emkay

I too attended a secondary convent boarding school though thankfully only as a day pupil. My parents let some boarder friends (with their parent’s approval of course) spend weekends at our home. Their time as boarders was just horrendous. Same as your recollection, only one young nun was nice, the rest were pure evil.    Not long ago, I learned that there are ongoing legal cases against monks at my daughter’s former catholic school. Sexual abuse of pupils  etc going back to the 1980’s.  I can’t get the links just now though the film Spotlight is based on a true story. If I recall correctly, The Boston Globe’s investigative journalists researched pedophile priests. Extensive research found a very high percentage of such priests. The victims, most often from poor families readily accepted the church’s settlements. The priest were generally relocated elsewhere. The story was eventually published just around the same time as 9/11 so fell under the radar somewhat.    Also, Netflix’s recent release of Vatican Girl. Certainly raises lots of suspicion and possible involvement of the higher echelons of the Vatican into a young girl’s mysterious disappearance.

Thank you all. I’ve finally figured it out! Just need to see if the exchange £ to € exchange rate improves a bit.

Goodness, I’m now even more confused. My main question was, am I using the Wise account most appropriately to transfer funds from a UK to DE bank account? Ie UK debit card GBP payment (no fees) to Wise account and then transfer to my DE account with fees and appropriate exchange rate?

Only just gotten round to testing my Wise account. I realise how daft I am trying to understand! I generally just wish to transfer funds from my UK bank account to my DE bank account. Not vice versa. Am I right that I basically firstly have to add GBP funds to my Wise account and then separately send those funds to my DE account? I added GBP using my UK bank debit card. Seems there are no fees for that. Then, sent those funds to my DE account. I can’t check DE receipt at the moment. I guess the maximum GBP transfer may be limited by my UK account daily maximum transfer allowance. Is there a way to transfer from a source account directly to the recipient account without the middle stage? Doesn’t really matter I guess as it’s so far, quite simple anyway. 

I admit that I’ve never listened to a podcast before this one! Some good inspiration for anyone who feels weighed down by a never ending circle of unhappiness and bad things happening.   https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-mel-robbins-podcast/id1646101002?i=1000591280465

@CountingCrows, I understand your last point. Not so sure however that restaurant staff are regularly checked for infections. Remind me…when you received a meal in a bag at 5am in your home country, is it already precooked and you simply reheat when necessary? In the absence of a such a service in your area and your willingness to pay appropriately, I’d suggest that you speak to some local restaurants that you like and negotiate with them. For the right price and minimal contact requirement, I’m sure there would be possibilities. 

My neighbour asked me to feed her cats.  This morning, the key that I keep and have often used, turned several times though didn’t unlock. I alerted her to the problem though she thought that her key would work.  Now she’s home with her young kids, her key doesn’t work.  She has called a locksmith though it can take some time before he can attend.  Does anyone happen to know of this kind of problem and of any non invasive means to gain entry...any key/door push-pull tricks?  The door/lock is only around 10 years old.  Not directly exposed to the elements and apparently never has any sticking issues.  I guess it has 2-4 locking hinges, similar to ours.  I know it’s a long shot though any advice would be much appreciated 

Have a look at these websites….   https://www.juit.com/de   https://getvoila.com/   If you Google ‘diät essen lieferservice’, shows lots of similar websites.   

Shame we no longer have a regular postie nor delivery people. 

I know that times have been tough though my husband and his colleagues were somewhat flummoxed to receive these Christmas gifts from 2 managers. A major employer, only 11 staff in that department.    If it’s the thought that counts, I wonder what the thoughts could be?!  

Try one of the Nachhilfe (tuition) franchises near you such as Schülerhilfe. Also, ask your daughter’s teacher for recommendations and check eBay Kleinanzeigen for Nachhilfe. University students often work freelance for the franchises and also offer tuition on eBay Kleinanzeigen. 

I don’t go as far as spreadsheets as our bills give usage comparisons to previous years. As we have solar panels only for hot water heating, I do check the gas meter in summer to make sure it doesn’t change. A few years ago, doing this showed that the solar water heating system wasn’t working that meant the water heating defaulted to gas usage.    I do compare prices with other companies to make sure our deal is still good. Best to check local energy companies rather than the comparison websites as the tariffs are much lower. Recently, I’ve found that by phoning the companies, better tariffs are on offer than those on their own websites….unless you really want a free toaster, iPad etc!  I still don’t fathom how a newish dishwasher set on eco mode that runs for 4 hours is more energy efficient than a one hour setting at the same temperature.   

My property has been insured by Barclays for many years. Latterly, this includes landlord insurance. Barclays have now told me they won’t renew as I’m not a UK resident. Googling shows all sorts though I’d really appreciate a recommendation.  Many thanks in advance.   

I half watched last week‘s 3 episodes as a bit of distraction. The first part seemed nicey nicey love story. Do I recall correctly that Meghan stated that she never felt any race difference growing up? It seems like her mother brought the race issue to attention? Any which way, I can’t watch any further episodes. Many families have some form of disfunction. Some worse than others. Cashing in to such an extent is tragic. 

Thanks so much. That’s a photo of when she bounced into our lives in 2014 as a foster kitty with her 2 siblings. They all grew into very big pure black beauties. Daft as I am, after Gracie was first diagnosed with CKD and not allowed outdoors, she loved to watch bird videos on YouTube with her sister. She was such a dear soul and very much missed.  

Thank you for your kind words. The vet felt last week that she might have a chance and had some treatment. At least she was relieved from her dental pain. She chose her own time and place to leave us as peacefully as possible. 

We’ve just said goodbye to our dear Gracie. We‘ll never forget our sweet girl. 😥          

I too have just received the welcome pack. No debit card yet. I found it odd that the account name is just my Christian name.    The emailed confirmation also states the following. I wouldn’t necessarily think that this current account might be a permanent solution.    We can also end the agreement and close your accounts by giving you at least two months’ notice (unless your account is a Fixed Rate Saver). If you have a Basic Bank Account in the UK, we can close your account by giving you at least two months’ notice if anything in the list below applies. •There haven’t been any transactions on your account for more than 24 months. •You’re no longer legally resident in the UK. •You have access to another payment account with basic features. For a Basic Bank Account, we’ll tell you why we’re ending the agreement, unless it would be unlawful for us to do so.

My father and his wife were due for attend a family party tonight near us. For personal reasons I declined to attend.    I just heard that my dad suffered a stroke this morning and has been admitted to a local hospital. I’m very grateful that I was able to talk to him. Just now, he’s forgotten that his native language is German. He’s gotten very Denglish. The carers however are great with English. It sounds like he’s being very well cared for.

  I thought the new Netflix version of Lady Chatterley’s Lover very good. I don’t really remember the 90’s adaptation other than Mellor’s saying ‘Ay, ‘ad to ‘appen’!  Nice to see Joely Richardson had a part in the new version. Emma Corrin is an amazing actress. 

Topic sway….last time we were at a Christmas market, the Glühwein was equally awful. We then discovered the hot gin stand. Several variations. Gin and elderflower was my favourite …definitely no alcohol dissipation 😉

I did mention this subject in the ‘unhappy’ thread this week and very grateful for all replies. I really do need some more specific advice if possible as I need to urgently address this matter tomorrow when the managing agent returns from holiday.    Unbeknown to me, the managing agent of my UK house, made the decision to replace a non working integrated microwave with a freestanding microwave placed in the former space. The cabinet was remodelled to accommodate. I’m not sure if the contractor is electrical qualified.    At first, my issue was that this reconfiguration looks absolutely awful. I then realised that the space around the freestanding microwave is inadequate. The microwave manual states ventilation space of 20cm all around and 30cm above. There can’t be more than 1-2cm space around and approx 10cm above.  I believe that combination microwaves that include convector oven and grill, require more ventilation than simple microwaves as they get much hotter. The vents are back of sides and rear as far as I can tell from Google.    In the meantime, I’ve asked that the tenant doesn’t use the microwave until a safe solution is found.   My second question is, now that the filler panel formerly over the microwave is now placed directly over the oven with a shelf directly on top, does the electric oven likely have any or enough ventilation? The shelf now directly over the oven must be fitted flush to the back panel or the microwave wouldn’t fit. I believe that the original appliance cabinet unit had no back behind the appliances to allow for ventilation and space for electrical cables and plugs. It looks like a  back panel has now been fitted to the microwave section.   I’m super conscious to ensure safety and that house insurance isn’t compromised. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Before and after. 

I believe the original cabinet was like this….open backed in the appliance section.  

If I recall correctly, your house is fairly new. The gas meter too. Maybe new model gas meters don’t need such ventilation? Modern houses often don’t have a traditional dedicated room for boilers and meters. To be sure, contact the meter manufacturer and/or the gas supply company. Before cutting anything, just leave the door ajar until you know for sure. 

As this isn’t supposed to be a chat thread, I’ll just mention as another vent,….We have neighbours that burn a lot more than wood in their open fireplaces and wood burners. Clouds of toxic fumes from chimneys. Another neighbour is on a witch hunt and mentioned that German rules state that only suitably dried wood of certain varieties are allowed to be burned. No colour printed paper etc etc. And, seemingly, the health risks from fumes indoors are worse than running a diesel engine in a lounge. At least our Gemeinde, don’t care about any complaints.