Suzuki -The Shape Of Things To Come -

Twenty two years ago I left my car in UK and came to live and work here. It's a terrific place with a transport system which ranks the best in the world . Yet the gypsy within seeks to find new places , outside of the city, not to mention, off the beaten track .There are so many European countries to see , all with their fascinating villages and landscapes.
Air travel is no longer enjoyable and although trains here are superb one is restricted to a network and timetable .
Today I made a test drive in this Suzuki 'Jimney'. Findings ----- "absolutely fabulous " --- I am smitten !
What's more ---- I wanna be free.

Berlin Auto Messe

Today was a fun day and how ! It was the opening day of the Auto Messe Berlin .Lots to see . Oh,how I could have bought so many were I wealthy enough .
The top collage shows some of the older items . Mainly videos taken, hence , few stills .
The lower collage shows some of my favourites ,;.-
L-R VW Passat+bike , Renault Twingo ,Seat Ibiza
L-R VW Golf , Seat Ibiza once more ,Kia Soul.
There was wine. My shoes were cleaned for free, and Saturday will find me at a large car showroom opening party with food , music and test drives ........Should be fun .
It's been twenty two years since I owned a car and now I'm longing to be back behind the wheel.

Friday The Thirteenth------ Great .

Unlucky ? Well it all depends on your point of view and outlook .

Today,yes a Friday and 13th ,began well and continued so .

With the sun shining in a clear blue sky it didn't matter one jot that the air was cold and crisp .

Toshiba have been terrific and today sent a courier to collect my tiny notebook which insists on playing up ( aptly nicknamed baby it is akin to a recalcitrant child )

As a good will gesture they will deal with it !

Once out and at Rogaki ( Berlin's finest fish store ),yet another surprise, a gift of Danish sherry herrings from the man in charge of the fish smoking department . For those who have never sampled these all I can say is , 'they are fabulous '. At another shop I was given a bottle of champagne . Then what should be seen but a long sought after item of furniture .These are just a few of today's 'good' happenings .The photos illustrate how beautiful a day it's been here. Winter is an enjoyable season .Warm clothes make being out of doors the healthy place it is .

ref L-R birds against a blue , blue sky, Lietzensee frozen , The sun is so strong to film creates a night image .

L-R 2nd row . A bird lives under Neue Kantstrasse bridge , Tree shadows on the ice ,

A poster telling of yet another jazz happening .

Acki Hoffmann at Yorckschloesschen Berlin

Yorckschloesschen is a place to visit . The food , drink and music are excellent. How easy therefore to spend four hours in good company ,listening to one of my favourite groups ,Acki Hoffmann and friends plus talking to Otto Hamborg who had dropped in .He's a wonderful pianist who performed a week ago at my other stomping ground . Above are just a few of the pictures I took , including one of Otto Hamborg. As of yet I'm still debating which video ,if any, to use on YouTube . The microphone doesn't really do credit and my jumping around hasn't helped. Do have a look at the link below .

Come to cabaret city - don't wait around for life , you make it happen ! This city is a pretty good starting point .

http://www.yorckschloesschen.de/

Top picture is of Otto Hamborg.

The other three are of Acki Hoffmann ( piano ) and friends :-

Gert Lübke....bass ,

Siegward Vollert ...tenor sax and clarinette

F W Born ..... drums .

Helga Napieralla...... trumpet and vocal

Let's finish with a bang .. here's a small clip of a great drummer .

Note :- permission has been given for the use of this material.