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
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
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
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
At 11 o’clock on Monday, 14th August, I arrived at a Kindergarten in central Berlin with my 15-month-old daughter. It wasn’t to be a long visit – in fact it lasted just a few minutes. But this was the start of Cecelia’s ‘settling-in’ period at her new nursery or Kita. It’s an incremental approach that… Continue Reading
A rather wonderful thing happened last week. My Grandfather, Donald Forrest, received one of the highest French honours for his involvement in the D-Day landings during the Second World War. He was appointed to the rank of Chevalier in the Ordre nationale de la Légion d’honneur, by the French President. Unfortunately it arrived too late… Continue Reading
For the second time in just two months, Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate has been illuminated in the colours of the UK’s Union Flag. It follows two terrorist attacks on my home country. The first, in March, was in Westminster, Central London (where I used to work). Six people, including the attacker, were killed. The second took… Continue Reading
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