19th August - big BBQ day

What a day... Mama and Papa were busy all day preparing for the BBQ this afternoon - and I was no help what-so-ever... I was told I couldn't help so I should find a spot in the shade, where there was a breeze (stinking bloody hot today - found out later it got to 36....The thermometer on outside of the kitchen window (which WAS sitting in direct sunlight) - reached 47.  Mostly there was no breeze.... it was horrid... but I passed many hours in the shade reading... I got through most of my current book today...

To the BBQ though... present were (apart from Mama, Papa and I): Maike and Ralf, Bernd, Svenja and Martja, Udo and Almut, Udo's sister Oekka and Gerda.

As usual enough food was prepared for a batallion or two - and Papa cooked to perfection.  It was a great afternoon/evening - especially once the sun lost its bite and a breeze finally blew up (no matter how small it was).

Mama made a short speech that this was all in order of our 25th Anniversary of being one family and had dug out all my old letters to them from as far back as when I was writing to them from Wilhelmshaven - I will go through them tomorrow and have a giggle at my atrocious German back then!

We had a great evening - Maike looking through the photobook was hilarious.... she took one look at the first photo of Mama and Papa and pissed herself laughing at their clothes...  She really didn't believe that that was pretty snazzy back then.

Mama - with Papa hard at work in the background

Udo & Almut

Ralf & Maike (with Udo)

Papa

After everyone else had left (which wasn't too late) - we again stayed out in the garden - star gazing - and again the wine-pressure got to me - though tonight we drank considerably more.. and I was considerably more pissy too.... still - what are hollidays for if not to get tanked every now and then?