to shop on Sundays when they can regularly shop all six other days of the week. What is so special about being able to shop on a Sunday?

The woman at the corner of the Altstadt is singing Irish ballads, accomapanying herself on an accordion.

The tinnitus returns again, that is a shame. There is no way of knowing what caused it to go.

There is the sound of the emergency services over the rooftops.

the cat is a predator.

 It is now five in the afternoon, and the afternoon was spent in sleep since two in the afternoon. There was a seriously drowsy time before and after the midday meal and then a walk home with a few pauses to rest and then hurry upstairs, lie down and fall asleep. 
Perhaps it is the fault of the cat, the cat calling at two in the morning plaintively from the concrete of the back yard. The wife had locked her out. Downstairs, and let the animal in. Her highness the haughty cat walked in tail errect, with measured pace, and then scuttled upstairs hurriedly. It was not really cold outside, but the cat wanted to be inside among all the soft cushions of the couch,

It was difficult to return to sleep after this disturbance.

But still, it should be possible to maintain a sense of wakefulness during the day.

The son is downstairs in his room, he is preparing himself for his examination on the coming Saturday. He is sitting for a repeat of an examination at which he had not done so well some time ago.

The light is failing already, things are slowly turning to the dark unpleasant side of the year.

The cat is asleep somewhere downstairs, but the cat is a predator. The rest of the beings in the house are omnivores.

Later there will be time to visit the artist in his Studio opposite. He will have excuses again, but the gist of it all will be that all things are more important than the time of the photographer.

This morning the book of photographs for the newlywed niece and her husband went on its way, starting at the local post office.

another path to follow, or one to avoid

 There is no movement today, other than that a parcel arrived containing the wedding album for the niece. Check the item, it is all right. All of the pictures go over the edge of the page, the wish is to imply that there was more to see. The pictures are not to encapsulate a moment in its entirety, they are just to supply a fragment of the occasion. An occasion which is important to the couple now, who knows what it will be remembered as.

Before the arrival of the parcel take a walk to the supermarket to buy a loaf of bread. That was all that was bought. On the way there talk to the artist from the house next door, he talks about all kinds of things. He is a superior person in attitude and bearing, but he is difficult to understand. Sometimes it is hard to elucidate the origins of the assumptions that he presents the world with.

Returning home, start to clean up the kitchen, then abandon this upon realising that the wife is still at home. Her angry glances are just unpleasant. Has she changed, or is it just the way that she is perceived?

Look forward to the arrival of the book ordered from Amazon yesterday. Perhaps it will be possible to see another path to follow, or one to avoid. Same difference, it is all a matter of guidance.

a string of embarrassments

 It is still not midday, the morning has been enjoyed in a lazy Sunday fashion, getting up, making breakfast, eating and reading. There was no need to leave the room yet. For the first tim this year the tiny electric oil radiator was used to heat the room. Initially it smelt of heated dust, but it does not do that any more. The cat paid a visit during breakfast and stayed, first of all as a lap cat, and then it settled on the bed. Wordle was nearly failed today, that was very close and very chancy. Perhaps it will be easy tomorrow. The new york times wrote a review on the right to oblivion, the review was interesting enough to place an order with Amazon. Order the hardcover version, it is so comfortable compared to the electronic system with its lack of pagination and difficult referencing.

There was a small collapse today after breakfast. Perhaps it will be necessary to talk to the doctor about these episodes. It will, however, first be important to take notes so that these attacks can be quantified. You know that the doctor does not believe you when they start prescribing homeopathic treatments.

The family is awake, for the first attempt to visit the bathroom this morning was greeted with a locked door.

Today there will be a visit to the studio of the artist next door. There will be no trailing about visiting other artists, why bother. It would be no more than a string of embarrassments. There are not many really good artists around, and it is impossible not to answer requests for opinions truthfully.

never be young again

 It is dark, and it is cool, the air outside is quiet. The bells sound the time, they said it was five and after the early breakfast they sound six times. The news has been read, there is no interest in the local news with all of the international problems taking place now. Yesterdays visit to the gallery and the careful look at the work there led to the realisation that this is just decoration, smart art for cool interiors. This second cool does not refer to the air temperature but to the visual impact. Harmless stuff for pretty homes for secure people.

It is still not light outside. The plan is to get dressed and to take a walk at first light. Things have been too quiet, too sedentary. There is no way that things should continue this way. The other night a man in the pub started talking about nothing being worth anything and facing his own death. He was not really old, at sixty five year, and his death would be a long way away just thinking in averages.

Of course, as time progresses he will never be young again. Try to explain that this is an inevitability and not a misfortune. How could he be so vain? He is a pensioner now because his use as a worker has expired, and it is his own fault if he accepts this as a personal insult.

the cat has been fed and all is done

 It is a wet day and the avocado for breakfast was not ripe yet. Put it together again, perhaps it will be soft and edible tomorrow. There is a feeling of hopelessness about the day, maybe it is the rain or maybe it is simply because it has got colder. It is not really enough for a depression, not yet.

Out of doors, go to the Thai place for a bowl of soup in the early afternoon. It is crowded today, there are just more people hungry on a Friday like this. Afterwards, go to the supermarket and get some cat food and a box of eggs.

Later, after the groceries have been brought home, write a short note of condolence for a friend who has lost his wife. It is twenty years now since the last meeting, it has all gone by so quickly. Time is like the tide, it takes things with it when it rolls out again.

The late afternoon and evening is spent trying to understand the many functions built into a digital camera back. It is astonishing, but a modern iPhone will run the software but it will not be capable of making a connection to the camera back.

This takes up time, it literally swallows it away until it is now twelve minutes past seven, the cat has been fed and all is done.

there is only one sensible answer

 Today is a day set up as a public holiday, to celebrate the reunification of Germany after the demise of the German Democratic Republic. As had been planned, start in the morning with the breakfast and then commence with the ironing of the clothes. Start with the shirts, there are twenty of those.

It is slow work for the inexperienced, but things speed up as tie passes. At midday, go downstairs for a sandwich, and then continue until two in the afternoon. Then go out and stroll down to the café for a cup of coffee and a croissant. The short legged man from Syria is on duty today. he is loud and tends to bully the women working there. The stay in the café is marred by one very old lady who talked in an incredibly loud voice, shouting over all the other guest's conversation. She really is very loud, a jarring unpleasant voice.

Finish the coffee and read the news, read about the war in Lebanon and wonder what has happened to the war in Gaza. Read about the American elections, and realise that things must look entirely different for a habitant of that continent. Looking at the whole thing from a European point of view there is only one sensible answer.

highlight of the day

 In the very early morning today there is a noise from the smartphone. This device is charging on the table beside the bed, Grope for the reading glasses on the table and study the message. This message informs that a camera repair man in Munich has died. The man was aged well over ninety years, but the sorrow on the part of the friend who wrote the message is tangible. In typical fashion for this friend he starts to write about his own fears and his thoughts of death insofar as he himself is concerned. The death of others is a reminder to him that his own will come some time. That seems to concern him greatly.

Return to sleep. There is no point in commiserating when the mind is mostly absent.

Sleep on late, for the job arranged for today was cancelled last night.  

Breakfast and shower, answer all of the emails that need this.

Consider that the first thing to be done now is to go to the shops and buy the few groceries needed to make the breakfast for the next few days. Over the past years the quiet solitary breakfast with the news from the computer has been the highlight of the day.

works perfectly now

 The son is asleep, and wake him as promised. He declares that he has no great interest in going to Garching, the old workplace. The reason to go there is to get some screws to fasten the eyepiece of the camera to the camera. Both screws are missing, and it is difficult to find replacement for such tiny fittings in a country town

The drive to the institutes is of the usual length, driving slowly it becomes possible to see all the other drivers in their greater hurry. It does not take that much longer at a slow pace, for the distance is not so  great. Surprisingly, there is no difficulty in finding a parking spot at all.

There is a welcome from the mechanics working in the building, they have no difficulties in finding the suitable screw fittings in their store. With some trouble these are fitted and now the eyepiece of the Swedish camera no longer falls off. It is sad that the piece was delivered without screws, but it was really very pleasant to be able to talk to the mechanics again. There was sad news as well, one of the mechanics was killed by a falling tree whilst doing forestry work. This news is shocking, the accident happened only a very few weeks ago.

Go to the canteen in the Institute for Advanced Studies , and enjoy a large cup, noting that the flavour has not changed during the last  years. It is as good as its memory. There is a chance meeting with the press secretary of the reactor. This is delightful, it really is a great pleasure.

 

Take the car back to Landshut, enjoy a peaceful drive. It is easy to find a parking spot at this time, and now all is well.

At home, test the camera and find that it works perfectly now.