Lucy Nemics

Lucy Nemics  - photo by Nigel A JAMES

Theme Walls and Dream Schemes

Our pasts are not meant to be put into boxes and stored out of site in dark corners. Our memories, as always, are still very much a part of our nows, and, being so, they deserve very much more! They need space and they need light, and this is something Lucy Nemics discovered a long time ago.

And Lucy not only discovered it, she put it into practice as well. And, what resulted was something unusually nice, a living room full of themes with each wall telling its very own story.

And her walls not only tell of times that have gone, they say something about Lucy as well. Being a very keen photographer, photos, too, play a very important role. One wall tells of great travels and not only includes pictures taken on board the QE2, but many other exotic and interesting places as well. Travel was, and still is, a very important thing for Lucy and her husband Walter.

And the busyness continues. When moving on, one comes to the wall of how where they live used to be. Hacking in the west of Vienna is the name of their district, and, whilst looking down on the world, the old maps and old pictures tell of a time that has long since passed into the modern. When Lucy was a child, Hacking was more like a village than anything else.

But the last but one wall is special. It is Wimbledon in England! Walter had a job in London, and it was in Wimbledon that they found a very nice and very typical English “semi” to live in. And it was there that they spent the busiest and most fun years of their lives. Their children were young, and, so it was that their lives were full of everything English. There were not only schools to be managed, but all other aspects of everyday life, too. And all in English! A real challenge! England for them was English, and what could be more thrilling, exciting and fulfilling. But the pictures of Wimbledon are more than just pictures.

Because of the space and the light which they have, they are inviting. And when the feeling is right, both Walter and Lucy are able to step into the pictures and enjoy once again – just like then - a walk through England's green and pleasant land!

And the last wall, of course, is the window with its very sober picture of the passing of now. But, Lucy's eye catches all, and, I'm sure that there will soon be a wall with the pictures of that which is currently actual. The present, too, will also be part of the past of tomorrow. And as far as Lucy and Walter are concerned, the now with its feelings of then is still the most important of all!

 Feelings - Aranka's Evening Balcony

Hilde Blashek

The Soft Hills of Ireland . 

Storm Clouds A-Gathering

It is, very often, the small mercies of life that turn out to be gestures of deep saving graces. And, what happened to Hilde Blaschek and her best friend Monika helped them in more than one way!

It was late August in 1962. The two young Austrian girls were on a hiking holiday in the south of Ireland and heading for the small town of Cork. And, being the last but one day of their holiday their feelings were jumping between wanting to stay and wanting to go. The weather had been kind to them, the Irish had been kind to them, and many memories for life had been made and were ready for home.

But then came the cloud!

It started as a speck on the horizon and grew bigger and bigger and bigger. And then, all of a sudden, their circles of horizons were firmly connected by one incredibly large dark menacing mass of imminent storm. And when the rain started it started with force. And the youth hostel was still over an hour in the distance.

But hours pass, too. And, when Hilde and Monika arrived at the hostel they could hardly contain their feelings of joy. What better than two evening meals and two comfortable beds? But then came the shock. The hostel was full! Everyone it seemed had wanted a bed for the night. What was going to happen to them?

Outside the rain was continuing!

And there they stood. They were dripping and wet! And they were young! But not to worry, the warden was a man with a heart. His hostel was full, but, if they were prepared to sleep on the table then there would be no problem at all. And so it was, that after a wonderful meal of Irish roast chicken and vegetables, the table was cleared and made ready for the night. And it was no normal night. It was the most uncomfortable night that Hilde had ever had. When she woke up in the morning she was freezing. The blankets, having all fallen off in the night, were all in a heap on the floor. But then came the breakfast.

And it was great and it was Irish. Rashers, eggs, black pudding, toast and strong tea. Peter Dunn (Hilde still remembers his name) did everything possible to make sure that his two Austrian guests enjoyed a good finish to their holiday in Ireland. And they did! And, on their way home on the ferry to France they thought of the people they had met. And they were happy.

Every dark cloud has a silver lining. And the Irish the more so! It is Peter who comes first to their minds when Hilde and Monika think back to their holiday in Ireland,!

Lariat Malinovska

Lariat Malinovska by Nigel A JAMES

The Ripples of Englishness - A Latvian Communicator!

Events shape lives! And, what happened more than 25 years ago in the small English town of Sheffield was like a stone being dropped into a pond. And it was Lariat Malinovska who dropped the stone, and the stone that she dropped was at the time nothing more than an idea. But it was strong! And it sent ripples on their way to the outer extremities of the pond and beyond, and, once movement takes hold it keeps going for ever. And what happened then is still happening now!

Lariat was a student at the time. She was studying at Sheffield university as part of an exchange programme. And she was happy. And, she was so for two very good reasons. Firstly, she had been allowed out of Latvia – something that was not so easy in those days, and, secondly, she had fallen in love with the English and their ways and their kindness. And, it was this passion for all that was English which moved her to set up an English club at her home university upon her return.

And the Jelgava University English Club has been going strong ever since!

But this club is more than just fun! Its events, its parties and its events are not only an introduction to the Englishness of the English, it is also a tremendous source of information and help for students wishing to spend some of their study time in Great Britain. And many do. The ripples continue.

But of course, clubs need people to lead them, and Larisa Malinovska, now an acclaimed expert in international relations, has not the slightest intention of stopping. She has many friends to help her. She threw the stone and she is keeping it going!

Robert Schery

 Robert Schery by Nigel A  JAMES

Taste of the end-of-the-Line

A more than sizzling revelation!

There's a corner of Vienna where the town turns to forest, and, it is there that the 49 tram takes a break before heading back to the centre of town. But, there's something very different about this terminal end. It is special, and it is so for one very good prize winning reason!

And, this prize winning beauty not only comes with a fabulous smell, it has all of the tastes of traditional Vienna as well! It is a sausage stand! And it belongs to a man with the name of Robert Schery!

It was 5 years ago. Robert was on the lookout for a sausage stand to buy, and the 49er, as it is known, was desperately in need of an owner. The people of this neighbourhood were despairingly missing their daily dose of good tasting sausage. Their 49er had been closed for more than ten years years, and, bit by bit, hope had given way to the sad realization that their much beloved sausage stand would never more awake from its permanent sleep of heart-breaking sorrow! But, then came Robert, and just like a knight in shining armour kissed the 49er back into life!

And now, it is as if it had never been away. So popular has it become, that people are now making their way there from all over Vienna to enjoy the sizzling uniqueness of Roberts phenomenal roasters! And, so well does he do it, that the 49er has now been voted the best Viennese sausage stand that there is! A prize that's very hard to achieve!

So, if you happen to be in Vienna and are hungry, take the 49 tram from the ring to its end, and there you will not only find Robert Schery with a sausage just for you, but lots of very nice people, too.

The 49er, just a tram ride from town!

Der 49er Würstelstand

www.burenwurst.biz

Balcony Showers

Aranka's balcony, just like every where else, has been not only rained on, but, rather poured on as well!  But the roses have no problem with the wet, in fact, they rather love it!