Digging for gold - Moments from Life!

P.J. Sweeny's son with his new model boat - nj.

The Berth of a Dream

Surprises are all part and parcel of the magic of holidays, but, as a friend of mine found out just this summer, a fortnight on an Italian river can also provide for minor shocks, too. And they all have to do with the opposites of all that one knows!

Everything was perfect. The north Italian scenery was beautiful, and the houseboat that was to be home for the next 14 days was even better than expected. There was nothing that could possibly go wrong, that is to say, nothing except the actual getting about!

Boating, on the surface at least, is quite a simple affair. Everyone can do it, and, when it comes to being the captain, everyone is as good as each other, and everyone, of course, knows better than everyone else. That is, of course, until the going gets tough!

The first real surprise for my friend and his family came whilst trying to stop. My friend’s wife, who was on captain duty at the time, quickly discovered that stopping wasn’t as easy as she thought, in fact, it was really quite hard. The boat (unlike her car) had no brakes, and it wasn’t a question of simply turning off the engine! It was, as her twelve year old son quite easily explained, only a matter of putting the boat in reverse, and, if done in good time, the craft would gracefully come to an elegant standstill. But, the “if done in time” was much easier said than done!

Upon finding the perfect place to stop for the night, my friend, who had now been promoted to captain, was attempting to (as he says) park. His first mistake was to put the boat in reverse too early. The boat not only stopped too early, but it also started going back the way they had come in reverse! Things then became complicated.

In order to avoid colliding with the bank, some steering was necessary, but, because they were travelling in reverse, the steering no longer reacted as was expected. And so it was, that by steering to the right, the boat actually veered to the left and got stuck in the mud at the side of the river. And the cheers were embarrassing!

They had chosen to crash just 10 meters away from a very full terrace of very hungry people, and my friend, unknowingly had provided the perfect pre-dinner entertainment. But all’s well that ends well.

After some help from those more experienced, my friend and his family, with their boat safely moored, were soon enjoying a meal on the terrace. The entertainment that they had provided was quickly forgotten, everyone it seems, was once, too, a beginner!

So what about the rest of the holiday? It was perfect, and now that they know how to do it, they will, without any doubt at all, being trying something completely different next year. After all, what is a holiday for? Surprises of course!

Nj.

Otto Eidher - A Short Introduction

Otto Eidherr - photo by Nigel A.  JAMES

Hunting the fine!

Forests, for most, are places of depth and great strength, but, for Otto Eidher, the woods are the source of edible wonders – for he is a hunter of mushrooms!

Otto, who now lives amongst the concrete  ways of Vienna, grew up on the wooded granite plateau of North Eastern Austria, and there, from childhood on, he was to be found in the cool of the mornings hunting for mushrooms. And, this important schedule of busy forest life, has, ever since, remained with him as a hobby.

But, this hobby of taste, unlike fishing and football, has more to do with understanding and knowing than luck. One has to know what one’s doing. Take the wrong mushrooms home and the results can be fatal!

And coming home with a basket full of the right ones is just half of the story. Whilst Vienna is sleeping, Otto is on his way back to the forest. Being amongst the trees and breathing the fresh morning air is what gives him that something special that makes life worth living. And good living means also good food. And what could be better than a hobby that gives all?

Otto is a man of good taste, and the riches of the forest which he harvests provide guaranteed goodness that always tastes great. And there are many different and exciting preparations for all the different mushrooms that there are - and Otto knows many, for he, too, is an excellent cook!

Poem for September

Elephant Family - Schnitkunst by Nigel A JAMES

Poem for September

Robert Louis Stevenson didn’t only write Treasure Island, he wrote many fine poems, as well. Foreign Lands is one of his nicest works for children, and, considering, that all of us are really children at heart, here it is,-

From Child’s Garden of Verses

Foreign Lands
by Robert Louis Stevenson


Up into the cherry tree
Who should climb but little me?
I held the trunk with both my hands
And looked abroad in foreign lands.

I saw the next door garden lie,
Adorned with flowers, before my eye,
And many pleasant places more
That I had never seen before.

I saw the dimpling river pass
And be the sky’s blue-looking glass;
The dusty roads go up and down
With people tramping into town.

If I could find a higher tree
Farther and farther I should see,
To where the grown-up river slips
Into the sea among the ships,

To where the road on either hand
Lead onward into fairy land,
Where all the children dine at five,
And all the play things come alive.

njmailboy@gmail.com

Ingo Taubert

The Beginning of Happiness - pencil drawing by Nigel A JAMES

The Perfect Bedside Manna

Sadly,there are those anongst us whose lives have become no bigger than their beds.They are the infirm, and they will never again experience life as others do.  But, for one Viennese old people's home, life dramatically improved about two years ago - and the changes came in on the back of a traveller!

Ingo Taubert had spent all of his very long life cooking around the world before the call of home brought him back to his roots. His global patch had included the mobile sea-faring galleys of luxury liners, some of the best hotels in the world, and, one or two of the finest of eateries as well! In short, he was a man of the world, and he knew all about making people happy, and this was not about to change as he took over the kitchen of the soon to be “luckiest old people’s home in the world”.

The people who first tasted the difference were those in the best of good health. The new freshness and the quality of the meals was something that none had thought possible. But, what Ingo Taubert did for the nursing station was nothing less than a miracle! He changed the lives of the weak and the feeble completely.

Upon visiting the station, Ingo Taubert found people with little or no appetite at all. Something had to change! People deserved better. Thankfully, the solution wasn’t long in coming! It was meals on wheels with a difference.

Soon, Ingo and his team were to be seen on the station with a mobile kitchen, and, what they were doing was unique. They were involving everyone in the process of lunch. Something that had never been thought of before - and the results were astounding!

It was like night and day. Just being able to decide their own lunch, and, the smells and the sights of wonderful cooking right next to their beds were visibly bringing people back from the edge of disinterest. Life with full appetites and lots to look-forward to had returned!

And that’s how it should be. Ingo Taubert, in his very short time with the elderly infirm, has succeeding in providing a daily tasty celebration of the best. Good food, after-all, is the base of all that is good!

There is lots more to find out about Ingo Taubert.  Simply "Google" him - you will be surprised!