h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Pierce the

Thank you for your very interesting posting.

I had thought that you had told me that your mother had NOT written her memoirs. I obviously misread your posting.

I am pleased that you approve of my father's supposition.

It is a real pity that others do not see that as a reason for the upsurge of nazism.

However, I still maintain that people do not think through the consequences, and if tolerance and compassion were practised in society that tragedies such as wars would be avoided.

Today there is a report of a mother who took the life of herself and her disabled child due to the dreadful bullying and unkindness which the neighbours poured upon the disabled child.

That seems to me to be as unkind and cruel as persecuting people who are of a different creed, skin colour, culture etc.

I shall see if I can find anything about the history of the social democrats in Germany in the last century. Thank you fo giving me that lead.

Christiane
AR80
Saturday 19th Seoptember 2009 8 50 BST

I have always loved listening to dad tell of his early life in the village of Barbridge, near Tarparley.

Some years back, dad and his brother Reg went on a visit to the village. Then they travelled the five miles and stood outside their old primary school. Reg, the older of the two, was telling dad some of his own memories of his time there. A lady came to chat with them, obviously she wanted to know why two strangers were staring and pointing at the school. She was delighted to hear they were 'old boys' and invited them into the school as, luck would have it, the children had recently completed a project about the history of the school.

Dad's eyes shone with pride as he told us about the impromptu talk Uncle Reg gave before the gathered children in the hall. Giving a living history lesson of the area and villages. Naming some of his old playmates - amazed at how many hands were raised by the grandchildren and great-grandchildren as they recognised the names.

After the talk, dad and his brother were shown some old photos and were able to put names to some who were long forgotten, which were then added into the school project.

A couple of hours is all it took to add to the knowledge of the pupils in the school, and two elderly gentleman had a lovely walk down memory lane.

lil x

that was a nice read, lil, thank you for sharing

a few years back i wrote the story of my former wife's grandfather henry schreyer, who died as a german soldier in the battle of crete, greece, in 1941. i took it as an opportunity to write about all the soldiers in the family of my children. some fought with the allied forces, some were german soldiers - none of these were members of the nazi party, far from it!

i was inspired by visiting the german war cemetery on crete. it is placed in beautiful surroundings on the side of one of the hills where some of the worst fightings took place. it is overlooking the airfield where my wife's grandfather lost his life

during my research i found out that my very dear late father-in-law wilhelm had fought as a german soldier at anzio, italy, where my father's brother carl fought as an english soldier. they could have shot each other there!

it was only then that i realized what a strange family my kids have

i forgot:

posting 143 was written saturday 19 september 15.23 BST

Yes, Pierce. Life is so very strange at times

Hi Lil.

What a lovely story.

Your Dad is lucky to have his brother around him still I think that is why I feel so alone. Really my siblings are all in other countries, and there is just my sister who does not travel down here anymore, and my eldest son who manages to squeeze us in, poor guy, when he is allowed to, and otherwise we really are on our own.

Anyway, it is a lovely place to be on our own in. !!

Thw army are having big demonstrations and parades this weekend. My eldest son was supposed to come down for 1 p.m. However he must have got cuaght up in something at home and will only be here at 3 p.m. I am hoping that he and K. will be able to do all the planting for me on my verandah. !!

With much affection

Christiane. and K.

Dear Pierce,

Well, that was really a story of family being all over the different war zones. Extraordinary, !!

But we have both said that was is really such a waste of time, , money and more importantly valuable wonderful young lives that are offered up to goodness knows what for the benefits of goddness knows what. !!

I am interested in the one uncle who was at Anzio in Italy. My late husband who fought with the south African army and was transferred to a Scottish regiment when he when "Up North" to Egypt and Italy was also in Italy - I seem to remember Anzio as well. Good heavens the world is small. !!

Go well,

Christiane.
AR80

dear christiane

i once applied for a job and was invited to an interview

after talking about the job for a while the elderly interviewer said "you have a very uncommon name. is there any chance that you are related to the carl i fought with in the british army?"

turned out he had volunteered to join the british army just like my uncle.

i had to tell him yes - but that my uncle had passed away years ago, just like my father and two other siblings. all of them died of cancer before anyone of them turned 55

small world? oh yes



ps: i have been thinking of translating the article i wrote about the soldiers in my children's family and post it here one day. but i don't seem to have the time for it just now

You're allowed to have more than one family, Christiane. The first is the one you were born into. The other is the group of friends and soul mates that you meet on your journey through life. All of us are kin, if distant kin.

I went to see the film "Inglorious Basterds," and winced a little at the scenes where they talked about killing Germans. It's bad enough that the Nazi Party was into killing Jewish people, but do two wrongs make a right?

The political situation in Europe on the eve of World War I was untenable. I don't know if it could have been straightened out without a war, though I can't think of any peacful way it could have been done. The Armistice of 1918 contained the seeds of the *next* war, which was many times more damaging than the first one. Someday, when I have more time for reading, I'm going to try to read histories of the period 1885-1913 to get a clearer idea of what happened that made people hate each other so much. Chances are, the British leaders of the time will be found to have been involved in pushing things to the brink.

Aah, dear Christiane,

Dad was one of 13 siblings, only 3 of them girls.

They had a strict upbringing and all of them went on to either serve in the forces, police or other form of security employment.

Now they are reduced to 1 girl and just 4 boys. Sadly Uncle Reg left us several years ago and is greatly missed


lil xxx

Very dear Pierce the

Please do try and find the time to translate that article. we would all love to read it.

Amazing about your Uncle Carl.. My goodness they all died incredibly young - and all from Ca. That is quite extraordinary. Is there some sort of common denominator - like some sort of gene.?

We have a chronic mental illness in the family. Very deibilitating which ruins ones life. My eldest brother is a psychiatrist, my second brother had schizophrenia, and now it is in my family as well. However, knowledge is such a valuable gift, and I feel that although I find it devastating, the fact that I have a beloved son who has inherited the gene, does make it possible to bear even if the rest of the family have no insight into the illness.

Do think about it and take care, !!

with all good wishes,

Christiane.
AR80
Monday 21st September, 2009 2 45 BST

Very dear Paul H,

Thank you so much for your words of comfott. I thought about them hard yesterday when I was being given a very hard time. It is so very sad.

anyway, thank gooddess for my h2g2 family. I have already said that I really love this website and feel that it is my family, each time something dire happens I come rushing back to find comfort and friendly s and I am never disappointedl DNA really ihtroduced a wonderful "spirit" and ambience into this website. Or do you think it is the whole esprit de corps. something special does make it tick. I know that I have always found courage and affection and understanding on this website.

There is so much for you to do next year when you reitre, You will be wishing that you could go back to work in order to live a mor relaxed life.!!

You do see a lot of odd films. !! I very very seldom go to the cinema. I do not know why. It always seems such an artificial life. There are only a very few films that I even remember. !!

I agree with you about films that pick on one or another point. Howev3er, like I have learnt a lot obout !man's inhumanity to man! - I wish I knew who first said that - one must also realise that there are sadly still injustices and much sadness in the world.

WS has just told me about badgers and how badly they are treated, I never knew a thing about that,

Then I started thnking about all the cruelty to other animals and of course children.

Oh dear, It is difficult to get on top of things and try and be happy. But I really do think that by contributing to charities that extist to stamp out injustice and ihjumanity there is something one can still do ever if one is living a very isolated life in a wheelchair,
11


With much affection part of my vast new family. !!
Christiane
AR80

Monday 21st September, 2009 15.00 BST

21/09/09 21/50 BST
Dearest Lil,

My goodness four out if 13, Byt what a large family. He must have many happy memories.

I hope we are slowly coming out of the rather unhappy time we have had over the last two weeks. Thank goodness it seems as if when one door closes another is slowly winched open. Today I had an email (RL) from an organisation that has accepted my offer to become involved and the area is the one where my darling son has fallen ill. So honestly, it just shows that one just never lose hope.

With a great deal of affection

Christiane.
AR 80

I'm reading a book called "The survivors club," by Ben Sherwood. The author gives anecdotes about people who have survived various types of ordeals. You are definitely a survivor! I'm not giving up hope for you ever!

(The chapter I'm on at the moment is the one about the 55-year-old children's librarian who is rushing to a meeting of her knitting club. She stumbles on the steps and falls forward. One of her knitting needles lodges in her heart, puncturing it. She has the presence of mind to insist on calling 911 and letting the paramedics get her safely to the hospital. Surgery to remove the needle was successful, but in the process of screening her, the doctors found a breast tumor. She reasoned this way: "I didn't die from the knitting needle, so I'm not going to die from the cancer.")

Think about all the things that you have come through, and how you're still moving forward. Keep at it, my dear!

Dear

How'zat?

Cricketing term for being caught out at the wicket.!!

Go well
CME
AR80

21/09/09 22.30 BST

Oh, I'm just babbling about some book that I've read. ,blush>

Dear Christiane,

All the boys tended to congregate with those nearest their own age. Dad was closest to Reg, Norman and Raymond, although I have extremely fond memories of Uncle Richard who was much older than Dad.

love,

lil xx

Lil, was your father one of the younger ones, then?

you are right, christiane, hootoo is a nice place to be when other places are not

22. september 21:21 BST