Reflection

I know what all Brits who make the mistake of reading my journal wanted me to make as a New Year's resolution.

Good News - I did so at exactly midnight CET.

Then exchanging words & photos with family in England & Eire with shots of the Berlin Brandenburg Gate festivities including the "Revived Village People". Daughter Kate's, born 1980, response to the clip of YMCA: "That's classic old school disco fodder along with .... Cotton Eye Joe and most recently Gangnam Style"

To Tony Hadley from (appropriately named) Spandau Ballet, pushing his Zimmer frame on stage, she wrote: "Not my era, I'm not that old! Bloody Hell"

Whooops ....I just hope she still agrees to bring over the grandchildren in summer.

I didn't send her a clip but also on stage was a young lady who I had never heard of but think I had heard a song of hers somewhere.(Not the car, I only listen to the oldie station.) She caught my attention as she surprisingly spoke perfect German while clearly singing in perfect English. Research revealed she was born in Frankfurt of German father and Irish mother but grew up in Canada returning to Germany at age 13 and started to learn German. Then did her final year schooling in London where her parents then were but did further studies back in Augsburg Germany and now lives in Berlin but visits her mother who now lives in France! She describes herself as Irish-Canadian-German-French. That's what I call multi-culti and I enjoyed her songs incl, this one. Feel like I have a little in common with her - no roots but memories.

"I don't seem to get all the things that are happening
And I can't make sense of everything that's inside my head
But I keep on thinking, there's gotta be something said
Oh, seems we've lost it
That spark inside that tells us it's all nonsense
Stop being so cautious
With every mistake there comes a lesson learned
So someone tell me
Why so serious?"

Son J in the UK was cooking Beef Wellington and a chocolate mouse desert for his partner who working until 8:00 pm, in the A&E department of a large town's hospital. Champagne was on ice and Gin waiting for Tonic to get the ball rolling. I don't know how the night had been. Hopefully she didn't have awful tales of drunks & idiots to have to tell of over dinner simply to get it out of her system. Our thanks to all those worldwide who put up with our human nonsense - few get paid or rewarded for what they do. (I'm not going to rant on about any disgraceful awarding of honours to certain people John Redwood. Whole honours system is corrupt of moral values)

Well, now the BAD NEWS. At 12:00 GMT I reversed the resolution made an hour before. I put the clocks back having got my thoughts mixed up.

So it's business as usual folks. No letting up in trying to get you apathetic lot to get your hands from under your posteriors. Most Blipers are the very worst - the worst ever at being "English-rose-cottage-garden nice and polite". Invite a Bliper to dinner and serve them cockroaches on a bed of raw elder leaves and coated in an arsenic sauce and when finished they will delicately wipe their lips with the napkin, thank you for the delicious meal but decline seconds as they are full. They depart thanking again profusely before they collapse on the road just after carefully shutting the garden gate.

Thank goodness for Blip - the only safe place in the solar system. I love it & I love you all, regardless of your black not blue burgundy passports.

Don't put up with second best or accept something bad just so that there is quiet. There won't be any peace, ever, if a decision is made now on the basis that has been outlined. In principle, I don't care which way it goes but the decision must be made - whether by MPs or a 2nd referendum - with the votes cast on the basis of facts and having the interests of all at heart - not individuals saving their political parties, reputations and own wallets. And the human race, the world and responsibility are not just concentrated on an island floating off the north-west coast of mainland Europe. And the decision is not for today, tomorrow, next decade but for generations to come.

I am not in a position to do much whether geographically or with power, or money and I have been stripped of my vote. But I have full responsibility for what planet I leave my children and particularly grandchildren.

And for them, I will annoy people as long as I think it may just get one person to reconsider their views.

A tiny bit of possible OK-ish news. I did, just before midnight, do one very ridiculous act that I certainly can't afford but I had a €50 cash voucher that ran out at midnight. I pressed a "Buy" button and will have to live with the consequences and the debt collectors. With luck, it may improve my future Blips visually. I fear the verbal diarrhoea will not be cured.

Talking of grandchildren and saving the planet. Daughter Kate in Eire has had PV installed on her roof as part of the Irish government scheme to encourage renewable electricity. She is still waiting for the wires to be connected. It had helped her in the decision to commit funds from the household budget as she had seen what our 2017 installed system has done.

The Blip is the calendar year total for 2018, our first full such year. We knew from the very start that our system would suffer really badly in at least the 4 months November to February, break even March and October and should do well in the remaining 6 months. Our location suffers very badly from very high trees.

Still: we were sold (based the financing of) the system on an annual generation of around 8.500kWh. This year we managed 9.370 and even in the 7 month period last year, we were well on course. 2018 was not the spectacular summer it was in most of Europe. Bavaria was the coldest & wettest area of Germany and we had no grass/hay/cereal crop problems, in fact, the reverse especially with maize. One needs to be aware that PV panels are far more efficient in freezing temperatures and lose performance in high heat periods.

Basically, the graphics parts of the chart show top how we used the electricity and the bottom what we generated. Over the year. we were 76% self-sufficient. We used 60% of the PV electricity ourselves and sold 40% to the electricity company. Our ridiculously high consumption has various reasons but includes that we now heat our water as much as possible with PV electricity rather than wood pellets.

And not only saving money on wood pellets, but we do also at least reduce our emissions of fine particle dust, so harmful to the environment and human health. We do everything possible to keep the built-in cleaning systems working as they should and have the chimney swept twice a year and system serviced according to manufacturers timetable and by them.

And tonight I reserved my New Year celebrations to watching other peoples fireworks on TV. I didn't even go out to watch what was being thrown up into the village's skies. Two or three years ago I was standing outside under trees and watching the distant display when above me I spotted two wild birds no more than a few metres away, perched on a branch and to my mind looking totally petrified.

I haven't bought any fireworks for decades. I don't want to spoil anyone's fun but those who do use them and then complain about diesels and all that - consider this:

15% of Germany's annual fine particle dirt caused by industry, power generation, cars, trains, heating systems etc is caused by fireworks on this single night.

Dear Grandchildren Charlotte & Elliot - I know I'm not the best Grandpa, I don't always send you the best Christmas parcels (I know you would never complain), I insult your mother by wrongly guessing her musical choice (I thought she loved the chicken song, - she DID, HONEST in 1983 aged 3 on holiday in Greece.) BUT I am doing a tiny bit to try and leave you with a planet with a little less c**p which I manage to save. No, not good enough but I'm learning. It's never too late.