Hausfrau Róisín has a serious moment.

My blog postings tend to be light and fluffy; happy pictures being the main theme. That is not an accident; I figure most readers have enough care and distractions in their own lives that they don´t need more from this blog!  If readers do need more misery in their lives, they can find it elsewhere. - But not here.

Today I am making an exception.  I am inclining myself to an observation, brought on by two recent events. 

The observation: Sometimes we busy ourselves so much with world concerns today, and we forget about the things that did get sorted out yesterday,  big big global problems. Huge problems: The Black Death, the Spanish Flu; T.B. even measles and much much more. And then on to the horrendous wars and political dramas that effected the whole world the last three of four centuries or so. 

 

We forget, because these matters are no longer a concern. This is not a good thing; I think one can lose perspective if we focus on the problems of the now and not give at least some consideration to solutions found in the past. Achievements of the past can give us courage for the now and hope for the future.

And so I present two situations in my world where the past has evolved into the present.

And wonderfully so.

1) Dylen´s Hill.

Attached photo is of self and friends hanging around very cool and relaxed in the sun on Dylen´s Hill. (Fashion Police: Please avert eyes.)  This hill is not to be confused with the hill where Bob use to practice his guitar as a young fellah; this is Dylen´s Hill and it is in the Czech Republic.  Dylen´s Hill was in fact part of the Iron Curtain.

Where I am sitting and the area in the photo below was part of no man´s land. Before 1989, we would have been shot and killed sitting there. More accurately, we would have been shot and killed before we actually got this close to the radio station seen behind us in the photo.

The radio masks etc now used for local radio stations were once part of the Czech Communist Regime ´ears´ to eavesdrop on West Germany.  Romeo H´s cousin said, the DDR had its own system to eavesdrop as did the Western Powers. All three regimes eavesdropping on each other. All three radio radio masks were in sight of each other. And all three regimes were aware what the other was at. 

Continuing: The photo below of self before the gates with the dogs:  - The entrance to this radio zone.

The area would have been very heavily guarded two decades ago. The old dogs no doubt belonged to the gardener inside who was cutting the grass, and not there for more sinister reasons. As I stood there, there were mountain bikers from the Czech Republic and the German Republic cycling by out of scene.

All wonderfully wonderfully happy normal things to be enjoying of a Saturday that no one could have imagined happening here some some 21 odd years ago. 

 

The Iron Curtain came down, it got sorted. Hooray.  

2) Hozier Singing at Night in an Empty Croke Park Stadium. 

 

Another event, closer to home for me, was the world class Irish singer Hozier´s rendition of Simon and Garfunkel´s ´Bridge over Troubled Water´ as seen on RTE Television last Saturday night. The song was preformed to acknowledge the grief of those in Ireland who lost someone in the last three months or so, and whose funeral the friends and extended families could not attend because of Covid-19 restrictions.

The event was staged in Croke Park Stadium which is in a very busy area of Dublin City. The stadium can hold up to 80,000 people. The event was superbly staged; Hozier sang in an empty stadium with only about 15 musicians contributing orchestral back up. It was haunting. It was beautiful. It was perfect. See for yourself. 

 

https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2020/0626/1149944-hozier-wows-viewers-with-stunning-croker-performance/

So I watched the clip, in serious ´goose pimple mode´about four times before it sort of came to me.

A hundred years ago this year, on 21st of November 1920, during the Irish War of Independence, 45 people were murdered in Dublin City.  Fourteen of them in Croke Park. It was not a good time in Ireland, and not a glorious moment for either side. But the memory of those deaths in Croke Park Stadium a 100 years ago, left a mark on the combined Irish psyche.  (More info. on this event can be found on the internet.) 

 

Since that time 100 years ago, great hurling and football and indeed rugby games have been played in Croke Park. World class games. A life time of happy memories for millions. Far from the grief and pain - and mistakes, of the past. 

 

And now you have Hozier in Croak Park Stadium singing his heart out to offer solace to the grieving, not to cause grief. 

 

And that is good so. 

 

So to you and the other million regular readers of my blog, (give or take 999,995), I know you and the rest of the world are very concerned about Covid-19 and with good reason. Then there is reason to concern one´s self with the Donald Tweeting away other there and him all palsy walsy with Mr. Duda duda-day back up in Poland, and what with Putin plugging himself all over the place and making himself an eternal president in a democratic election. And Hungary´s Orban being somewhat less than urbane in his carry on. And let us not forget Mr. Handsome in North Korea doing whatever he is doing these days. And we won´t even touch on China, the Middle East or Africa. All genuine concerns.

That said, forgetting the successes of the past means you become lost and mired in the problems of the now. You are as a result, in my opinion, less likely to focus on solutions in the present nor be hopeful for a better way forward in the future. For yourself and the world you live in.

To make my case: Who among you reading this knows about the Bay of Pigs?

And no, it is not an inlet in West Kerry where pigs swim with Fungi the Dolphin.

  

But most of you don´t know about it - because it got sorted and so it is longer a concern. But the Bay of Pigs could have led to World War III, and that is not me saying that to be a tad dramatic - it was John F. Kennedy that said that. 

 

So go on, go and google the Bay of Pigs, and then consider our human past and ponder on our ability to sort things out, even sometimes to make good things happen too. Where there is life, there IS hope. Do give consideration to the hope. 

And there IS much reason for hope; I have a lot of hope in the younger generations today; many seem not only to want to ´do better for the world´ but thanks to technology they have the means to move more in that direction too.

And I am sure I am not the only one to see young people the world over connect more in the present, sharing with each other commonalities of music, dance, visuals, word.  And experience.

For example, check out Blackpink, a South Korean girl bank.  It is clear to see that Blackpink have taken the English language, influences of American street culture, and no doubt a touch of Bollywood too and the have made them their very Korean own.  While one might likely concur that neither Beyoncé nor Janet Jackson would need to have concerns about choreographical challenges from the East, Blackpink´s song ´How You Like That´ and the staging of same is  great. Happy. Fun. Wonderful.  

And not only that: The group earned a  Guinness World Record last Friday for the number of clicks  on YouTube for their new video - 86.3 million clicks in 24 hours! And there they are with all their clothes on and still 86.3 million clicks!  In only 24 hours!   Do consider: S. Korea has a population of 51 million or so, so even if you add all their cousins and the aunties and the uncles in other countries who clicked, one could safely deduce, it is more than the locals are enjoying `How You Like That`

https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Music/2020/06/26/Blackpink-returns-with-How-You-Like-That-music-video/2951593189183/?ur3=1

                                                      

Happy Day to you! 

Hausfrau Róisín. 

Note: To anyone who suggests that during the outstanding rendition of ´Bridge over Troubled Water´ the writer of this blog was contemplating Hozier´s hair genes, and considering what women the world over would n´t do to have those hair follicles while further contemplating that no man at the age of 30 has a right to such great hair - especially an Irish man, and an Irish man not know to have a hint of African or Spanish blood in his veins at that. 

Well to such suggestions that this blog writer thought such thoughts, all I can say is: Fake News! That is my story and I am sticking to it.

Stiftland - the most exciting tourist destination you never heard of!

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I tell you, they have it all in Stiftland - the biggest tourist destination you never heard of!

Stiftland is reeking with history: modern, historical, pre-history.  And some vital geographical features too.  Then there are architechtural gems strewn all over the countryside.  And the food. -  To break your diet for!

I am telling you - the place could compete with Rome, Paris  or London for all there is to do and see there for your two weeks holidays.   Ok. ok. so maybe a teeny tiny bit lacking on a few world class  Impressionist  paintings.  But after that they have it all in Stiftland!

Stiftland, about the size of Co. Kilkenny, is situated in  a sort of tri-angle area in West Germany, as it was before the Iron Curtain came down, the Czech-Republic, and the DDR,  former Communist East Germany.
https://www.ferienregion-stiftland.de/was-leib-seele-gut-tut/sakrales-erleben/dreifaltigkeitskirche-kappl/

So we visited Romeo H´s cousins last week; they live near a small town called Waldsassen in an area called Stifland.

It is a quite bucolic region, and at the same time a prosperous and productive area too; like Germans most everywhere, the Germans here work hard as well.  Main income sources are a building company of 500 employees, mineral water bottling.  And the production of what is considered the best Lebkuchen in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD:   Indeed you can buy some yourself to check it out!
https://www.lebkuchen-rosner.de/shop.

Attached are a few photos of some of the places that Karin X and Andreas X brought us too, that were of particluar interest to me.

1) Attached photos of self sitting on a rock in part of what was the Iron Curtain. The hill is called Dylen´s Hill. The radios masks etc now used for local radio stations were part of the Czech Communist Regime ´ears´to eversdrop on West Germany.  Herbert´s  cousin said, the DDR had its own system to eversdrop as did the Western Powers. All evesdropping on each other and all the radio masks were in sight of each other.

Before 1989, we would have been shot and killed sitting here. Problably killed before we actually got this close to the radion station.

2) The photo of me before the gates with the dogs:

This was obviously the entrance to this zone. The area would have been very heavily guarded two decades ago. As I stood there there were mountain bikers from the Czech Republic and the German republic cycling by out of scene. The old dogs no doubt belonged to the gardener inside who was cutting the grass, and not there for more sinster reasons.

... And all this just down the way from where the King and Kaiser himself decided was the middle point in Europe...

Sometimes when we busy ourselves with world concerns today; we forget about the good stuff that did get sorted out,simply because it is no longer a concern now. I think that is not a good thing.

God bless stay safe.

Now lads I have to admit, the last two weeks ran away on me, so I am doing a ´quickie´from here on in.    It is times like this I am in particular awe of journalists who can ´do 1500  words´or so for tomorrows papers.  HOW do they do it!  

Anyways...

Here is self doing my yoga at exactly 50o latitude.  öö

Yep there in the field it is exactly 50o on the stones laid in a row.   Cool or what!

And then beautiful churches all over the place.... I tell you, Stiftland would give Rome a run for the money!

Well I have to leave it at that, and I have not even got into the half of it!

To get the full scoop on Stilftland, you will just have to go there yourself!


Yes, Paris, Rome, London, take note.  Stiftland is a´ comen!


And they have something there you won´t find in many metropolises ----

.. happy Cows!


Happy Day to you all!