(B) Horses and Dreams - And - Very Hard Work!

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Photo - Rider and Horse - by Nigel A JAMES

Horses and Dreams and Very Hard Work

Horses are real-life dreams for many young girls, and learning to ride is a very good way of fulfilling this vision. But, there is more to this dream than just saddles and reigns. There are other sides, too. And, one of these sides is learning to work very hard.

A long time ago, I was at a riding school in the Borders of Scotland with two very good friends. Their daughter was taking a lesson. And, being interested, I looked round the stables.

I was impressed. These were the cleanest and neatest stables I'd ever, ever seen. And, all thanks to a small group of girls. They were mucking out the stables and having great fun.

And, this weekend fun was all part of a stable management course. Two days of very hard work. And, amazingly, with no pay at all. The girls were all working for nothing. But, this was just half of the story.

The girls had to pay very much for this course. Learning to work at the stable. And, it was intensive and very expensive. And, the girls even had to bring their own lunches. Nothing was provided – not even a drink. But, the girls were all happy. They were living their dreams. And, the owners of the stable were very happy, too. Not only free labour, but free money too!

But, there was a reward for the girls at the end of the course. A diploma. A proud reminder to take home and frame and hang on their walls. A certificate of merit. And all for a very high price.

Horses are real-life dreams for many young girls. And, learning to ride is a very real way of living this dream. And, so too is paying to muck out the stables and polish the tackle. But, if it makes people happy - why not? Life is for living and having great fun. And, owners of stables live very well, too. And, all thanks to young girls with very rich parents.

Horses and Dreams and Very Hard Work

Vocabulary

canter – leichter Gallop

common sense – Hausverstand

grooming – pflegen

I'd – I had

impressed – beeindruckt

mucking out – ausmisten

neatest - ordentlich

provided - bereitgestellt

saddles and reigns - Sättel und Zügel

tackle – Pferdeausrüstung (auch Sportausrüstung)-

Other pages of interest - 

Lexmatica - Very easy texts for beginners - Read, listen, enjoy.

Tram 49 - Audio blog - Click, listen and enjoy

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(B) - Down to Earth and Up to the Stars - Oskar Magocsi

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Picture - An Alien Space Ship After Landing in Austria-

Down to Earth and up to the stars

Oskar Magocsi

Getting books published is no easy thing - and Oskar Magocsi was having no luck. The USA wasn't ready for him. Rejection after rejection. But, Oskar Magocsi kept trying and trying. And, when Oskar's Magocsi's book finally flew, it went like a rocket. And the course it was steering was straight for the stars.

But, how it took off was very unusual.

One day, Oskar Magocsi was waiting to send off a parcel. And, the post office cue was a very slow things. And there, on one of the racks was a pet-magazine - all about dogs, cats and rabbits. Just right for waiting in line and killing some time. And then, Oskar Magocsi stopped. An advert had caught his attention. An advert for colourful pots for the kitchen.

Then, Oskar Magocsi had an idea. Why not put an add in this pet magazine? If ads work for colourful pots for the kitchen, then why not for his book as well? Science-fiction was loved and well read in America, and also the rest of the world.

And, right there and then, Oskar Magocsi mailed off an ad to this pet magazine. Total costs, 9 US dollars and 50 dollars upfront for a post office box.

And, two weeks later, Oskar Magocsi went back to the post. Yet another manuscript and yet another publisher. Maybe, he'd be lucky this time. But, before queuing up to send off his packet, Oskar Magocsi went over and opened his box. There, waiting for him, were 5 wonderful letters. 5 letters with orders and cheques. Oskar Magocsi was very surprised. His advert had worked. Selling books was really quite easy. No publishers needed. Oscar Magocsi had discovered his very own way. And, Oskar Magocsi copied 5 books and mailed them the very next day. 5 happy readers. An excellent start.

And, from that day on, the orders and money kept coming and coming! Oskar Magocsi was flying.

And, all in all, Oscar Magocsi's 4 popular books sold almost 84.000 copies. A tremendous success and all in the space of twenty five years. Oskar Magocsi started writing at 60, and stopped on his 85^th birthday. Just 3 years before he sadly passed on.

And, Oskar Magocsi's books opened other doors, too. Because of his writing success, Oscar Magocsi became a regular guest on TV and a popular speaker as well. Oscar Magocsi was not only a man in demand, but popular, too. And, the reason was simple. Oskar Magocsi just followed himself and did that which was always within him. And, not only one, but 4 brilliant best sellers took off! The way forward is not always the one that's believed. Life is full of surprises. And, as Oskar Magocsi was often heard saying, old age is a lousy excuse for just doing nothing!

Getting work published is no easy thing and Oskar Magocsi kept going and going and never gave up. His best sellers all spoke for themselves. They were paths to the stars and far away worlds.

Down to Earth and up to the stars

Oskar Magocsi and 4 brilliant books.

Vocabulary

advised – (to advise/advised/advised) - beraten

all in all – im Großen und Ganzen

conviction – Überzeugung

defying – (to defy/defied/defied) - herausfordern

copies (copy) – Exemplare

excuse – Ausrede

fuel - Brennstoff

gravity – Schwerkraft

rejection - Ablehnung

casually – gleichgültig

incredibly – unheimlich/unglaublich/erstaunlich

killing time – Zeitvertreiben

lining up - line up(s) – anstellen

lousy– miserable

no clearance to go – kein Start Erlaubnis

not about to – noch nicht

nothing better to do – nichts besseres zu tun

passed on – (to pass on/passed on/passed on) – starb

upfront – im Voraus

publisher – Verlag

small ads - Kleinanzeigen

sucked into – hineingesaugt

thumbing – durchblättern

yet another – noch einen

More Online -

Lexmatica – easy texts for beginners. Listen and learn.

Tram 49 – Audio – Short stories and more. Listen and enjoy.

(B) - The Marching Years - Growing up in the GDR

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 PHOTO - A GDR Summer Camp - Archive.

The Marching Years

Heike Jahns

When Heike Jahns was a child, she was a young pioneer - and so was everyone else. And, that's how it was in the GDR.

And, Heike Jahns looks back to her pioneer days with great pleasure. They began on her first day of school, and, from that day on, her life was  this socialist movement. And, Heike Jahns still clearly remembers the white blouse and blue scarf she wore everyday. Heike Jahns was happy and proud as a young pioneer, and each day was fun.

But, Wednesdays were special. Wednesdays were action, and Wednesdays were pioneer days. There were visits to the cinema, dancing lessons, theatre workshops, musical events, and many other activities, too. And, all at no cost. But, nothing was as good as the camps.

The camps were summer and fun with friends in the country. There was very good food – much better than usual - and action from morning til night. There were never dull moments. But, the evenings were always the best. And, the pioneer songs which were sung round the fire after dark were special and full of emotion. And, these moments of magic were the ones taken home at the end of the summer and the ones that were never forgotten.

But, Heike Jahns remembers the dull moments as well. And, Mondays were always the worst. Mondays were Flag Days. The entire school would assemble, and after the unenthusiastic singing of one or two boring songs, allegiance was sworn to the flag. Flag Days were not a nice way of starting the week!

And, the pioneers, too, were a pattern for life. Primary school children were the young pioneers and they wore a white shirt and blue scarf. In the 5^th class, the children went up. And, the blue scarf was changed for a red one.

And, success was important for all pioneers. And success was rewarded with badges. And, receiving new badges were moments of glory and pride. And, all the children worked hard. The more badges one had, the better one was.

But, the greatest occasion of all was the going-up to the highest. Finishing the 7^th class, the white shirt was changed for a blue one and Childhood became a thing of the past. All were now members of the Free German Youth (FDJ). The perfect conclusion of a wonderful time as proud pioneers!

But, there's a very sad irony in this childhood story. Neither Heike Jahns's children, nor her grand children, nor anyone else will ever become pioneers. The pioneers no longer exist – and – even more dramatically - nor does the GDR, the country where Heike grew up! The GDR, as everyone knows, is now part of the German Republic. And, whether that's good or bad, is a question for history!

But, the past was the present at the time, and Heike Jahns remembers it well!

Vocabulary

achieved (to achieve/achieved/achieved) - vollbringen

allegiance – Treue

awarded (to award/awarded/awarded) – verleihen

badge – Abzeichen

childhood – Kindheit

GDR – (German Democratic Republic) - DDR

grew up – (to grow up/grew up/grown up) - aufwachsen

laid on (to lay on/laid on/laid on) - organized

sworn (to swear/swore/sworn) - schwören

A GDR Summer Camp - Archive

(B) - A Tale of Two Shoes - A shoe that walked off in the night.

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Picture - Looking for Shoes in the Garden - by Nigel A, JAMES

A Tale of Two Shoes

Last week, Gerald Berger told me the following story. A story that was both annoying and funny. A tale about something to eat.

It had been a horrible day. Cold, wet, and windy. And, Gerald's way home had been puddle after puddle and ankle deep mud to get stuck in.

And, so, to cut a long story short, Gerald Berger left his shoes out on the terrace. He'd clean them next morning.

And, the next day was sunny and nice with no clouds in the sky. Gerald Berger felt great and he went out to bring in his shoes. But, there on the terrace was only one shoe. The left one had gone. Disappeared into thin air.

And, Gerald and Erika searched high and low for the shoe. And, there, in the shade of a tree was the shoe. All's well that ends well.

But, all's well that ends well was very short lived. Gerald's brand new left shoe had been eaten alive! All that was left was a half eaten sole and a badly gnawed heel. Then, feeling just a little bit angry, Gerald threw away the remains of his shoe.

But, what was Gerald to do with his remaining right shoe? He could give it away to a friend with only one leg. The shoe, after all, had only been worn for 4 very short hours. But, then Gerald remembered. His friend's only leg was his left leg. And, a right-hand shoe on a left leg would be no good at all. And, so, Gerald decided to be nice to the foxes. And, Gerald's right shoe disappeared in the night. 2 very good shoes, 2 very good meals, and a family of foxes that had shoes for their dinner.

Of course, Gerald wasn't angry for long. In the cellar was a box of old shoes. Maybe, the foxes could eat them as well. Gerald smiled and went on his way.

Vocabulary -

gnawed - abgenagte

tale – story

Picture - Looking for Shoes in the Garden - by Nigel A. JAMES

(C) - Mr. James Bulloch and a Ship that Slipped Through the Net!

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Picture - Rage Far Out at Sea - by Nigel A JAMES

Mr. James Bulloch and a Ship that Slipped Through the Net!

The American Civil War was a period of great commercial opportunity and the British were very much involved. But, there were rules. British companies were allowed to provide arms to both sides in the conflict, but, shipping was different. The British were only allowed to sell fully armed ships that were ready for war to the north, whilst the south had to make do with only unarmed ships. But, the British ship builders and the Confederate States had a way of avoiding these prohibitive rules. The ships for the south all left Britain unarmed and were fitted out for war somewhere else along the route by other British companies. A perfect system. But, there was one ship that almost sank this adventurous balance. The Alabama.

The Alabama, which, at the time, was under construction in a Birkenhead shipyard in England, had caught the attention of the Northern authorities. They maintained that the ship was “more fitted out than that was allowed”, and subsequently petitioned the British government to impound the ship. But, neither the Northern authorities nor the British government had reckoned with a certain Mr. James Bulloch, the confederate’s agent in the UK for the purchase of shipping. James Bulloch found out what was about to take place and took immediate action! There was no time to be lost.

That very same afternoon, the Alabama, in great festive mood, left port for what was officially described as “sea trials”. On board was the mayor of Birkenhead, his wife, and many other very important high ranking guests. And, a brass band provided the music.

However, upon arriving at Holyhead, where the Alabama was due to turn round and sail back to Birkenhead, the band, the mayor and all the other fine guests were put ashore. The Alabama then sped out into the Atlantic as fast as she could go. She evaded the USS Tuscarora and two other war ships which were waiting for her, and set course for the Azores. There she was fitted out with British guns and supplied with British ammunition. The Alabama was ready for service.

And, in the course of her action packed life, the Alabama captured and destroyed ten Union ships in mid-Atlantic, she sank the USS Hattras in an amazingly brief encounter which only lasted thirteen minutes, and then, on a round-the-world trip, the Alabama captured no fewer than eighty-four merchant ships. But, then the Alabama met her match.

The Alabama was defeated and sank off Cherbourg in 1864. Most of the crew and the captain were rescued by cheering spectators from a nearby British yacht. But, that wasn’t the end of the story.

The British had to pay out more than 15 million dollars in gold for compensation. Much damage had been caused, and many people had lost their lives due to British incompetence. 15 million dollars. A very big bill for allowing the Alabama to slip through their fingers. But, that was war, and where there's money to be made, there's always a way. And, the Alabama made very much money.

The Alabama – a ship that slipped through the net.