My Daily Banana

Highland Banana

Photo of the day:

Another well kept Thatched farm houe,
it dates back to about 1800

Nice touch with the flowers.
See the pantry built below in a half cellar?

Word of the day:

Euphoric

A feeling of great happiness

German: euphorisch

Name of the day:

Eric

Comes from the Danish name Eiríkr and means ruler

Event of the day:

11th May 1985

(this is something new to me)

Bradford City Stadium Fire:

It was a third league match, Bradford City against Lincoln City. Bradford City was to receive the Third League Cup and therefore the stadium was sold out, there had never been such a large crowd in the Valley Parade Stadium before.

The main tribune of the Valley Parade stadium was dated back to 1903 and was condemned and due to be demolished, under the seats the debris was piling high. At 3:40 pm the television-reporter announced in alarm, that a small fire had been sighted. Within four minutes the wind ignited it to a major fire, engulfing the whole tribune. Panic struck home and the crowd fled, trampling many of the still seated spectators. Fifty-six spectators died and at least two hundred and sixty-five were injured.

After this tragedy the British stadium standards were changed, all wooden roof constructions were forbidden.

Memorial to remember the casualties of the fire

The new Valley Parade Stadium

Birthday of the day:

11th May 1904

in Figueres, Spain

Died 23rd January 1989

in Fifueres, Spain

Salvador Dali

Surrealist painter, sculptor and performer.

I loved his melting clocks. There’s one story that comes to mind when I hear his name: Salvador arrived at an exhibition in his Rolls Royce, the door was opened but instead of Dali stepping out, cabbages spilled out of the car. The car was stuffed to the limit with heads of white cabbage and Dali hid underneath. Not a very dramatical scene but it shows what a childish imagination Dali managed to keep and show throughout his life; whereas I lost it when I grew up.

When I was a tripper, I was fascinated by his paintings, they tell so many stories grotesque, fierce, loving and sometimes mellow. I could explore a painting for hours.

Here's a collection of perfume bottles we collected.
They are formed after the painting:
Apparition-of-the-Face-of-Aphrodite 

Apparition-of-the-Face-of-Aphrodite

Another Birthday of the day:

11th May 1941

in Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne, England

Eric Burdon

Singer of the Animals! Who doesn’t know the hit where he sings:

 “My Mother was a tailor,

She sewed my new blue jeans,

My Father was a gambling man,

Down in New Orleans”

Of course it’s “the House of the Rising Sun”

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x15dmey_the-animals-house-of-the-rising-sun-1964_music

Died on this day:

11th May 1981

in Miami, Florida, United States

Born 6th February 1945

in Nine Mile, Saint Ann, Jamaica

Bob Marley

Jamaican reggae singer and song writer. He or should I say his inheritors are the third of the top earners (US$18 million) after Michael Jackson (US$160 million) and Elvis Presley (US$55 million).

The ironic thing about Bob Marley’s death is his vanity. Bob had skin cancer, the carcinoma started on his foot but he refused treatment; the radioactive/chemo therapy could have caused baldness. He didn’t want to lose his dreadlocks.

Is that possible? Had he never heard of wigs? What a waste!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGqrvn3q1oo

Cycle ride of the day:

Today we, Heike and I are looking after our grandchildren Fentje and Martje. Heike went straight there in the car and I did round on the bicycle with a detour that landed me at Kirsty’s house. The three girls were playing quietly with plastercine at the kitchen table, but when I arrived all hell let loose, the two little ones were so happy to see me. Well the first moment was great, such a greeting I thought “nice, but now you can cool down again” (I was knackered from cycling and needed a rest first). The only thing is kids don’t cool down immediately so there was nothing for me to do other than grit my teeth and bare it. I did and a couple of minutes later the euphoric feelings had simmered down.

Two wild ones

 

and two new friends

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/496821660

Bye, see you all tomorrow. Have a good day

My Daily Banana

Nosey Banana

 

 

Photo of the day:

There are still some around

 

 

Word of the day:

Inaugurate

Introduced to, to begin (Tony Blaire was inaugurated on the 2 nd May 1997)

German: einführen, einweihen

Tony Blair New Labour Party

 

Name of the day:

Anthony

English form of the Roman name Antonius meaning highly praiseworthy, could also come from the Greek anthos meaning flower.

Event of the day:

10th May 1994

Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president

Nelson Mandela
 First Black president of South Africa

Well that took a long time, until then a black country and a white leader. How could that last?

 

South African Apartheid

Here’s a poem that Mama once gave to me, it’s cut out of an Australian newspaper and was written by the most famous poet Anenymous. It has nothing to do with Mandela but it fits to the old Apartheid ruled South Africa (and America, and Australia and everywhere where the right wing whites breed)

Dear White Fella:

Couple of things you ought to know

Firstly,

When I am born, I’m black

When I grow up, I’m black

When I get sick, I’m black

When I go out ina sun, I’m black

When I’m cold, I’m black

And when I get scared, gee I’m black

When I die, I’m still black…

But you, white fella…

When you born, you pink

When you grow up, you white

When you get sick, you green

When you go out ina sun, you red

When you get cold, you go blue

When you get scared, you yellow

And when you die, you purple…

And you have the cheek to call me colored!

 

Birthday of the day:

10th May 1955

Mark David Chapman

The murder of John, may he rot in his cell.

Mug Shot Mark Chapman

Asking for an autogram

John as we knew him

 

On the 8th December 1980 he waited for John and Yoko on their way home to the Dakota House and shot him. He shot five times, four bullets landed in John’s back. What a waste? He killed one of the world’s best.

On 24th August 1981 he was sentenced to twenty-one years imprisonment for second degree murder. Today thirty-two years later he is still imprisoned, his next parole appeal is in 2014, I hope he stays there until he dies.

Died on this day:

10th May 2012

Carroll Shelby

Shelby in young years

Shelby designed and constructed the American muscle car: the Shelby G.T. 350 a modified Ford Mustang. He bought the cars from Ford and modified them with a heavier axle from the Ford Galaxie, stronger rear drum brakes, disc brakes on the front axle and a souped up engine. The car was not easy to drive then it was built for the racetrack. In later years Ford took over the manufacture of the Shelby Mustang and softened it up for road users.

Shelby G.T. 350 made for the racetrack

In the early sixties he also imported the British AC Cobra into America, but instead of the Ford Zephyr six cylinder 2.6 litre motor he had an eight cylinder Ford 4.3 litre motor built into the chassis.

 

AC Cobra modified by Schelby

Cycle ride of the day:

Between rainfalls I rode my cycle today. It was wet so I rode my trusty mule or cart horse, the Focus Jarifa. You will all know of the bicycle because of my dreary report of it yesterday. Well for the weather today it was perfect, wet, windy (south-west five to six Beaufort) and horrible. I wasn’t as fast as usual but I got the twenty-five kilometres behind me in an hour and six minutes. Fast enough for a “sit up and beg” bicycle.

The photo of the haulage preparation was supposed to be posted yesterday, but as I first shot it last evening I’m publishing it today. The other photo is of another fantastically painted transformer station in Risum-Lindholm. There seem to be four, I’ll publish all four in a future blog.

Road prepared for the heavy haulage

Transformer Station in Risum-Lindholm;
painted as to be a garage, it is stood next to Autohaus Bunge

 

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/496120927

 

Bye, see you all tomorrow. Have a good day

My Daily Banana

Joint Smoking Banana

 

Photo of the day:

Heike and Martje

 

Word of the day:

 

 

cold turkey

the abrupt stoppage of alcohol and drug abuse resulting in fever, sickness, cramp

German: kalter Enzug

 

Name of the day:

 

 

Raymond

From the Germanic name Raginmund, a double name ragin meaning “advice” and mund meaning “protector”

 

 

 

Event of the day:

 

 

9th May 1972

The day I arrived in Germany.

As you’ll know the second family emigrated to Western Australia early 1972. I remember the tears falling on the platform of St. Marks Station when the train pulled away. Well, that was the end of me, no work, money that lasted from Thursday (dole day) till Monday (if I was lucky). After collecting my dole money my first trip was to the market where I bought spuds, onions, carrots and suchlike, enough for a big pot of soup (it had to last a week). The rest of the money was for the rent, beer and drugs.

Raymond at nineteen, a soft rebel

In March or April my grandparents from Germany contacted me and invited me to live with them. Yes, Yes! I remembered the good times I had as a child and youth over there on summer holiday. So on the eighth of May 1972 I said goodbye to Lincoln and the wild life of drugs.

On the ninth I arrived in Germany, happily greeted by my grandparents and Aunty Karla. They thought “Here comes the sweet, ever willing to help lad from a couple of years ago”, what they got was a long haired, extremely ill (asthma), rebellious junkie.

Wow, that was a shock, for them and for me.

Raymond at twenty, the hairs still longish,
but the body and mind are working

It didn’t take two weeks and I landed in hospital, I had the worst asthma attack of my life or should I say nearly death. It was the result of fresh sea air against Lincoln’s heavy industrial air, no drugs and the culture shock. After two months of cold turkey and regenerating, I came out as the nice lad Oma and Opa wanted. Since then I hardly know what asthma is, my lungs are stronger than the average and I don’t go into drugs anymore, I even gave up drinking ten years ago.

Raymond 1977, between a divorce and meeting Heike

 

 

Another much more important,

Event of the Day:

 

 

9^th May 1092

Lincoln Cathedral was consecrated (dedicated to its religious purpose)

What would Lincoln be without this monumental building? The greatest cathedral in Great Britain

It was between 1311 and 1548 the tallest building, worldwide. The spire on the central tower reached a height of 160 metres (525 feet). During a strong storm the spire was blown over in 1548, the central tower was then 83 metres (271 feet). The two west tower spires were removed 1720 due to structural problems.

A 17th century print from the Cathedral
 notice it still has spires

A model showing the cathedral with central and west tower spires
(I nicked the photo from The Lincolnite:)
http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2013/11/when-lincoln-cathedral-was-the-tallest-building-in-the-world/

The Cathedral as we know it

 

 

Birthday of the day:

 

 

9th May 1920

In Newbury, Berkshire, England

 

 

Richard Adams

 

 

Richard Adams

Author, he wrote “Watership Down”, “Shardik” and “The Plague Dogs” (two dogs break out of a laboratory; one has a metal cap where his crown is supposed to be. It’s a story of their adventures keeping free. What’s so interesting about the book is that the dogs speak to one another in a Lancaster accent. Even as a Brit it was hard to understand, but well worth reading). Watership Down you will know from the cartoon which came out in 1979, the title song “Bright Eyes” was sung by Art Garfunkel.

Watership Down

a very good book,
The Plague Dogs







Here’s the trailer to the film “Watership Down”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji-LqBskNyE

and “Bright Eyes” performed by Art Garfunkel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGyTGP5q_q4

 

 

Died on this day:

 

 

9th May 1976

In Stammheim Prison, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Born 7^th October 1934

In Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany

 

 

Ulrike Meinhof

 

 

Ulrike Meinhof

She was the second leader of the Baader, Meinhof Group and committed suicide by hanging herself on this day 1976. Her companions Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe followed suit and committed suicide on 18th October that same year.

The arrest of Ulrike Meinhof

The Baader Meinhof Group also called themselves the RAF (Roter Armee Fraktion). In the seventies they committed acts of terror throughout Germany, bombing and assassinating bankers and politicians.

Mugshots of the Baader-Meinhof Group

 

 

Cycle ride of the day:

 

 

The roads and embankments are ready for the big haul. All along the Risum road corners have been widened, road islands have been flattened, lamp posts have been leaned over and traffic lights have been removed. This week, during the night hours the replacement wind generators are being hauled from Dagebüll harbour to the new wind farm. It’s done in the wee hours of the morning, pity I wouldn’t mind watching the monster trucks maneuvering through the countryside and village.

Here’s a couple of uninteresting photos of a covered field adjacent to one of the junctions:

All covered up ,ready and waiting

The lorries with their monster loads need room

The sign is now behind the fence

 

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/495540246

 

 

Bikes Gallour:

 

 

How many bicycles can you see in this picture? They all belong to me and at some time of the year serve their purpose. There’s the Focus Jarifa on the right, it’s a hybrid you could also say it’s my cart horse. I bought it in 2007 and have cycled at least fifty-thousand kilometres on it. All that is original on the bicycle is the frame. The wheels have been changed numerously, they tend to wear through or get bent. It didn’t brake well enough so I changed from v-brakes to hydraulic brakes. And many more changes have been made, the bicycle is worth double the price that it cost new.

Next bicycle next week, I'm longing to bore you.

It's a learning process: how to write an interesting tale about nothing. That's what the tried to teach us at school, I remember once the English teacher gave me the title "The Parson's Nose" to write an essay about.

This is my man's room!

 

 

Bye, see you all tomorrow. Have a good day :-)