Dying of exposure and isolation in the desert

 Well , if not really ..... nearly dying and it sure feels like a dead end when it happens to you  .


This post is about the desperate loneliness we can feel when we can't speak the language.
Why haven't those Germans learnt to speak English. 

It's so frustrating. You can put a lot of energy into trying to engage with people and all you get is blank faces. Worse than that the complete foreigners look at you like they are thinking " noisy and loud Americans" 

Cruising up the Danube 
My Jimmy his experience when travelling and council to learn the language ( pages he noted ) his chatter and focus , avoiding the hobby horse , 
The lack of smiles and the surprise smile  of just one greeting Jon Dobri in Poland The grief of being in East Germany for so long 

How lovely to see a smile 




Willy the Frenchman from New Caledonia and my incapacity when he and charismatic Rosa visited .
I  was at a loss as though nothing in our busy house interested  him . Not true because me opening the door for the cat  put a smile on his face .
Everything else for me that day is a struggle and his sis , the ambassador for all things good needed someone as brilliant as my Chris to talk to -  carrying me for the whole day and some relief cause boys like doing things and he found the chainsaw . I haven't been as exhausted for years.  Supervising someone you are paying for 3 hrs takes it out of me. 
More later 


A later post will deal with the wonder of really getting lost and uncomfortable in Australia's  deserts- with cousin Tim . 
( july 2025 )   

Don't ever be seen dead in a church

Here I will explore the grand paradoxes that surround our brief times in these buildings. 
Probably the greatest paradox is that most people visit them when they are dead ,
This happens both when they go as tourists (and there is no one singing or playing in them) or
at the end or beginning of life .Good maybe to see and stand in but not better blessed ( Furphy )

Many young people have convinced themselves to not get married in one. 
Many old people too are deciding not to meet in one when they die. There are many reasons for that and the main one is probably that for many now this place is no sacred meeting place that they know of feel at home in.

Churches the world over are very beautiful . As burnt Notre Dame proves, people want them to stay put and be restored but . like some old nagging parent, they don't want them to say anything.    Sadly this means that increasingly Westerner's die without the company of the hosts, the history and music poetry and lingering longer for and with others who look beyond death and this vale of tears for the comfort it clearly provides for many still . Life however beautiful is never complete and as God takes away what we treasure and pleasure here we can miss the point that grumpy old persons can be lifted from their chairs by a good dose of being there and singing. 
BBC Songs of Praise .benmatonmusic

And there is always  too,  a new song  being sung ---- if you listen and study carefully 

A Focus on Ecological Economies of Europe

 in drfat

A focus on food production - then and now

Fascinating Landscapes of Europe

Fascinating landscape features of Britian

Our adventure on the Orient Express

 The romance of Romania