A trip out to the suburbs today: definitely not the former Communist blocks, more like leafy Hampstead or Carshalton (if this were London). Streets named after composers, big gardens and garages, that kind of thing. One thing I like about Berlin is that it’s all quite laid back: it certainly doesn’t have the over-energised manicness of some capital cities. Perhaps this shot captures that.
What was formerly East Berlin still retains a sense of the Communist era, particularly thanks to the rather uniform tower blocks that sprout over most of it. And then there’s the former HQ of the Stasi, the secret police (officially the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit). This is now a museum. And while it could do with a bit more technology and a bit less running through the basics of Cold War history one does come to appreciate what insidiously awful wankers they were, and also how it was all proppsed up by a wide network of informers and ‘voluntary’ agents. The Stasi wouldn’t just surveill you — if they thought you were in any way subversive they were quite prepared to engage in the systematic erosion of your personal and profesional identity, setting you up to fail, turning your friends against you and giving the truth to the old saying, ‘are you still paranoid if they really are out to get you?’. This equipment is displayed in the place where it was used, concealed in the walls of a washroom on the Ministerial floor of the building, and so being used to spy even on those at the very top of the Stasi. Not that we’re a great deal different now — it’s just all done digitally instead. Orwell was close enough.
Berlin is where we’ve come for a few days. This part of it has been much changed in the last 36 years, for up until 1989, the Berlin Wall ran right through here: there is a marker on the road near this point, with the former Checkpoint Charlie (now a magnet for tourists and hustlers alike) just off shot to the right: though this was only a small and relatively insignificant part of the border infrastructure at this point on Friedrichstrasse. Nowadays these displays of photographs and maps are all that remain. The Wall retains such a significant place in the memory of people my age (and I’m not even German) but it only lasted 28 and a bit years (August 1961 – October 1989): Joe will be that age soon enough.
Time for a holiday. This one at the instigation of the wife, for various reasons, but I am happy to tag along for the ride, and for the break. You can find out the destination tomorrow, although it’s somewhere the blog has visited before. As is Terminal 5 of Heathrow airport, where we and a few thousand others waited for the beginning of the fourth leg of our journey (after two trains and the Elizabeth Line).
I went for this shot because of the illuminated cup of hot beverage to the right, and I guess it works, but yes, I would like to take out the plug sockets.
Typical behaviour for the British climate — balmy weather on Saturday, revolting wintry crap the following Wednesday. I have to wipe off a layer of hail each time I come inside today. The blossoms bear it stoically.
I got out of the house, at least. One doesn’t often see trains like this, but let’s enjoy it while it lasts, and take a relaxed attitude, as this person seems to be doing.
On 23rd March 2026, nothing happened. At least not to me anyway. Down there in town a blue truck parks itself in that gap we perceive in the buildings and offers something to look at. And so I get through another day.
Although not as mild as it has been, today felt like one of those Sundays where it was perfectly permissible to take it easy. And in my local area, there are worse places to do this than down by — or in these guys’ case, on — the canal.
I have mulled over this for a little while and come to the consclusion that this is definitely the most pleasing photo taken today, so apologies to these two entities for invading their pivacy somewhat. But if they are going to get down to it in public, specifically by platform 2 of Hebden Bridge railway station at 11.30 this morning, then that’s their decision. Warm weather has brought out the ladybirds in firce over the last couple of weeks and from the looks of it we are going to see more of them.
I know my sister Vicki follows this blog, so let me say that it was, as always, nice to see them in Hebden Bridge tonight. This is a picture of her and Pete (the tattoos are the giveaway) and not one of a Thai corn ball, even though that does form the foreground.
Being 42 