May 2020 – Clive and Eva La Pensée

She Knew

Because we were not blood related, I listened. Because I am British, she thought she owed an explanation. I knew she grew up near Königsberg, then Germany’s most eastern city, now called Kaliningrad, now Russia’s most westerly. I knew she was married for 2 weeks before her husband fell, that she conceived a daughter inContinue reading “She Knew”

Flash Fiction 1 – Sweet Dementia

The key slid in the lock with its usual slight resistance – or did it? Wasn’t there a different feel to his apartment door? How would he be able to decide that? He knew he imagined things and then often had to admit they were unverifiable. That was to be expected at his age, butContinue reading “Flash Fiction 1 – Sweet Dementia”

Flash Fiction 2 – Sweet Nostalgia

My dad asked me to take him to France, one last time, to buy his cigars. ‘They are cheaper in Calais,’ he assured me. Long grey waves, white topped, sway us. The captain says, ‘Force 7 Beaufort,’ in a matter-of-fact way. ‘It won’t be moved,’ I assure my dad. ‘65000 tons, rock solid and rockContinue reading “Flash Fiction 2 – Sweet Nostalgia”

Gift – Or imagining the dark side.

We are writers. Imagination is our most powerful gift. Imagine the impossible – being a Spitfire pilot in a dogfight, being your sister, especially if you don’t have a sister. Then you have to imagine her brother or sister, too, who isn’t you. And you can safely imagine your dark side. Crime writers imagine theContinue reading “Gift – Or imagining the dark side.”

Homebrew Spin-off

Glasses in Berlin You think you brew for the delight of that first taste of a special beer. That’s how it all starts, but 20 years later I discovered historic beer glasses, each with its own story to tell. Today’s collection was a morning’s work in the Frankfurter Allee in the old east Berlin. Locally,Continue reading “Homebrew Spin-off”

Beer, Wine – Woodruff and Maibowle

Waiting for Woodruff Maibowle is a German speciality, once common in the UK, too. With that heritage, it must be (or once have been) present in the US. I pick woodruff in April and tie it in bundles, which are hung in a shady space to dry. As they dry, they give off an adorableContinue reading “Beer, Wine – Woodruff and Maibowle”

Porter, Stout, Brown Beers, Entire Butts

No more soggy pages, when you employ your PC, Mac, iPad or iPhone, tablet or Android, in the brewery – oh, and no pages to flip shut on you either. It won’t mist up as the screen is always slightly warmer than ambient. Along with its companion on Pale Ale Brewing, this text gives youContinue reading “Porter, Stout, Brown Beers, Entire Butts”

Berlin Life 2

I walk through the midday Alt-Tempelhof heat and cross the four-lane Tempelhofer Damm to get to the discounter supermarket. I should go to the Turkish grocer on my way, because I know that the discounter will make me buy a sack of onions, most of which I won’t be able to use. I will leaveContinue reading “Berlin Life 2”