Halina Seidl

Halina Seidl - by Nigel A JAMES

Queen of Hearts!

listen to ‘Halina Seidl’ on Audioboo

When Halina Seidl set off on her journey through life it wasn't so much a question of going somewhere special, it was more a case of leaving behind times that were no longer hers. Her native socialist Poland had become far too slow for her dreams - and the west to where she was going had moved on - and was flying, and Halina wanted to take off as well.

Upon arriving in Vienna and being prepared to do all that it took, she soon got a job helping out in a kitchen. The small Viennese restaurant was only too happy to give her a job - and they were not to be disappointed. Within just a very short period of time Halina was not only able to prove what a good worker she was, but, something else, too.

The cook had fallen ill, and without stopping to think, Helena put on an apron and took-over the stove. And her meals were every bit as good as the cook's. It seems that luck was more on the side of the restaurant than on Helena's.

But then the cook came back, she had got better! Halina was once again scrubbing the floors and washing the dishes! But, not to worry, she was sure that something much better was coming! And, it came quicker than expected.

Luck was now on Halina's side. A friend told her of a friend who was giving up his sausage stand in Vienna's amusement park, the Prata. And, would she be interested? She needed no time to think, and just three days later it was hers! With just two and a half years to her credit in Vienna she had her own little business. From now on, there would be no going back to the dishes and floors!

And her little sausage stand worked. Halina was just right for the business. Friendly, caring, and listening are the perfect words to describe her. And her guest, no matter what, are always important. And these are the qualities that stayed with her when she took over the small restaurant where she is now!

It's by the side of the railway in Hietzing, a suburb of Vienna. Here Halina has managed to combine a traditional Viennese sausage-stand at the front with a restaurant at the back with its own exclusive simple and functional style. And its atmosphere is great! This little unusual eatery with its excellent Viennese cuisine has become a lunch-time Mecca for people from all walks of life. No matter who you are, no matter what you do, you are welcome! Helena makes everyone feel special. For her guests she is the Queen of their Hearts! And all because, a long time ago, she said goodbye to a time that was no longer hers!

** Helena Seidl's restaurant is in Vienna's 13^th district in the Hietzingerhauptstrasse where the railway crosses the road at the end of the 58 tram! **

Robert Streibel

Robert Streibel - by Nigel A JAMES

 The Year of the Gherkin

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Running a school for adults is not only planning and scheming, it is listening as well. And when Robert Streibel, the director of the Hietzing VHS in Vienna discovered that gherkins were changing hands in one of his classes he was interested. But then, after finding out why he went into action.

Robert found out that Brigitte Böckman, one of the school's students was actively involved in a movement called Direkthilfe Roma, a project for helping hard-up Romany families in neighbouring Slovakia. And it was all to do with the growing of gherkins! Brigitte was helping by selling the Romany gherkins! And, Robert felt he could help, too. And, so the Year of the Gherkin was born.

And now the entire school is involved. Students and teachers are not only including the theme of gherkins in their lessons, they are buying and eating them, too. And not only once, but again and again! And all for the very good price of 2.60 Euros per jar. But, of course, there is a story and it all began in a field near the village of Hostice in 2008.

With just a little encouragement from Direkthilfe:Roma, one or two families started growing gherkins. And, within just three very short months more than 2500 jars had been sold. A tremendous success! And it is hardly surprising! When it comes to gherkins and herbs Romany families simply know best. They have, after-all, been producing them for years with their own traditional recipes. And now, with more and more families involved, the number of jars full of these sensational crispy experiences have risen to more than 12.000 a year! A real sensation! And, thanks to the Year of the Gherkin it's hopefully set to get better!

And finally to quote Robert Streibel, 'We get the best and most delicious gherkins on earth, and the Romany families get our support!' What could be better?

And, Diarikom is helping, too! If you would like to join in with the fun, all you have to do is to draw or paint a gherkin and send it to me. I will be publishing and making a donation to Direkthilfe Roma for every work I receive. And, not only that! Each picture will be printed out and displayed in the VHS in Hietzing, too!

You can either take your pictures directly to the VHS in Hietzing in Vienna, or you can mail them to me at the following address,- diariworld@gmail.com We, of course will be posting them as soon as they arrive.

The VHS Hietzing – www.vhs.at/13-vhs-hietzing.html

For more information concerning Direkthilfe Roma please visit their homepage,- www.direkthilferoma.at

Karli Freund

Karli Freund by Nigel A JAMES 

The Dark Clouds of Hope!

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It was a day just like any other. Karli kissed his wife and son goodbye and set off for work. He was happy; he loved his job and was one of the best carpenters in Vienna! And, with Christmas showing on the horizon he was busy. And that was good so. Christmas always costs money, and Karli needed every cent he could get, and the overtime he had been promised would surely be useful!

But, as it turned out, there was to be no overtime. Within just two very short hours Karli was home once again. He had been put out on the street. His boss had found somebody younger and cheaper. The dark clouds were gathering and Karli was standing right there in the eye of the storm! Would he be able to afford the new train-set he had promised his son? And, what about food? Would Christmas dinner be only stale bread and water?

And then came the searching. Looking for a job wasn't easy. The days went by. The weeks went by, and Christmas was getting closer and closer and closer. And then Karli sat down to think. If he could do it for somebody else, then he could do it for himself. And that was all that was needed.

From that moment on he started being himself once again and things started happening. He found an adequate workshop, and finished and delivered his first complete job just three days before Christmas. He was back, his pride was back, and there was food on his table and a model train for his son! And from that day on, there was only one way to go, and that was forward at speed!

And now? Many years have passed and Karli is getting ready to retire. His son Markus – the little boy of those long ago years – is getting ready to take over the family firm, and Karli's grandson, Markus's son, will surely grow up and carry the flame on. A flourishing family firm that grew out of despair. But, was it really so bad? Looking back, Karli now firmly believes that it was the best Christmas present ever. The day his boss found somebody cheaper! And now, when saying and kissing goodbye to his wife every morning, he knows he will still have a living at the end of each day.

Take a look at Karli's web-site

www.freund-tischlerei.at

Magdalena Pfeifer

Magdalena Pfeifer by Nigel A JAMES

listen to ‘Magdalena Pfeifer -  Not Stopping at Red!  Listen to this Article’ on Audioboo

In one of her works, The artist Magdalena Pfeifer shows the future as how it is not normally seen. In her picture is a car at the traffic lights. The driver has a choice. He can either go straight ahead or turn left for the future. This is not our conventional way of our thinking! When we think of tomorrow, we see that which is in front of us as where we are going. We have neither right nor left. But, for Magdalena it is different! Her ways are her ways!

And the ways she has taken to where she is now have not only been the paths of pattern, design and textiles, but fine and visual arts, too. And, the one thing that they all have in common is involvement. And, sometimes in ways that both shock and surprise.

In one of her videos, Magdalena very successfully draws the audience into a discussion between a father and son as they are driving over a seemingly never ending bridge, and then, just as everyone is expecting a certain conventional end, the film takes an unexpected turn and ends in tears and disaster! Again, not straight on! But Magdalena's latest project is anything other than disaster. And, in order to join in with the fun, one has to know how to count.

It is Painting by Numbers and it's great. It not only brings many of her talents together, but fully involves guests and good friends as well. After hanging a huge canvass on the wall, she then proceeds to project one of her videos onto it. The audience then calls out a number, and Magdalena then applies the corresponding colour to the ever changing picture on the canvass. What follows is spontaneous creativity and its results can only be described as being unlike anything else that has ever been done before! Again a new direction! And all in her studio which is in the heart of Ottakring which Vienna's up and coming new creative centre. And this, too, is a new direction for a district which was, until fairly recently, industry pure.

And, where is Magdalena going next? This is simple. She will be turning left when it is right to do so; she will be going straight ahead when the going is clear; and, she will be turning right when there's nothing else left! And, of course, there is one thing that's perfectly clear, she will not be stopping at red! Signals are not part of her life!

Picture Post

(please click onto picture for full screen image)

Vienna - January 2014

Brunnenmarkt -Vienna - January 2014

Belvedere - Vienna - January 2014

Parliement and Townhall through the Trees  Vienna JAN 2014

Ringstraße - Vienna - January 2014

All pictures by Nigel A JAMES

www.diarieye.blogspot.com

Lucy Nemics

Lucy Nemics whilst studying ideas! Photo by Nigel A JAMES

 Lucy Nemics

A Propeller Powered Dream!

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When Lucy Nemics was young she was young, and, in 1937 whilst at primary school in Vienna she went on a school-trip with a difference. It was exciting, unique, a little bit scary, and an experience that has always stayed with her. It was up in the air, it was fun, and all part of the system.

Air travel was young in those days, and the Viennese city council in their wisdom had decided that these super new silver machines of the sky could be usefully used for more than just getting around in the sky, and, so it was agreed that air-travel should be air-education as well. And that's why, one day in July, Lucy found herself on the way to the airfield!

And she remembers it well. The sky was blue, it was hot and just right for flying. There was a chorus of unstoppable childish excitement on the Post bus that had been hired to take the children out to to Aspern where the airfield was, and the children were dressed in their very best Sunday best for this very special occasion.

And there was the plane. It was a Junkers. It was big, powerful, impressive, solid and, not only waiting to fly, but waiting for the children as well! And then, on board came the taste and feel of the best and most luxurious way to travel. This was the future and every child's dream, and for Lucy and her class it had come true!

And the dream, at first slowly and then after gathering speed took off. The children were thrilled and enjoyed a splendid summer view of Vienna. And, in the half an hour or so that they were up in the air they learned much about their capital city. The city council had been right, a bird's eye view is a great way to learn and lots of fun, too!

But, Lucy remembers the brown paper bag! Before boarding, every child was given one. And it wasn't full of sandwiches – it was empty! It was for emergencies, it was the so-called “just-in-case bag”, and, thankfully nobody needed to use theirs. And Lucy also looks back upon the seats. It wasn't so much because of their size and comfort, but more, because they had no seat belts at-all! In those days they were not even thought about! That was in 1937, the year that Lucy went up in a plane with her class! A ride and a time she will never forget!

Picture Post

This is where hundreds of people used to earn thier

living - Vienna - January 2014

This market still has one more hour before opening!
Vienna - 2014

On the way to school!  A father helping his daughter with

her homework.  She had forgotten to do it the night before!

He was "not ammused".   Vienna - January - 2014

Vienna's famous Ring!  A Friday at 10.am. January 2014

Derelict waiting!  Vienna -January 2013

All photos by Nigel A JAMES

www.diarieye.blogspot.com

Bianca Gadnik

Bianca Gadnik by Nigel A JAMES

Softly New Looking

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There's a certain freshness about someone who's just started out on their journey through life. And, it's even better when the person concerned is able to direct her own individual talent in a direction that speaks only from her. And one such young lady is the Viennese photographer Bianca Gadnik.

Her pictures, in their soft Austrian way contain not just a blend of pure human form, but also the right shades of colour which go from the heights of pure light to the depths of natural black! And, not only that! Her works also fully include the feelings of those in the picture. And, this is her secret! Her pictures are not only unique, but, more importantly, avant-garde, too. And, they have been coming for a very long time!

When she was just six years old her mother gave her a very simple camera. And Bianca did more than just play. Her very early shots were not cheese, they were, instead, clear indicators of the force of creativity that was growing within her. And this was her way, and not the well set path of uniform oneness. And, brushes, too, were part of her route to where she is now.

Being the daughter of the artist Brigitte Gadnik- Jiskra, Bianca's early influences were not those of conventionality, they were instead, paints, colour and paper. And, so it was that her gifts of seeing, retrieving and expression were able to grow and develop and come to fruition as a student of graphic arts. And, it is from art school that has recently graduated as a class A photographer. And, thankfully, her works are not staying hidden!

Starting this week on Tuesday the 21^st of January at 18.30 is an exhibition of Bianca's work at the VHS in Hietzing in Vienna. This exhibition will not only provide a valuable opportunity of seeing some of her work, but also the chance of getting to know her personally. And, once known, she will not be forgotten!

The future is hers, and there's something about her photos that realistically suggests that her style with its Viennese freshness will continue to lead and take others along in its wake. The past has now become now, And what we have is something exciting, a new way of looking that' s cutting with beauty by using that which has always been here. Light, colour, people and focus. New eyes are open, and this is simply the start!

Please see VHS for details!

http://www.vhs.at/13-vhs-hietzing.html

Picture Post

Dawning in Vienna - January 2014

Horses Resting or Waiting!  Vienna January 2014

Town Hall - Vienna  - Jamuary 2014

10 am Shadows - Vienna Jamuary 2014

Crossing the Line - Vienna January - 2014

All photos by Nigel A JAMES

www.diarieye.blogspot.com

The Hochsteinalm

Sabine Ammering - photo by Nigel A JAMES

“Brad'l in der Rein”

Sepp and Sabine Ammering and the Hochsteinalm

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The Austrian mountains are full of surprises, and the best ones of all are the ones reached by ways of expected suspense. It was just after Christmas. We were a small group of 5, and the sometimes hard - and sometimes easy - one hour upward winding trek through the cold winter darkening forest provided just the right feeling of thrill for where we were going. And the magic arrived at a turn in the forest!

By now we had switched on our torches and lamps. The darkness was total, and the going, because of ice under foot was slow and we had to be careful. But then came the lights of a hut! Like welcoming beacons, they were shining out from the darkness and calling us on! And there was our goal, the Hochsteinalm and its hut - and only ten more minutes to go. And, thanks to the trek and the cold mountain air we were hungry. And it was worth every step!

One can only reach the Hochsteinalm by foot, and this is its charm. Being away from the smell and the noise of everyday life it has all that everyone needs. There is the peace of the forest, there is the calm of the silence, and, at the hut there is food! And this is sensational!

Whilst Sepp Ammering the land-lord was busying himself with his guests, his wife Sabina whose mother was a cook before her was creating incredible food in the kitchen. And, that which we chose was sensational. It was a typical Upper-Austrian dish called “Brad'l in der Rein” which roughly translated means pork, potatoe dumplings, and cabbage all roasted together in the same dish in the oven. A dish just right for the fine cosy atmosphere of this hut. Of course, there isn't only roast pork, there are other things too, but, whatever your choice, everything is good, and the Schnaps that round off the evening are just the right thing for the going back down the mountain. And, here, too, there's a choice. If there's enough snow you can either go down by sledge or carefully walk, and, if you're too tired or simply too lazy, there are comfortable rooms to be had, too.

But, of course, there's much more to the Hochsteinalm than just fine mountain food on cold winter nights. It's not only a wonderful place for hiking in summer, it's also home to an assorted menagerie of interesting animals. It has something for everyone and especially for children. For them there's something behind every tree! The Hochsteinalm near Gmunden and Traunkirchen in Upper Austria is a great place to go! Maybe, one day we'll meet on the Alm!

Brad'l in der Rein - by Nigel A JAMES

For more details,- www.hochsteinalm.at

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Picture Post

(for full size -  please click onto picture)

Mountain track with the Traunstein in the backgound.
Salzkammergut - Austria  - January 2014

Cycling Home - Oberweiss - Salzkammergut

Freddy's Farm House near Oberweiss.

Maxi waiting for dinner at the Hochsteinalm!

Hochsteinalm Tradition!

A Sunny High-up!

All pictures by Nigel A  JAMES

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My Sister Vanessa!

A Flower - by Nigel A JAMES

Invisible Treasures

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I've got three sisters, and the one who lives in Devon in England is a patchwork artist, and, the beauty of her pictures is in the simplicity of their making.

To begin with, Vanessa chooses a piece of flowery material and then cuts it up into lots of different sized patches - and then - so as to make a patchwork picture she sews them all back together again! And the result – as you well can imagine- looks amazingly just like the original piece of material did before she cut it up – which of course poses the question: why bother?

But bother she does because it is art – and art – as we all know - has to be seen to be admired, and to be seen it has to be framed - and this is the job of her husband (my brother-in-law) Mick - and each and every time he manages to find just the right shade of wood for each waiting picture. And sometimes, and very rarely, and quite unbelievably, his frames manage to look even better than the pictures do themselves. And that's life! But of course, the moment that everyone loves and looks forward to is the hanging, and this always takes place on a Sunday.

Everyone is there. The children – the grandchildren - the neighbours – friends and whoever else may be passing – and then against a background of good cheer and loaded expectancy the picture is carried in from the garage where Mick has just finished its framing, and then amidst a great hoo-la-laa it is proudly hung on the living room wall. And the compliments continue until the usual awe inspiring magical moment starts magically happening. The picture – like all of my sister's pictures before – starts vanishing away into nothing.

The wall with its almost identical flowery pattern has swallowed the picture alive, and, all that is left is yet another what appears to be empty frame just hanging on the wall – another invisible artistic gem on the wall of invisible treasures – my sister's living room – the flowery Bermuda triangle of Devon. But, there's good news, too! Once every year in the summer, this trap for fine art gives up one or two of its victims for an afternoon trip to the vicarage! An afternoon-out with a difference! But, of course, this story will have to wait in the wings for a not too distant time in the future.

And my other two sisters! They have stories, too -but they're for much, much later – a time that's waiting and still out of sight! 

Albert Gunter

Albert Gunter - from The Daily Mail - December 1952

Flight to the South

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Way-homes on buses are for taking it easy. The stop and start trips allow for the reading of papers, and, if sitting upstairs the view of a London evening on its way into darkness is possibly the best in the world! But, passengers to Dulwich in South London got more than their tickets' worth while riding home for their suppers one late afternoon a long time ago. They not only flew, they made headlines as well!

It was the 30^th of December, the last working day of 1952. Albert Gunter had just steered his number 78 bus onto Tower Bridge and was approaching the centre when it happened. All of a sudden he felt his bus going-up! The arm of the bridge upon which he was driving was no longer pointing ahead - it was rising!!! For a split second it looked as though Albert's bus was about to make history by becoming the first ever London Transport red double-decker to sink without trace in the dark swirling depths of the Thames! But, Albert's thinking was quicker than the currents of the river and he went into action!!

With his foot hard down on the gas he dropped down in gear. He needed speed. It was his only option. There was no other choice. He had passed the point of no return! He had to either fly or sink! And the passengers were praying, and the bus was shaking, and Albert was whispering determined encouragement to the bus, “just a little more speed and all will be fine”. And then came the silence!

Suddenly the shaking stopped! No-one was speaking. They had lost contact with the ground. They were airborne. They were up in the air. The bus was flying the gap and Albert was lining her up for a one-chance landing. And then came the touch down and everyone felt it!

The bus landed with an incredible bang! Seats and passengers were thrown all over the place, but, thankfully no-one was seriously hurt. But the sound of the landing was nothing compared to the passenger's cheering and applause for their “captain” - it could be heard all over London! The best landing a red double-decker London bus had ever made! And the driver?

Albert Gunter was decorated for bravery by the Queen. And this, by-the-way, was another “first”. It was the first ever medal that the new young Queen Elizabeth the Second was to award. A medal not only for bravery, but for saving 60 passengers from a watery death as well! Albert Gunter, Britain’s 1952 unofficial man of the year! A driver, a flyer and a gentleman!

Tower Bridge - by Nigel A JAMES

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A Poem to Smile For!

A Very Happy Christmas to You!

Becky and Hatsie whilst smiling!

by Nigel A JAMES

Smiling!

listen to ‘Smiling - A reason to smile!’ on Audioboo

Smiling is contagious,

You catch it like the ‘flu.

When someone smiled at me today,

I started smiling, too.

I passed around the corner,

And someone saw my grin,

And when he smiled I realized

I’d passed it on to him!

I thought about that smile,

Then realized its worth;

A simple smile – just like mine

Could travel round the earth!

So, if you feel a smile begin,

Don’t leave it undetected,

Let’s start an epidemic quick

And get the world infected.

The Great Escape

The Right Way? - By Nigel A JAMES

The Great Escape

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Last week,  I heard a most remarkable story.  It was all about an escape that was waiting to happen, and, it happened just after  the war!

A fine Viennese lady told me of her brother’s unusual escape from the Americans.  The war had just ended, and, being Austrian he wasn't enjoying his life as prisoner of war in occupied Germany.  All he wanted was home.  But his nearby Austrian home had never been further away! Life in the form of exercise yards, American meals and the same old card games was set to continue.  But then one day and out of the blue his life took a change for the better!

And, it happened in the exercise yard. On his own in a corner, he found that he was standing right next to a door.  At first he thought nothing, but then the temptation to try the handle overtook him, and, to his great surprise he found that the door was unlocked.  He needed no time to think.  Without even looking over his shoulder, he quickly and quietly opened the door and stepped silently out of the camp. Freedom!  All of a sudden, he was on the right side of the wall!  But then?

And then came the biggest surprise of his life! Leaning against the wall was a bike!  And, with only a momentary feeling of guilt, he was up in the saddle and off into the heat of the summer!  And his luck continued until he got home. There were no serious incidents and the people he encountered were only too willing to help him with a drink and something to eat. But, that’s not the end of the story!

He had been home for two weeks.  All was fine.  And it was a Wednesday  and without thinking, he decided to cycle to the village to get one or two things and possibly meet up with a friend.  But where was his bike? It was gone. And this, he believed, was how it should be.  The bike had helped him, and now it was doing the same for somebody else. There are some things that one just cannot plan, and this was definitely one of those things!  Fate, it seems, knows better than we do!

Georg Haslinger

 George Haslinger by Nigel A James

Big Dadai

listen to ‘Georg Haslinger - Big Dadi’ on Audioboo

Georg Haslinger is an artist endifierence! His style and his life which include painting, curating, theatre and much more, too, are mature combinations of styles which lean to both abstract and traditional. And, in order to understand the way that he is and where he is going, a brief understanding of Dadaism is called for!

Dadaism is an artistic movement which started in Zurich during the first world war. Its aims were to demonstrate against all artistic convention by means of its own designs and thinking. This almost dogmatic process included fine arts, applied arts, literature, and practically everything else as well! And, Kurt Switters was the Dadaiist literary giant who influenced George more than most. For, he, too, was a lone star of the world of art and creation. And, what Switters wrote was fantastic in a very wide meaning!

Switters is especially well known for two of his “very open to interpretation” works: An Anna Blume – an absurd love poem, and, his greatest theatrical work of all, The Ursonate, a play which was based upon “poster poems” by Raoul Hausmann. And, its first performance in Switzerland was not only provocative, but also a shocker! And, it's still just as moving as always! And the good news is that its set to continue.

Georg is putting on The Ursonate next June in Vienna. He has put together a highly talented group of people who are already practising and rehearsing in a very dedicated way! And, this conventional unconventional piece is bound to touch all who see it in some way or other! And, its opening line is possibly the best way to wish Georg good luck with his project;

“Fumms bö wö tää zää Uu, pögiff, kwii Ee”

See you at the theatre next June!

I will be providing more details nearer the time, but, if you wish I can send you a mail, too! Please drop me a mail at naj.diariworld@gmail.com