Today marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. It’s also Holocaust Memorial Day. Whatever day, whatever time, you can’t fail to notice the Stumbling stones, or Stolperstein, that litter my street in the old Jewish quarter of Berlin. It’s a daily reminder of the horrors that befell so many. And most were Jews.… Continue Reading
Coronavirus has changed the world. Tens of millions of us are now under lockdown which can be challenging in every way. From homeschooling to home office, this is my personal account of what life is like for us as a family living in Berlin. It was commissioned for Germany’s international broadcaster, DW. I filmed everything… Continue Reading
Celebrating the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
November 9th is such an historic day in Germany that it even has its own name – Schicksalstag or ‘The Day of Fate’. From the Fall of the Berlin Wall twenty-nine years ago to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II a century ago, just days before the end of the First World War, November 9th is… Continue Reading
It was my mother who first encouraged me to read Thomas Harding’s ‘The House by the Lake’. She left it in our flat, a few months after we’d moved to Berlin. Foolishly, it took me a while to pick up this extraordinary book. But when I finally did, it was hard to put down. 100… Continue Reading
On the afternoon of Tuesday 5th June, one of the kindest, funniest and most loving people I have ever met, left this world. He was called George Collins, he was 102 and he was my darling grandfather. As I currently live in Berlin, my mother told me that if I wanted to say goodbye, I… Continue Reading
On 29th December 2016, my husband and I, along with our two children, moved to Berlin. It wasn’t the best time of year to start a new life in a foreign city, but needs must. We were leaving behind Copenhagen – a city that we had enjoyed living in for three and a half years.… Continue Reading
28 years ago today – on November 9th 1989 – the Berlin Wall came down. I was only a teenager at the time, but I have vivid memories of watching what was happening on the TV news. I also remember adults telling me that this was an historic moment. Of course it was, as the Soviet… Continue Reading
It may be mid October, but Berlin has enjoyed a weekend of wonderful weather and colour. And we have made the most of it. Last night we had front row seats to Berlin’s Festival of Lights. We were on a boat tour along the River Spree with our German friends, whom we met whilst living… Continue Reading
Last week I had the privilege of interviewing five experts about the on-going British drama ‘Brexit’. I was in London for the annual conference of the Wine and Spirits Trade Association (WSTA) – a body that represents a £50 billion industry. Members are currently unimpressed with the government’s Brexit strategy – particularly the continual in-fighting.… Continue Reading
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