Light Rain by a Canal and the Women's World Cup

This afternoon T. and I went to a picnic for a former colleague.

I was quite delighted not only to get to meet their family, at a peaceful location underneath old trees beside a canal that was frequented by birds as well as kayakers, people on floats, and a quiet, massive tour boat. — A grey, single-arch bridge that probably predated the First World War, passed nearby. And although I suspected the existence of a lot of 'Baulücken' (building gaps) caused perhaps by damage during the Second World War, the isolated pre-war apartment building blocks that poked up through the green tree canopy looked thriving. Beside us, an old tree had been dissected with a chainsaw and the raw orange surfaces were glowing against the rain-fed green grass, perhaps a casualty of the recent high winds. But it didn't make the scene too depressing. A playground full of children nearby added to the nice ambiance, even if I barely noticed them consciously.—

I was also delighted that almost the entire team of the former colleague showed up, bit by bit. Also, a former colleague from the design team appeared, whom I had not seen in person since perhaps 2020. 

The host had brought a loaf of bread, cheese, cider, and mineral water, along with a knife and a cutting board, and seemed happy and relaxed. Two friends had brought along chocolate cupcakes, berry-flavored and ginger-flavoured. There were bananas, and one of my former teammates brought her excellent caponata. One of the host's former teammates brought along lots of cutlery and plates, as well as more food. And a former colleague who was recently on a grand adventure in one of Europe's big mountain ranges showed up, brisk and good-humoured, with marinated tofu, a macaroni salad, and sticky rice.

I'd wanted to bring along homemade scones with different flavourings... but just as I was about to roll out the scones and bake them, I saw that an insect had housed itself in a cocoon inside the folded top of the flour packaging. (I had also shockingly miscalculated how much time I needed, having forgotten that the dough resting times needed to be added to the total.) Rather than risk bug contamination by bringing the scones to the party, I just brought along nothing and then felt guilty.

We were rained on a little, but not too badly, sheltered in the end by the generous shade of a linden tree.

And it turned out that two of the people who hadn't met before had both lived in the same South American city in the past, and both now live in the same district of Berlin.

T. and I had to leave early, as we had another commitment in the west. We had a dinner with two uncles and our aunt who is visiting from England, to belatedly celebrate my mother's birthday. Gi. also graced us with his presence, having made the long trip from Brandenburg.

***

Altogether I'm in far better spirits than I was this morning, when I fumed a bit about the outcome of the Colombia vs. Germany game in the Women's World Cup. (Given how badly the German attempts at goal scoring went wrong even when we had a few pretty convenient free kicks, I had to eventually accept that Colombia deserved the 2:1.)

The game also had a weird ending as it ended (more or less) in a worrying medical intervention. Which put my previous grumblings into perspective.