A letter to Des Bishop, an Irish man world famous in China on matters pertaining to love and marriage.

I sent the letter via Facebook to comedian Des Bishop.  I am posting a copy here, in the hopes that one of my (almost sort of) huge fan base, may have an ´in´with the aforementioned Mr. Bishop or, with Ms. Ruo Hong mentioned in the letter below.  

Dear Des,
I am writing to ask if you can help me find my friend Xinyu in China with whom I studied in Germany in 2009.  And for good romantic reason.

Seeing as you are world famous in China on matters of love and marriage I am turning to you for help.  Could I ask that you call on all use your legions of contacts in high places in China to connect with radio D.J. Ms. Ruo Hong?

Ms. Ruo Hong along with groom, detective writer Mr. Zhao Yan, honeymooned in Ireland in 2012.  So straight away we have a love connection going on. 

 

With the help of Ms. Catherine Whelan from the Irish Tourist Board, I tried to connect with the well known radio personality in China.   Clearly Ms. Whelan is not as powerfully connected in China as I know you are! 

 I am trying to locate my young Chinese friend Xinyu with whom I studied German in 2009 for, as I said, good romantic reason.

Although she was young enough to be my grandchild, we became wonderful friends in our shared aim of learning German here in Konstanz in Germany.  That was back in 2008-9.   I married later in life.  And few were as happy for me as the young Xinyu.   At our wedding in September 2009, she was a special guest. 

At the end of 2009 she went back to China and I have heard no more. I would LOVE to re-connect with her.   And more, I would love through you, Ms. Hong et al to send Xinyu a copy of our wedding album which we had made especially for her.    Herbert and I would very much like her to have the wedding album.

 

I know Xinyu´s father was a fisher man.  I believe they lived on the coast of the Bohai Sea – which I know leaves it a bit open.

So Des, you being the world famous ´man of romance’ in China... 

YOUR MISSION SHOULD YOU DECIDE TO ACCEPT IT IS: 

With the assistance of Radio D.J. Ms. Hong et al to     

FIND XINYU so that I can send her a copy of our wedding album.

With hopeful anticipation,

Hausfrau Róisín. 

P.S. I too have a Flushing connection; I came to live in Germany in 2008 after a 21 yr ´ stop over ´ in New York.  My first job in New York was working for a woman in Flushing, right near the park.  We are still in touch today!

P.S.2 . For blog readers to want to see more of Des in action on the funny job, check out....

https://www.facebook.com/des.bishop.37?fref=ts

A day like any other - only not.

It was a sunny day, so I went for a cycle.

 

I came across this fun picture of the bike up the pole!  I kid you not, a bike up the pole.  -If you look carefully, you too can see the bike up the pole.



I enjoyed looking at frescoes such as those  below, of which there are many in these regions.

Then I had a fun hour or so checking out a local second hand store for things I´d love to buy but don´t need, nor do I have room for.

Over 2000 years ago,  Socrates is quoted as saying  "I love to go (to the market)  and see all the things I am happy without´´.  On this point Socrates and I concur!
 
But, a great bargain is a bargain even if you don´t bring it home.  - Some tingling examples: This extending dinner table, dark pine, in good condition, €126.00.  In the background a cherry-wood cabinet for €75.00 in very good condition.   Ooohh that one was particularly painful´ not to need, nor to have room for´!






A woman of ´a certain age´, but dressed as if she were ´a tad younger´ came from shopping in the second hand shop and drove away in this sports car.

As my mother said ´no one ever got rich spending a lot of money.´  So what ever one might have said of the sports car driver´s dress sense, her money sense was spot on!

 Then just tra la tra cycling through the city of Konstanz...

Even more than the frescoes, there many beautifully painted houses in this region.  This house in Konstanz is one of my favorite.

Followed by lunch on the Rhine with Imperia.  - The statue in the middle distance is a rather voluptuous interpretation of Imperia who was  ´active´, shall we say, in the Vatican in the late 15th century.

Look carefully to the right of the picture below and you might see the Alps - which are a good 50 miles away.

Then tra la tra la over to  Switzerland.  - Having grown up in Ireland I never stop enjoying going abroad -  on my bike.

.......Stepped into this bucolic moment in the park in Kreuzlingen...

Looking back towards Konstanz below one can see the park in Konstanz where I had just had lunch with Imperia.....

I lay on a bench and enjoyed the leaves of this tree above me blowing in the breeze.

All this peaceful tra la tra la was only about 70 meters or so from a bustling trade show  on the Swiss - German border that same time.  I could see the participants in the not too far distance


 And the tra la tra la continues...... 

 

 


So all this tra la tra la and happy and stuff, fits in with the advice offered by baby brother W.C. : The Secret to a Happy Life - in less than 100 words.   - Which of course all avid ISFTS blog readers will know was discussed in the blog posting of April 29th last.  Summed up in even less than 100 words W.C.´s advice is: 1) Accept your mistakes or problems and take appropriate action. 2) Enjoy the small pleasures of life.  


Well this day in the sun was no problem or mistake at all.  But it was a day bursting out all over with ´small pleasures` for which I spent a total of €1.50.  For a bun.

The flask of hot tea and cheese sandwich I brought from home.   (One could add another €8.40 for three wine glasses and two butter dishes in the second hand store, but am I being too specific here?)

It was only when I clicked on the camera to take this picture at the end of my magical day of small pleasures in the sun, that the enormity of the meaning of the day that was in it clicked with me.  This day which I enjoyed in good health, freedom, with the choice with the means and with the zeal to get out and enjoy was  Friday 8th of May 2015. 

It may not immediately occur to you, but Friday 8th of May 2015 was the 70th anniversary of the end of World War ll.  There is nothing more I can say after that.  Only to be even more grateful for the life I can enjoy.
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Things are certainly not perfect in Europe, but they are, in my opinion, great.   I am sure no one could have imagined some seventy years ago how good it would be here now.  - And in no small part because Germany today accepts the truth of the war and their responsibility for it.  For which Germany has earned my great respect.  (I know, my respect or the lack thereof is not going to worry Germany one way or the other, but they have it anyway!)

P.S. If a visual reminder would be needed on how it looked in this region, as in many other parts of Europe, seventy years ago today, click on the link below.

http://www.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http://static4.suedkurier.de/storage/pic/region/bodenseekreis-oberschwaben/friedrichshafen/2014/friedrichshafen_zweiter-weltkrieg/8580893_3_FN-Altstadt_nach_dem_Krieg.jpg%3Fversion%3D1398419135&imgrefurl=http://www.suedkurier.de/galerie/bildergalerien/Friedrichshafen-in-Schutt-und-Asche;cme1316119,8580893&h=431&w=700&tbnid=tUnlWNafIiWlqM:&zoom=1&tbnh=119&tbnw=193&usg=__Cp-fBU0O2j8yI7yQVjAvOqNSA1E=&docid=nQ119lJ4OY2CDM

(These photos above are of the  nearby town of Friedrichshafen.  Konstanz and its inhabitants did suffer greatly during the war. But the residents of Konstanz, which lies on the border with Switzerland,  were smart enough to leave the lights on at night so the Allies thought it was part of Switzerland.  This resulted in Konstanz rarely being bombed during the war.)

The Story of Gary and Eleanor. Please Enjoy!

The Story of Gary and Eleanor

So there I was putting my blog posting together for this week, and there did n´t I receive an e-mail with this -  The Story of Gary and Eleanor. 

And I had no choice but to cancel my planned posting and simply let you copy, paste and savor this lively happy tale about a young couple I know from their falling in love to their ´I do´.  

This short video is sweet and fun.  And happy. Please enjoy.

 - And well done to ´Big Stu´ Eleanor´s brother who just happens to be a film maker and song writer. -  Always a good thing to have in the family as you can see!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HogGdt4kgqE&list=PLE_a9PKpsgC_YZ9c2clyBwMSh9Ed8H-jx&index=1

The Secret to a Happy Life – in less than 100 words. By W.C.

Guest Blog Posting Today.

I have been a bit slow off the hop this month with my blog postings, with good reason: my ongoing two year celebration of my 60th birthday is in full swing and it can be a tad problematic to find time between celebratory activities to fit in the ´other life stuff`.  But I am here now.

So today dear reader I present for your perusal and pleasure some words of wisdom. – Not mine I hasten to add, rather the words, less than 100 of them I understand, from my baby brother.  So read on for W.C.´s  words on ….

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The Secret to a Happy Life:

… As you will know S.W.P. (from Moi; what ´S.W.P.´is all about we can leave for another time, or perhaps for never), you and I have cracked the secret of a happy life many years ago.  And while we have been only too glad to share it, still very few people seem to adopt it.   It can be summed up in a few short sentences….

1)      Do what you want to do … so long as it does not impose on anybody else….(also known as Spalding Rules).

2)      When you have a problem, take ownership of it and then decide what to do:

a)      Live with it

b)      Change it

or

c)      Get the hell away from it.   (Or him.  Or her.)  - Contents in brackets added by moi.

The only time this does not work is with bad health….. even then you can eat your greens and good for a cycle. 

3)      And lastly, enjoy the small pleasures, sunsets, full moons, swimming in Lake Constance  - and in your case tea and bundies and long conversations. 

And there it is…. The Secret to a Happy Life…It really is that simple* …. And it is not much of a secret…. And all written in less than 100 words.  And yet both you and I are among the very few to have cracked. 

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* So back to moi now.  – It is my blog, so I can add my opinion:   While for so many who could have a happy life, and do not, it could indeed be that simple.   But, there are many for whom it is not that simple, and even in a light and fluffy blog like this I do not want to disrespect or to dismiss that  it is not THAT SIMPLE for people who live in non-democratic societies, for people living in poverty, for people or communities who suffer natural catastrophes with few resources to help them back on their feet.   

And neither is it THAT SIMPLE for people who are the primary carers for a family member with a debilitating condition – they cannot stick the cared for person in a drawer and go away for a week.

So no, it is not THAT SIMPLE for millions of people. 

But, that still leaves a million or ten for whom it IS THAT SIMPLE, and still the happy life eludes.

What have John B. Keane, George B. Shaw and E.X have in common?

All three are Irish people who can make people laugh heartily over the misery they write about.... 

 

The former two you can catch up on in a book store.  Not everyone however is privy to E.X´s writing. But you are the lucky ones now; see in black, the e-mail I wrote to the same E.X. on Sunday.  And more importantly her answer in blue.  

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Dear E.X,

I know now would likely be a good time for you to chat. But the weather is glorious, so I am sorry, I am going out to enjoy the sun!  The happy (hopefully) stories of your beloved baby daughter´s wedding will have to wait. I hope you can deal with that!

I will give it a shot to call you tonight, but if you too have good weather, you may well be out too.  Love R Rosaleen

 

Unhappy response I received from E.X. that Sunday evening.

....

Talk about annoying a person! It was lashing rain all night with high winds. This continued up until two hours ago. I have glimpsed a sighting of a blue cloud very far away but then I am a colour blind optimist. We had our summer last week when it reached 18 degrees and pale legs emerged as people went mad and wore shorts. Ice cream cones were the order of the day and the whole country basked in sunshine. Those were good memories! It's 9 degrees and no matter how cold it gets I REFUSE TO LIGHT A FIRE. I am living in fear of the bills for the last month. Selina -  (E.X´s daughter-in-law from Australia)  was freezing the whole time she was home for the wedding and kept the heat on. I have a repetitive strain injury in my hand from turning off the heating. She has one from turning it on.

Will call you during the week as I am out this evening.

Lots of love

Your wet friend