November 2023

  • Rambling Boys of Pleasure!

    The sad news broke today that the Pogues frontman, Shane McGowan, died early this morning. The news brought me back to my memories of 1988. My best friend Patrick, who sadly passed away earlier this year, asked me if I knew the title of the Pogues single, which was on the radio a lot. (back

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  • For Gardening in North Devon

    I usually don’t do this type of blog, but I want to help a friend who recently went through some rough times. My friend has a gardening business in North Devon, United Kingdom. These are a few examples of her and her mum’s work. Gardening by Cathy Clement. Contact details can be requested from me

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  • Hygiene During World War II

    One of the definitions of hygiene is conditions or practices conducive to maintaining health and preventing disease—specifically through cleanliness. The lack of hygiene was one of the hidden killers during World War II, and indeed any other war, because it wasn’t always possible to keep a minimal level of hygiene. This post has a few

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  • School Protests in Doetinchem

    Doetinchem is a city and municipality in the east of the Netherlands, situated along the Oude IJssel (Old IJssel) River in a part of the province of Gelderland. The school protests in Doetinchem took place after the dismissal of Jewish civil servants on November 21, 1940. After the Aryan declaration, all Jewish civil servants, including

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  • There are very few positive Holocaust stories—but this is one of them. When Abel and Thea Herzberg return from Germany after the Second World War, they only have two things with them: a biscuit tin in which they kept meagre leftovers of food in recent months and the diary that Abel kept about the period

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  • In my interview with Rosa DeVries, Rosa is an Israeli Jewish woman, originally from Amsterdam and a daughter of Holocaust survivors. She lives in Rishon LeZion (Hebrew: רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain eight kilometres (5 mi) south of Tel Aviv, and about 55 km away from Gaza.

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  • Holocaust in Luxembourg

    I am always surprised why so little is reported about the Holocaust in Luxembourg. In the late 1930s, Luxembourg had a population of approximately 300,000, of which 3.500 were Jews. In addition, more than 1,000 German-Jewish refugees had found shelter in Luxembourg. Nazi Germany occupied Luxembourg in May 1940, with the Luxembourg government fleeing into

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  • Humira and Me

    Many of you will know that I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. I received a diagnosis in 2017, but more than likely, I had it before that. To briefly explain what Rheumatoid Arthritis is—this is what the Mayo Clinic said about it: “Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder—that can affect more than just your joints. In

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  • Porajmos—sometimes spelt Porrajmos or Pharrajimos—means devouring or destruction—in some dialects of the Romani language, is the term for the Roma Sinti Holocaust during World War II. It was introduced by Romani scholar and political activist Ian Hancock in the early 1990s. He chose to use the term coined by Kalderash Roma when he picked it

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  • “Duck Soup” at 90

    It is hard to believe that Duck Soup was released 90 years ago today. It is an American pre-code musical black comedy film written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, with additional dialogue by Arthur Sheekman and Nat Perrin, and directed by Leo McCarey. Released by Paramount Pictures on November 17, 1933, it stars the Marx Brothers

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