Weekend FOTD 18th May 2024: Rough Hawksbeard

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I have no idea if this is the right name for these flowers, for me they were some sort of dandelion. However, next to our garden we have a wild meadow which grows every year and it has a really good selection of wild flowers. According to Internet these are rough hawksbeard, although internet is not always correct.

Weekend FOTD 18th May 2024: Rough Hawksbeard

FOWC with Fandango: Incorrigible

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I suppose it all began when I moved over to Switzerland at the age of 20 from England. Other languages had always been a fascination, and so I arrived in a country with four official languages, although living in Zürich for the first two years, it was just German, actually Swiss German – they have their own dialect.

I moved over to Solothurn, again German speaking, but just half an hour away from where French was spoken. Eventually I got married (to a Swiss) and had children who became more or less bilinual, although the main spoken language at home was Swiss German.

I then decided to complete my dream of learning Russian. Not an easy language, but I can still write cyrillic and read it. I learnt for 10 years. Somehow on the way I picked up Italian and French I learnt (although not perfect) for five years in my school days. On the way I did 2 years arabic, coiuld read and write it, but it was really very difficult (too many dialiects according to which country it was spoken) and not much is left. I also found a book on learning Tukish in my language cupboard, but that was a short lived episode.

Today I am glad when I am understood, although German and English are now my basic languages.

I seem to have become an incorrigible language student.

FOWC with Fandango: Incorrigible

FOWC with Fandango: Silver

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I always have aluminium foil ready at home, a good silver coloured paper, for wrapping on goods that I want to freeze. As I do not shop every day, I have home delivery once a week from a supermarket, I still like to have fresh bread. I order it at the local baker, have it delivered the next day, fresh from the oven, and I wrap it in aluminium foil. It then goes in the deep freeze and stays fresh until I use it. Naturally it only stays frozen for a week or two, but it is ideal to eat and I always have fresh bread.

FOWC with Fandango: Silver

RDP Thursday: Badge

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“Spe, Labore, Fide” meaning “hope, work, faith”. This was the badge I wore on my hat and my jacket when I went to my grammar school for six years. The school was on the border of the City of London and we had to pass our 11+ examination to get there. That was also combined with an interview with the head misstress, which was more a formality it seemed to me.

The badge looks a bit worse for wear, but I found it in a dark corner of a cupboard and it was once on my jacket, but I managed to separate it and put it away. This was all about 66 years ago and it is a wonder that the badge still exists. The school no longer exists as such, but amalgamated with another school in the region, although a few relics from the days such as the honours board were inaugurated in the new school.

I suppose I can thank the school for the basics of my edudation and I still have a few connections through schoolfriends from the time.

RDP Thursday: Badge