(B) Lucy Nemetz and a Bag of Surprises - And - a trip back in time for Walter her husband.

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Lucy Nemetz and a Bag of Surprises 

Last week, Lucy Nemetz told me an interesting story. It was all about an old plastic bag that she'd found whilst looking for something quite different. It was on the top of a very old cupboard, and, had been there, lying unopened, for a very long time.

In 1972, Lucy, husband and children moved back to Vienna from London. And, for some very strange reason, the bag had ended up on top of the cupboard. And, when Lucy opened the bag, out came the life she had packed a long time before.

There were interesting letters, school exercise books with stories the children had written, photos that told of old days in the city of London, and a little red notebook. Lucy smiled and went to the kitchen.

Then, Walter, Lucy's husband, came home. He walked in the door. Stopped. The smell. He knew it at once. Back 50 years in an instant. He was in London. It was his chocolate cake. His favourite. The one Lucy baked whilst they were in London. English chocolate cake. Walter was seriously happy.

The old plastic bag was full of surprises, but the little red notebook was the best of them all. It's the smells that turn back the clock, and Lucy's fine chocolate cake smelled and tasted much better than ever. Just like old times.

Last week, Lucy Nemetz told me an interesting story. So, next time you find an old plastic bag, open it up. You may be surprised. Life and old bags are full of surprises.

Lucy Nemetz and a Bag of Surprises

One of Lucy's old photos

(B) - Valentine's Day -

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Valentine's Day – Stones and Champagne and Flowers and Cards!

February the 14^th is Valentine's Day. People send flowers, go out for candle-light meals, drink Champaign by the bucket, and generally try to be nice. But, the best tradition of all is the British tradition of Valentine's cards. This is not only exciting, but good fun as well.

Valentine's cards are anonymous. No one knows who they're from. And, the fun is the guessing from whom. And, if you're one of the many who sends Valentine's cards, it's the annual hoping that the person you sent the card to will actually guess it's from you - and – all being well - fall for you, too. This never happened to me!

And, Valentine's cards are romantically arty. Most come with pictures of red hearts and roses and say “I love you!” - or - “I can't live without you!”. All very silly. But, the two Valentine's cards that I received many years ago were exactly the opposite.

On the front of the first card were pictures of rats, slugs, cockroaches, and snakes. And, when I opened the card, the message was simple and straight to the point. “Just thinking of you” were the words that were written.

The second card, probably from the very same girl, wasn't much different. On the front of the card were the wonderful words, “If I had 10 pounds for every time I thought of you . . .” I then opened the card and read on. I got a surprise. Instead of, “I would be the richest woman on earth”, were the words, “I would think of you more often”.

And, these were the only Valentine's cards I ever received. I sent many, but my luck was never returned. So, who was St. Valentine? I did some research. He was stoned to death (that's why they made him a saint) for what he invented. St. Valentine invented marriage! A reason to stone him to death? Well, that's up to you.

February the 14^th is Valentine's Day. People send flowers and go out for candle-light meals. And, that's it for another 12 months. The story of love is no easy road, and it had a hard stony end for poor Valentine.

Valentine's Day – Stones and Champagne and Flowers and Cards! 

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(A) Jsarzem - A man from Iraq with a long way to go

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Jsarzem – The World is his Future

Jsarzem comes from Iraq and he's been in Vienna for 3 very fast years. And, when Jsarzem thinks back to home, it's the mountains he thinks of the most. Climbing and hiking. And, that's not all. Jsarzem was – and still is – a very keen chess player. In fact, Jsarzem has won many competitions and is set to win more, Chess is a game that connects; and friends can be found all over the world. And, Jsarzem could never sit still. Cycling, football, fishing, and friends were all part of his life and

are still very important.

But, at the top of Jsarzem's thoughts are his brothers and sisters and his mother and father. Family is family wherever one is.

Jsarzem's a man of this world, and he has a long way to go. The man from Iraq – the world is his future.

(B) - The Friedrich Gulda Park - Vienna is the city of music - and, its parks are musical, too!

Vienna – The Friedrich Gulda Park

Vienna is beautiful. It has more trees, parks, and water than most other cities on earth. Vienna is special. But, Vienna, too, is a city of music, and, in a small corner of town is a park that is not only green, but musical, too.

Named after Friedrich Gulda, the popular Austrian pianist, the Friedrich Gulda park gets its feeling of music from a keyboard that runs through its middle. And, the keyboard, of course, is the path that all have to walk on. And, if you find this a little unusual, well, it's hardly surprising. Friedrich Gulda, too, was a little eccentric!

Friedrich Gulda was a genius. And, he loved Beethoven and Mozart. In fact, during his time, Friedrich Gulda's interpretations of Mozart and Beethoven were amongst the best in the world! But, Friedrich Gulda had also a passion for jazz, and his compositions and performances were often considered just a little bit crazy! And, this was the Friedrich Gulda that many people loved. Eccentric and nice – and - in a way - just like his park.

Vienna is green. It has a park with a keyboard and a man and his music with the feeling of jazz. Friedrich Gulda was not like anyone else, and, that's why the Viennese still love him! Vienna, after all, is a city that is different.

Friedrich Gulda was born in Vienna in 1930 and died in Weißenbach am Attersee in January, 2000. And, if you're interested,  the Friedrich Gulda Park lies hidden in the third district of Vienna behind Ungargasse and Landstraße.

Friedrich Gulda – a great man of music who's still very much with us!

Friedrich Gulda

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(A+) Moshan - The Colours of Life - Past Present and Future - Making new friends.

Moshan – The Colours of Life

Moshan comes from Esvar in Iran and he's been in Vienna for 2 very short years. And, Moshan's life in Iran was the colour of action. All kinds of sports. And, his favourite pastimes were jogging and football. And, football meant friends; and Moshan had many.

And, colour is Moshan's future as well. The comfortable colours of very good feelings. Moshan is going into the business of carpets. And, very good carpets are things that everyone loves.

Moshan comes from Esvar in Iran. And, the German he's learning has become a very big part of his life. New friends and new contacts. New colours in life.

Moshan - The Colours of Life

(B) - Edet Nene - Coffee to Run From and Beautiful Flowers - Coffee waste is wonderful stuff

Coffee to Run From!

Edet  Nene and Flowers and Coffee.

Last year, whilst visiting Hungary, I learned something new about coffee. Not about taste, but about waste. And, coffee mulch, as Edet Nene explained, is a very useful thing.

To begin with, coffee mulch fertilizes better than any chemical can. Flowers, vegetables, and salads really love the taste of old coffee. Coffee mulch is not only great for good flavour, but beauty as well.

There is, however, much more to mulch than just beauty and taste. Mulch is a great cleaner, too. Edet Nene gladly uses it for cleaning her chopping boards and it works really well. It's the best soap there is and purely organic. After the chopping of onions or the cutting of meat, Edet Nene just rubs coffee mulch into her chopping boards, waits, then removes with a scourer and rinses. Perfect.

Then, there are the drains. Coffee mulch cleans drains much better than anything else. Put mulch down your drains and they'll soon be smelling like freshly picked flowers. Edet Nene knows what she's doing. She understands mulch much better than coffee.

Edet  Nene's coffee is weak creamy hot water with a slight taste of coffee. Not very nice. But, her tomatoes and peppers are the best in all Hungary. Coffee mulch is a wonderful thing. It makes a big difference. So, don't throw it away – use it instead.

Edet  Nene and Flowers and Coffee.

Vocabulary

chopping board – a flat piece of wood (a board) for the cutting of vegetables, meat, etc.

drains – where dirty water runs away

flavour – the taste of something

mulch – organic waste – usually damp (a little wet)

scourer – abrasive (hard) pad or metal wool for cleaning by rubbing (moving back and forward with pressure.

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