What was your favorite subject in school?
Learning foreign languages, although that only happened in grammar school when I was 12 years old. It started with French which was 5 years. I then began German a couple of years later although according to the school plan my timetable was full. I gave up cookery to make room for the German. In my last years at school I began Italian and Spanish at evening classes, and many years later at the age of 50 I realised my dream of learning Russian. In between I did a year arabic. I do not know why, but I just like to speak in another language. Today my life is one foreign language, as I speak Swiss German (a german dialect) at home with my family, although I can still speak english.
If you could have a servant come to your house every day for two hours, what would you have them do?
The stuff that I cannot do, although I have a servant – Mr. Swiss who helps with everything. A man that irons shirts? What could be better. We split the work, although someone to clean the bathroom once a week would be a good idea. I hate cleaning the bathroom. Otherwise I prefer to do my own thing. I do not think I would be very good with a servant. I would get in the way and interrupt the work.
Where did you live when you were in the third grade of school? Is it the same place or town you live now?
45 Norah Street, Bethnal Green, London E.2
My mum and her sisters and brother were born in this house on the ground floor and grew up there with my gran and grandad – just three rooms and a back garden – no bathroom and the toilet outside in the garden.
When mum got married I arrived and we lived on the top floor, also in three rooms, grandad still living downstairs. He gave us one of his rooms and that was where I grew up until I reached the age of 20 when I left for Switzerland to learn the language and to work. That was 50 years ago and I am still in Switzerland – must have been a good choice.
In your opinon, list some places that are great for shopping?
For me shopping is not great. I am an online buyer. My favourite places are the computer sites where I can choose my next computer or camera. As a golden oldie, it is not longer fun shopping for clothes. It does not interest me, I can choose what I want online. Mr. Swiss and I have just discovered a British shop online and have ordered a few items: stuff that I cannot buy in the local shops. I shop to eat and survive, the rest is just an extra on the side.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
That I managed a couple of walks with my camera last week and that Son No. 2 paid a visit with great photos and films from his business trip to Jerewan which is the capital of Armenia. He works for the media ministry of the Swiss Government. Jerewan seems to be a wonderful place for spending a holiday with many interesting sites to see and quite modern. He said that the shops have a similar choice to ours. However, he was not so keen on the food.
What am I looking forward to? That life continues and there are no unforeseen problems.
Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss 
Sounds like you are sailing right along in nice smooth waters. Thanks for sharing. 😀
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Now and again there are a few bumps on the way, but I just steer around them.
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I agree with you. Sometimes having a servant is actually more work than getting by without one. We had a really great maid. She would cook and clean. Once she got a great job and had to quit us. We got a new maid. My mother asked her to put clean sheets on the beds. That is EXACTLY what she did. She put clean sheets right on top of the old ones.
Have a great week.
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At the moment I manage quite well without a home help, but who knows. Mr. Swiss and I do it between us together. Some people I know here have a cleaning woman, but I would have to get used to the idea of having someone cleaning my place when I can do it myself.
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I hope the same for you…that life continues and there are no unexpected problems.
I think it is nice that you grew up in the same house in which your mother was born and grew up. What a wonderful thing! My children were born in the same hospital in which I was born. My daddy was allegedly born there, too. My maternal grandpa said he was born there, too, but his sister disputes that. She said he was born on the family farm. 🙂
I don’t like shopping for clothes either and put it off as long as absolutely possible, down to the almost or potentially embarrassing point. I would almost rather go to the dentist that shop for clothes!
I enjoyed your post, especially the picture of yours and your mother’s childhood home. Have a blessed week!
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It was not a nice house, according to modern standards. No bathroom, outside toilet and very small rooms, but when you know nothing different you get by. It was one of the poorer parts of London, working class with no extra luxuries. I think we had our first fridge when I was already 10 years old.
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I think, if it was filled with love, then regardless of lack of amenities, it was a nice house. My granny didn’t have a regular indoor bathroom/toilet until several years after I was married and a mama myself. She had an outhouse and, what we call here in the South, a slop jar, in her room. Icky business, both of them. But, that’s just the way it was. Daddy was finally able to add a proper bathroom onto her house for her, thank goodness. When you say “outside toilet”, are you meaning like outhouses here, or was the toilet just out in the open?
Did your folks keep the food cool with the big ice blocks, too?
Have a blessed week. 🙂
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Enjoyed your post. Thank you.
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You are welcome
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How lucky that we both have husband who iron. I mean, how rare is that? Garry is a champion ironer and folder. And he’s a pretty good sport about it, too. Anything except the bathroom. I think he also doesn’t do windows.
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My No. 2 son can also iron quite well. Must run in the family. The folding seems to come naturally. I do the basics and he does the extras. He also sees things I do not see, so we compensate.
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I need to take my camera for a walk, too, it’s been neglected lately. One of my granddaughters has a fascination with foreign languages and is keen on learning a few. Most of the people I know took the required language classes in high school, and that was it. (Two years.) How nice to have a picture of your mother’s childhood home–and that you grew up there, too. I guess I’m married to my servant, too! Have a lovely week!
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I never go anywhere without my camera, you never know. I am lucky to live in a country which has 4 languages, so always have an opportunity to apply them. The mother’s childhood home was not the best, but brings back memories. They are the best servants.
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Spanish was my favorite subject in college. However, I hit a grammar class that I couldn’t master and was too afraid that other Spanish classes would ruin my grade point average after that. I made A’s in all my previous (6) classes in Spanish and in that one, let’s just say, I did not.
For the past 2 1/2 years I have studied Spanish on my own, so it really never goes away.
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