THE END

Me in front of Pomeroy House in Bethnal Green, my home for the last two months of my sabbatical. My room is on the top left.

It rained all day today. It seems as if London wants to relief me of the stress of leaving.

I packed my suitcase and two rucksacks, cleaned my room and went off to meet Rose at a café in Kensington. Rose and I were coursemates at the LSJ and became good friends. At the end of our meeting we both had tears in our eyes and agreed upon this wouldn't have happened if we were as strong as men.

In the evening I met Tobi, a friend from Nuremberg/Erlangen. Funnily enough it was him I met with on my very last day in Germany before I flew to London in April. So my sabbatical has come full circle.

Thank you all so very much for making my time in London to such a unique experience: Emma, Justine and Duji, Alex, Tony, Rose and my coursemates, Catherine and the staff of the LSJ, Andrew and all the other teachers at the LSJ, Bridget and Robert, Sandra, Jessa, Chris, Polly and Gemma, Richard and Julie, Thomas and Kathrin, John, Elaine and the other hikers and all the other lovely people I met!

Thanks also to those who enabled me to take this wonderful break: My boss Jan, my colleagues - first of all Heidi and Kathrin - and, last but not least, my spouse Günter. I can't tell you how grateful I am, so I better stop now.

"Nanny state" Britain

Ian McGregor, well-known British actor who became famous for his lead role in the film Trainspotting, recently critised the "nanny state" Britain. He's left London some years ago to live in the US.

In fact there is an awful lot of CCTV cameras everywhere, even on top of this sculpture in a nearby park. But on the other hand the observations have led to the arrest of quite a few criminals, even murderers, the best known among them, I guess, the teenaged murderers of James Bulger.

What worries me more is the high standard of "security" in this country. Each school is defended like a maximum security prison, like this comprehensive school in Bethnal Green. And there are a lot of 24/7 security guards all around the city.

It makes you feel quite threatened yourself as this suggests that there is a high need for all these measures.

Switching to a lovely topic again, Lovers Walk was successfully re-written and directed in London. I went to see the play yesterday after having seen it in Brighton and it was perfectly adapted to London by Gemma and Marcelo. It's in its last week so hurry up if you want to see how Rosie and Matt fall in love and want to get to know what's happening in their relationship.

On top of it all

One of the best lookout points is the spine of St Paul's Cathedral. Getting there is quite an adventure and you pass the Whispering Gallery where you have an amazing view down onto the marble floor of the cathedral and up to the dome and the Stone Gallery with great views into all directions before you finally reach the Golden Gallery right below the golden ball and cross at the top of the spine.

The church itself is burial place of some famous captains, with the two star tombs of Nelson and Wellington. To round up my day at St Paul's, I, again, took part at the Evening Song with a lovely boys' choir.

At the end of the day, I went on a pub crawl. Together with my landlord, Tony, and my flatmate Melvyn, I went to The Barrow Boy and Banker, The Royal Oak and finally Market Porter. An excellent choice, Tony!

From Glynde to Seaford

Seven Sisters, East of Seaford

The facebook group Walking/Cycling/Dancing etc in & around London did the 24 kilometre walk from Glynde to Seaford yesterday.

I joined them and it was again, despite the rain that set in at lunchtime in Alfriston, a very nice walk with nice company and great views from the South Downs Way.

I recommend this group to all Londoners strongly. It's based on the friends of John and Elaine and has developed ever since. Just see the list of recent activities!

Sandra introduced me to this group and I'm glad I had the opportunity to join them on two Sunday walks. By the way, Sandra is the one on top on the facebook group's page.

Shower with arts and attention

Recently seen in the Eastend

Judging from the numbers of phone numbers already missing, this artist should have enough muses now for the rest of his life.

Thought about mailing him for a second to be showered with arts and attention - but then decided to go back to all my friends, colleagues and boss back in Germany.

Although it's sad to say good bye to my friends here in England, I'm looking very much forward to seeing you all next week again.

Master of the Road

A Heritage Roadmaster waiting for his next tour through the city center

London wouldn't be London without the red double-decker busses.

From 1954 to 1968 these busses looked like this one and were called Roadmaster. Apart from the driver there always was a conductor on board. Passengers boarded and enlightened at the back of the bus, not only at the regular stops but also in between - quite risky and not accessable for wheelchairs.

In 1968, the Roadmasters were replaced by modern busses und today the Heritage Roadmaster operates on two lines, 9 and 15, only. It's great fun to travel on these busses because you can reach many of London's sights and enjoy a ride on a historic bus. Much better value than the hop-on-hop-off tours the big bus companies offer.

Achso

Some German words have found their way to the Anglo-American world. I knew about Kindergarten, Blitz and gemütlich, but during the last six months I came across some more.

The other day I saw this poster advertising an arts exhibition. At that time I've already heard the words kitschig and über-cool. In German we probably wouldn't use the word über-kitschig in this combination. And yesterday I read the word Doppelganger in a headline.

My favourite German words I can't do without? It's probably Nein whenever I find something unbelievable. And Achtung whenever I want to warn someone of an approaching car or loosing some of his/her belongings in the tube.

But my most favourite word is Achso. I use it whenever someone explains something to me and I'm beginning to understand. A course mate pointed this habit of me and many other Germans in England out to me. And since then I'm more and more aware about me using it.

Having been in England for nearly six months now, I probably should say Got it instead.