After Frankie's death, our whole family was rather down in the dumps as can be imagined.
Robert's last event with his "Ferienspiele" was a trip to Fort Fun which is a fun park with lots of rides etc. He had so been looking forward to this that we couldn't stop him from going.
We were also due to visit our friends, Venetia and Patrick in Koln for the weekend.
We made arrangements to fetch Robert from the fun park which was on the way to Koln, or so we thought.
Gerard set off for Fort Fun but as usual, decided to go against Doris's instructions. Doris being our navigation system. Why we bother having one, I quite often wonder. Gerard always feels that he knows the shorter and quicker way of getting to a place.
So instead of taking the Bundestrasse which Doris had suggested, Gerard set off on the Autobahn. This was a costly mistake as far as time and distance was concerned.
We had the cell phone number of one of the adults in charge and when we called him, we were still many kilometres away, they had already started to gather the children together for their return journey on the bus.
Gerard then said that if they needed to leave, they could leave Robert with the cashier and we would be there shortly.
By the time we got to Fort Fun, my neck was so stiff and I had such a headache.
I was so relieved to see Robert surrounded by a number of the kids he had been with and the guy in charge of them all. They were in a minibus while the majority of the children had been on another bus. Their bus had only left about 7 minutes before we had actually arrived and the guy in charge had insisted on staying until we arrived. I was just so thankful.
Not far, after leaving Fort Fun, travelling on small winding district roads, did Steven pipe up from the back seat, saying that he was not feeling very well. Not even 2 minutes later, with Gerard looking for a place to pull over, Steven got violently car sick. He somehow managed to get half of it inside the car, the other half running down the outside of the car. With the few tissues I had, we tried our best to clean the mess up.
Steven managed to perk up from there on and was in quite good spirits for the rest of the journey. He was quite proud to learn that this was the first time ever, that he had been car sick. He now joined his brother and sister with their claims to fame!!!
Robert seemed to have had a good day but as soon as we all quietened down in the car, his eyes welled up with tears and he was very tearful about Frankie. He cried just about the whole way to Koln.
With this huge time delay, our friends had gone ahead and started dinner without us.
They were also quite taken aback by our arrival with a child who had been sick and needed changing and Robert who was in tears. I had not had a chance to tell them about Frankie, so they had no idea.
Venetia had really spoilt us with dinner that evening. Pancakes filled with mushrooms and ham in a creamy sauce. Very delicious.
After putting the kids to bed and us adults all chatting away, we landed up going to bed quite late that evening.
On Saturday morning, we went off to the English shop where we did some shopping. We also managed to do clothes shopping for Rob and Lara who seem to have gone through a growth spurt recently. Always find shopping at C + A an absolute pleasure. The kids had a wonderful time, as our friends live right next door to a wonderfully set out, children's play park and football field. While they played, we sat out in the garden and relaxed. We really had fantastic weather all weekend. On Sunday, we got up late and had a late breakfast. Our friends wanted to treat the kids to McDonald's for lunch - no complaints from the kids on that one! After our lunch, we took a drive out to the soccer club of Koln. The kids loved seeing this venue. We then drove past the huge soccer stadium, but a game was due to start and there were thousands of supporters swarming to get in, so we did not even try to stop.
After getting back to their house, we packed the car and headed for home.
We had a good weekend.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
A tribute to Frankie
On arriving back from Tunisia, we seemed to bring a bit of warm weather with us. But it was rather short lived unfortunately. Gerard had the Thursday off and he went to fetch Frankie from the kennels that morning. Frankie seemed pleased to see us but avoided us for a while. She seemed to be sulking with us for having left her for a week.
Gerard went back to work on the Friday.
The weekend was a quiet one where I caught up with washing etc. and we sat around watching tv most of the time.
On Sunday night I had 5 little boys spend the night on the playroom floor in a makeshift house, made with blankets as the roof which was hung between Steven's football game and the table tennis table. Their carpets that they had got in Tunisia were put on the floor. And Frankie was held hostage and made to sleep with them.
On the Monday, Robert started at his week of Ferienspiele which is Holiday games. I took him off to the car park outside Bell area, to find a whole lot of children waiting in groups and some with their parents looking on. I only recognised one woman, whose younger son knew Steven. Poor Robert didn't know anyone there. At this point, I could have easily just put him in the car and gone home. I might just add at this point, that it was a miserable day and flipping cold. Anyway, they called out the kids name and they were put into groups. They then set off to Angenrod where I would later pick him up.
They had some really fun things for the kids to do in their week. Robert went to Frankfurt the very next day where they went on the skytrain and saw things that we have never done.
We noticed during this week that Frankie was still moping around and not eating very well. She did however, still catch two mice and leave them at our front door as a gift to us.
On Thursday Gerard took Frankie off to the vet as we just felt that she wasn't herself at all. Gerard came back with really bad news. The vet here in Alsfeld had looked at her and found her dehydrated and that her kidneys had failed. Her stomach seemed to be filled with water. From what Gerard said, it seemed that they did not have much hope for our poor kitty.
They suggested that we could take her through to another vet in Marburg for another opinion. The appointment was set for 6.00pm
I spent a lot of my afternoon with her, just stroking her and talking to her. She just purred and purred.
When Gerard came to take her, I told the kids to say goodbye to her. Oh what a sad time this was.
Gerard phoned from the vets with the sad news that Frankie had a cancerous tumour which was inoperable. This tumour was what was causing her not to eat. The vet felt that if he tried treatment, it would only prolong her life by a few days. Poor Gerard had to make the traumatic decision on his "baby's" life.
We were all devastated by Frankie's death.
I found this pets prayers which I think is appropriate.
A Pets Prayer
If it should be, that I grow frail and weak,And pain should keep me from my sleep,Then, you must do what must be done
For this, the last battle, can't be won.Don't let your grief stay your hand, For this day more than the rest,Your love and friendship stand the test.We've had so many years,What is to come can hold no fear.You'd not want me to suffer, so
When the time comes, please let me go. Take me where my needs they'll tend,Only, stay with me to the end
And hold me firm and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.I know in time you'll see it is a kindness you do for me
Although my tail its last has waved,From pain and suffering I've been saved. Don't grieve it should be you who this thing decides to do.We've been so close, we two, these years,Don't let your heart hold tears.SMILE, FOR WE WALKED TOGETHER FOR A WHILE.
Gerard went back to work on the Friday.
The weekend was a quiet one where I caught up with washing etc. and we sat around watching tv most of the time.
On Sunday night I had 5 little boys spend the night on the playroom floor in a makeshift house, made with blankets as the roof which was hung between Steven's football game and the table tennis table. Their carpets that they had got in Tunisia were put on the floor. And Frankie was held hostage and made to sleep with them.
On the Monday, Robert started at his week of Ferienspiele which is Holiday games. I took him off to the car park outside Bell area, to find a whole lot of children waiting in groups and some with their parents looking on. I only recognised one woman, whose younger son knew Steven. Poor Robert didn't know anyone there. At this point, I could have easily just put him in the car and gone home. I might just add at this point, that it was a miserable day and flipping cold. Anyway, they called out the kids name and they were put into groups. They then set off to Angenrod where I would later pick him up.
They had some really fun things for the kids to do in their week. Robert went to Frankfurt the very next day where they went on the skytrain and saw things that we have never done.
We noticed during this week that Frankie was still moping around and not eating very well. She did however, still catch two mice and leave them at our front door as a gift to us.
On Thursday Gerard took Frankie off to the vet as we just felt that she wasn't herself at all. Gerard came back with really bad news. The vet here in Alsfeld had looked at her and found her dehydrated and that her kidneys had failed. Her stomach seemed to be filled with water. From what Gerard said, it seemed that they did not have much hope for our poor kitty.
They suggested that we could take her through to another vet in Marburg for another opinion. The appointment was set for 6.00pm
I spent a lot of my afternoon with her, just stroking her and talking to her. She just purred and purred.
When Gerard came to take her, I told the kids to say goodbye to her. Oh what a sad time this was.
Gerard phoned from the vets with the sad news that Frankie had a cancerous tumour which was inoperable. This tumour was what was causing her not to eat. The vet felt that if he tried treatment, it would only prolong her life by a few days. Poor Gerard had to make the traumatic decision on his "baby's" life.
We were all devastated by Frankie's death.
I found this pets prayers which I think is appropriate.
A Pets Prayer
If it should be, that I grow frail and weak,And pain should keep me from my sleep,Then, you must do what must be done
For this, the last battle, can't be won.Don't let your grief stay your hand, For this day more than the rest,Your love and friendship stand the test.We've had so many years,What is to come can hold no fear.You'd not want me to suffer, so
When the time comes, please let me go. Take me where my needs they'll tend,Only, stay with me to the end
And hold me firm and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.I know in time you'll see it is a kindness you do for me
Although my tail its last has waved,From pain and suffering I've been saved. Don't grieve it should be you who this thing decides to do.We've been so close, we two, these years,Don't let your heart hold tears.SMILE, FOR WE WALKED TOGETHER FOR A WHILE.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Tunisia - Part 5
This is my last post …..
On Tunisia. Our trip to Tunisia really was wonderful and the part we really enjoyed the most was being able to relax every afternoon next to water. We felt that doing the excursions in the morning left us some nice time for relaxation in the afternoons. We could choose the beach and lie on relaxing chairs with a sun shade or any of the 4 pools the hotel had to offer.
The hotel pools were very popular as well. There were three outdoor pools and one indoor and we tried them all out.
With the restaurant/bars everywhere, one could lie in the sun and drink your drink of choice, eat pancakes covered in chocolate as a snack or hamburgers, schwarma or hot dogs.
There was always something happening at the “adult” pool as the entertainment crew were young and energetic. They kept everyone going with some game or other.
In the mornings, there were always a few camels to be seen on the beach and the hotel offered horse riding which also took you down onto the beach.
The Mediterranean sea is just amazing. The water is just so clear and clean and there are no waves. It is like walking into a pool, the only difference being the sand under your feet.
There was always a cool breeze which made it bearable to lie in the sun. You could see the people who had been there for a while from their bronze tans. The new arrivals stuck out like sore thumbs – especially the British with their very white skins.
There were so many nationalities there and people of all shapes, sizes and colour. A lot of the women went topless which impressed hubby greatly.
A week of sunshine, fun and exploring went down very well with our family. Hope you enjoyed reading about our holiday.
On Tunisia. Our trip to Tunisia really was wonderful and the part we really enjoyed the most was being able to relax every afternoon next to water. We felt that doing the excursions in the morning left us some nice time for relaxation in the afternoons. We could choose the beach and lie on relaxing chairs with a sun shade or any of the 4 pools the hotel had to offer.
The hotel pools were very popular as well. There were three outdoor pools and one indoor and we tried them all out.
With the restaurant/bars everywhere, one could lie in the sun and drink your drink of choice, eat pancakes covered in chocolate as a snack or hamburgers, schwarma or hot dogs.
There was always something happening at the “adult” pool as the entertainment crew were young and energetic. They kept everyone going with some game or other.
In the mornings, there were always a few camels to be seen on the beach and the hotel offered horse riding which also took you down onto the beach.
The Mediterranean sea is just amazing. The water is just so clear and clean and there are no waves. It is like walking into a pool, the only difference being the sand under your feet.
There was always a cool breeze which made it bearable to lie in the sun. You could see the people who had been there for a while from their bronze tans. The new arrivals stuck out like sore thumbs – especially the British with their very white skins.
There were so many nationalities there and people of all shapes, sizes and colour. A lot of the women went topless which impressed hubby greatly.
A week of sunshine, fun and exploring went down very well with our family. Hope you enjoyed reading about our holiday.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Part 4 continued
At this point I must point out that El Jem is a town in the middle of nowhere and because of no nearby sea, it was as hot as hell!!! We must have been in the middle to high 40 degrees here. Our driver had deigned to switch on the airconditioner at this point but unfortunately only two people benefited from this luxury. Himself and hubby who had been given prime position up front. Hubby did however pay the price for sitting next to “the Schumacher” of Tunisian drivers.
We then continued our drive to the El-Jem Museum.
Specialists recommend a visit to this museum before visiting other vestiges of the ancient city of Thysdrus, now known as El Jem. The museum contains many architectonic elements that belonged to the decoration of the city’s superb villas and public buildings and in particular, the sumptuous mosaic pavements, undoubtedly amongst the finest of Roman antiquity.
The museum was built on the site of a roman villa and reproduces its layout: a central courtyard with a peristyle leading into the rooms where sculptures, mosaics, ceramics etc are displayed. These originate from the excavation campaigns carried out in Thysdrus as well as in the vicinity.
The museum has recently acquired a new wing illustrating in a very eloquent manner the richness and diversity of crafts during the roman period.
The museum leads directly into an “archaeological park” including vestiges of the villa known as that of the peacock and of Sollertiana. It is a splendid patrician dwelling with a number of its mosaic pavements conserved in sit. The same area contains a reconstruction to scale of the “house of Africa”, a sumptuous aristocratic dwelling built around 170 AD and discovered by chance in the 1990s. It takes its name from the two mosaic pictures figuring, within a central medallion, one goddess Africa, the other the province of Africa, the only known representations of the African continent.
After a very interesting look around the museum it was time to hit the road to see the Salt Lake. Our guide omitted to tell us that there would be no shops in the vicinity or that we should consider stocking up on anything drinkable.
We drove for quite some distance, passing through many little villages and seeing just how the locals live. Along the road side, we saw tripod stands which we soon found out were used for hanging slaughtered sheep on. How anyone could buy meat from here, where the temperature must be at least 45 degrees, is beyond me.
We turned off the “main” road and started to drive in very sandy conditions. Our driver seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself, waiting for the other landrovers to get ahead and then he would suddenly put foot and drive hell for leather up to the last one, bringing clouds of dust along with us.
We came to a halt where we were all led to the shade of a fairly large tree. Our guide gave us the rundown and we were allowed to walk out onto the Chott and experience it for ourselves.
The Tunisian Sahara starts with the chotts. These salt-flats are frequently quagmires in winter but spectacular curiosities in summer. The salt of the viscous sand-mud mix dries to form a firm crust and shimmers crystalline white for miles and often resolves into a mirage.
When standing out on this surface, one could feel the heat burning you from your feet upward and then with the sun beating down on you, you felt like you were on fire. I could only bear about 5 minutes (enough for a few photos) and then I ran for the shade again. This must have been 50 – 60 degrees.
We got back into the landrover and the first thing I wanted was some water which we had two bottles of. Well, it was as though the water had been boiled.Hubby sat with a bottle up against the air conditioning until it became drinkable. That got us through the 1 hour trip back to the hotel.
We then continued our drive to the El-Jem Museum.
Specialists recommend a visit to this museum before visiting other vestiges of the ancient city of Thysdrus, now known as El Jem. The museum contains many architectonic elements that belonged to the decoration of the city’s superb villas and public buildings and in particular, the sumptuous mosaic pavements, undoubtedly amongst the finest of Roman antiquity.
The museum was built on the site of a roman villa and reproduces its layout: a central courtyard with a peristyle leading into the rooms where sculptures, mosaics, ceramics etc are displayed. These originate from the excavation campaigns carried out in Thysdrus as well as in the vicinity.
The museum has recently acquired a new wing illustrating in a very eloquent manner the richness and diversity of crafts during the roman period.
The museum leads directly into an “archaeological park” including vestiges of the villa known as that of the peacock and of Sollertiana. It is a splendid patrician dwelling with a number of its mosaic pavements conserved in sit. The same area contains a reconstruction to scale of the “house of Africa”, a sumptuous aristocratic dwelling built around 170 AD and discovered by chance in the 1990s. It takes its name from the two mosaic pictures figuring, within a central medallion, one goddess Africa, the other the province of Africa, the only known representations of the African continent.
After a very interesting look around the museum it was time to hit the road to see the Salt Lake. Our guide omitted to tell us that there would be no shops in the vicinity or that we should consider stocking up on anything drinkable.
We drove for quite some distance, passing through many little villages and seeing just how the locals live. Along the road side, we saw tripod stands which we soon found out were used for hanging slaughtered sheep on. How anyone could buy meat from here, where the temperature must be at least 45 degrees, is beyond me.
We turned off the “main” road and started to drive in very sandy conditions. Our driver seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself, waiting for the other landrovers to get ahead and then he would suddenly put foot and drive hell for leather up to the last one, bringing clouds of dust along with us.
We came to a halt where we were all led to the shade of a fairly large tree. Our guide gave us the rundown and we were allowed to walk out onto the Chott and experience it for ourselves.
The Tunisian Sahara starts with the chotts. These salt-flats are frequently quagmires in winter but spectacular curiosities in summer. The salt of the viscous sand-mud mix dries to form a firm crust and shimmers crystalline white for miles and often resolves into a mirage.
When standing out on this surface, one could feel the heat burning you from your feet upward and then with the sun beating down on you, you felt like you were on fire. I could only bear about 5 minutes (enough for a few photos) and then I ran for the shade again. This must have been 50 – 60 degrees.
We got back into the landrover and the first thing I wanted was some water which we had two bottles of. Well, it was as though the water had been boiled.Hubby sat with a bottle up against the air conditioning until it became drinkable. That got us through the 1 hour trip back to the hotel.
Tunisia - Part 4
Another place we wanted to see was the colloseum at El Jehm. We did a landrover trip. We met our driver at 7.30am and took our places in the landrover. We had another couple with us from Belgium. We roared off to another hotel about 8 kms aways and met up with a couple more landrovers. We waited there for the last 2 to arrive. There were 6 of us in total when we headed off to Mahdia.
We drove through many little towns and past many olive groves - this being one of Tunisia’s main crops.
We came to a stop at Cape Africa. Here we were given time to wander around and explore the Big Fortress.
Borj el-Kebir" means Big Fortress, and it truly applies. As seen from further out on the peninsula, the city fortress is quite impressive.It dates back to 1595, while the bastions in the corners are 18th century additions.The extensive cemetary cover large parts of the eastern end of the peninsula, is laid out so that almost every grave can have a seaview, relating to Mahdia's long history of piracy, fishing and sailors.It starts in front of the Borj el-Kebir and continues all the way past the Fatimid port, ending next to the lighthouse.
After purchasing and drinking some cooldrinks in a café overlooking the sea, we were ready for the next leg of our journey.
We were driven up to the colosseum in El Jem and told to meet back with the landrovers in an hours time. Our guide took us into the colosseum and gave us some interesting facts about it.
The colosseum is great, almost as big as the one of Rome, and in better condition. It is 148 metres long by 122 metres wide, with tiers up to 35 metres.There is nothing missing which takes away its grandeur. One area of the walls is gone, and this was done in 1695 when a big hole was shot in the wall of the colosseum, in order to uncover the hiding places of dissidents against the Ottomans.The colosseum was constructed between 230 and 238 CE by the command of the Imperial official Gordian. It's believed to have given room for as much as 30,000 spectators. The games here became famous and drew crowds from much of Roman Africa.The building process is even more impressive considering that the stones were quarried 30 km away at Salakta.
The arena is 65 metres long and 39 metres wide, large enough to host more than one show at a time. The upper part of the tiers were used as a sort of VIP tribune, where roofed rooms allowed hiding from the hot sun. Underneath the arena run two passage ways. This was the place where animals, prisoners and gladiators were kept, just until the moment when they were brought up into the bright daylight to perform what was in most cases the last show of their lives.
It was incredible to walk around this amphitheatre and imagine what went on within this building.
The amphitheatre is now another UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We drove through many little towns and past many olive groves - this being one of Tunisia’s main crops.
We came to a stop at Cape Africa. Here we were given time to wander around and explore the Big Fortress.
Borj el-Kebir" means Big Fortress, and it truly applies. As seen from further out on the peninsula, the city fortress is quite impressive.It dates back to 1595, while the bastions in the corners are 18th century additions.The extensive cemetary cover large parts of the eastern end of the peninsula, is laid out so that almost every grave can have a seaview, relating to Mahdia's long history of piracy, fishing and sailors.It starts in front of the Borj el-Kebir and continues all the way past the Fatimid port, ending next to the lighthouse.
After purchasing and drinking some cooldrinks in a café overlooking the sea, we were ready for the next leg of our journey.
We were driven up to the colosseum in El Jem and told to meet back with the landrovers in an hours time. Our guide took us into the colosseum and gave us some interesting facts about it.
The colosseum is great, almost as big as the one of Rome, and in better condition. It is 148 metres long by 122 metres wide, with tiers up to 35 metres.There is nothing missing which takes away its grandeur. One area of the walls is gone, and this was done in 1695 when a big hole was shot in the wall of the colosseum, in order to uncover the hiding places of dissidents against the Ottomans.The colosseum was constructed between 230 and 238 CE by the command of the Imperial official Gordian. It's believed to have given room for as much as 30,000 spectators. The games here became famous and drew crowds from much of Roman Africa.The building process is even more impressive considering that the stones were quarried 30 km away at Salakta.
The arena is 65 metres long and 39 metres wide, large enough to host more than one show at a time. The upper part of the tiers were used as a sort of VIP tribune, where roofed rooms allowed hiding from the hot sun. Underneath the arena run two passage ways. This was the place where animals, prisoners and gladiators were kept, just until the moment when they were brought up into the bright daylight to perform what was in most cases the last show of their lives.
It was incredible to walk around this amphitheatre and imagine what went on within this building.
The amphitheatre is now another UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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