Before-After

I think we all experience what ‘before and after’ means when we are very young. It can be negative or positive. My memories of ‘after’ are mostly positive such as playing the piano, painting and drawing. At Primary School I had two good teachers in both subjects. How can I ever forget Mr. Skull who introduced me to Kathleen Ferrier, Gustav Mahler and Wagner. He was a brilliant pianist and knew my mother very well. She played piano and accordian.

I was taken back to ‘Before and After’ yesterday when the gardeners arrived to give us the early winter clean up. The first thing they always do is have breakfast at the table and seats in the garden. Then they start clean up time as they get different equipment into operation. Yesterday was cleaning up rather than cutting the grass. I took a couple of photos of the garden ‘Before and After’ the clean up. I like the clear contrast of the two.

I also got a nice e-mail from Holger and Gabi who live near Bremen. Holger is a ‘hobby writer’ and added a little story to his e-mail. It is called ‘God jul’. He likes to play with language including ‘platt deutsch’. He said his story is set in an IKEA furniture department and is about a couple in the middle of the pre-Christmas shopping choas. Sounds interesting. Gabi said I looked better without any face hair. Must remember to shave it off before I go there next Spring! Thanks to both of you.