We were in Melbourne last week and one evening we met up with two of our Granddaughters. Melbourne is a very metropolitan city and usually makes it every year into the top of the list of the most liveable cities in the world.

In the night-time it looks like this.

People are out and about even at this time of the evening. It was already getting cold, A pleasure boat rested after a day’s work.

Walking around we found this intriguing tunnel under a bridge.

But we were “saved” by a staircase.

When I reached the top, I found my two beautiful Granddaughters waiting for me.

The pulsating city had us back and plenty of people were heading somewhere in the city.

It looked like this earlier in the evening .

Colourful trams were chasing each other along busy St. Kilda Road

But we took the train home to Essendon…

Nineteen-fifty-seven was a mixed year. We were in the middle of the cold war and it was hotting up. The Soviet Union was sending one satellite after the other up into orbit. One satellite even had a dog, Laika, on board. That is how they celebrated their forty year existence by scaring the shit out of the West. It looked like the West had lost the Space race.

In February Uta’s maternal Grandma, Olga , passed away in an East-Berlin hospital. Uta had visited her on the night before and took some pineapple pieces to her  Grandma enjoyed them very much. Not bad as your last meal on earth.

In August of that year our daughter Gaby was born. Despite our happiness having her our life did not look that rosy. For me the year started with having a new job, but I still managed to finish the year without…

Paul hatte es satt immer wieder von Eva, seiner Frau, gedrängelt zu werden zum Schwimmbad zu gehen. Es war ein herrlicher morgen und die spät-sommerliche Sonne schien von einem wolkenlosen, australischen Himmel herunter. Wer weiß, wie lange der Sommer noch anhalten wird. Zum Glück war es nicht mehr zu heiß. Aber das war ja nie das Problem. Paul fror immer leicht und die leiseste Brise erlaubte es ihm eine freundliche Einladung abzulehnen. Da half kein Bitten und Betteln. Er blieb stur. Aber an diesem Morgen hatte Eva ihn beim Zeitungsholen begleitet und plötzlich sagte sie:

„Ich bin mit dir mitgegangen und nun kannst du auch mal mit mir zum Pool mitgehen. Wer weiß wie lange das schöne Wetter noch anhalten wird. Wenn erst der kalte Süd-West Wind weht kommst du doch nicht mehr aus dem Haus.“

Und das war es dann. Paul hatte keine Lust zu argumentieren. Dafür war der…

              The Spickermann Family and Uncle Alfred

Mum used to say: ‘Everyone in the Spickermann Family is useless except for one, and that is Grandfather. He is the only one who works hard and has achieved something. Everyone else in the family just likes to laze about, talking stupid things and not doing any work.’

I also remember Grandfather Joseph saying of my mother: ‘Lotte is a very good worker. Oleg should be very grateful for having such a good looking and hard working, smart wife.’

For Grandmother Hilda my Mum had absolutely no kind word. She thought that Grandmother should make a bit of an effort to keep up with Grandfather. And why could she not look after her appearance a bit better? Surely with the position that Grandfather held, she should attempt to be a bit more representative looking! Instead she let herself go and was just a…