I Have Been Released Blues: Sunday, June 24th!

Laughter is inner jogging. -Norman Cousins, editor and author (24 Jun 1915-1990) 

Greetings from Adina Apartment Hotel, just across the street from the Charité Hospital. Nurse Nana collected me this morning and we are comfortably ensconced here until Tuesday when we fly to Toronto, around noon. Lady Dar is napping on couch as she is still suffering from jet-lag. 

I feel reasonably well, given my week in hospital but still not a lot of energy, due to pneumonia, of course. Love from both of us. Cheers! Pic was taken yesterday, in my hospital room, by Tomas, Ulrike's boyfriend. She "saved" me at the Berlin train station, a week ago, and called paramedics. They made about a two hour train journey to visit, collecting my bike and baggage, in storage at station, before coming to hospital. Unfortunately, Lady Dar arrived after they had to leave. Ulrike will complete her PhD in Biology shortly and Tomas is a landscape worker for city of Berlin.

David Kessler Thank you Ulrike!!!! We are all grateful! Ni Cole Marie Thank goodness for her and so glad you are doing better.Patrick James Dunn Thanks, Nicolina! Joanne Trueman Safe travels home. Glad to see you are on the mend. Patrick James Dunn Thanks, JT! I understand you are world traveler yourself! Buona Fortuna, Patrizzio! Corey William Looks like you have found yet another person to live with when you travel to that part of the world again! Glad your on the mend Patrick James Dunn Thanks, Kid Chelene! Always on the lookout for Freeloading possibilities. I spit on hotels! Cheers! Wayne Sutherland Glad to hear you are getting better. Call when you get home. Patrick James Dunn Thanks, Sarge! Probably give you a shout on Wednesday as we are back, all going well, around midnight on Tuesday. Sylvie Roy Take care Patrick xxx Patrick James Dunn Thanks, Sylvaine! Carol Riera Wow Paprika! How lucky you are to have Ulrike as you guardian angel. Take care of yourself and get well soon. 🙏 Patrick James Dunn Thanks Chooch! Hope to see you and Brunello at some point. Cheers! Stephen Carthew Whewww, You hadda lotta people wurried! Patrick James Dunn Thanks for concern, Stefano! I gather you are enjoying life, once again, at Harbour Terrace. Great digs at JT's place. You'll not want to return to Burns Street for more shelf building! Cheers!

 

Dearest Ulrike! Let me thank you, and Tomas, of course, it goes without saying, for coming to visit me and for the unbelievably helpful delivery of my bicycle and baggage. Your kindness and consideration, for a complete stranger simply knows no bounds. I did so enjoy learning a bit more about both your lives and am sorry that you were not able to meet Corinne. It was shortly after 7:00 pm when she was able to walk from the hotel to the hospital. Thank you, as well, for the pictures which Tomas took. I have already posted one to our daughter, Chloë, in Penticton. Furthermore I quite enjoyed seeing you and your fellow research team, along with the lovely snaps of the storks themselves. What marvellous creatures!

Finally, I suppose I'm not yet thinking as clearly as I should be as I had fully intended to return the €50 which you so generously left in my red folder. How remarkably generous of you and I do apologize for neglecting to return the money to you. I simply forgot even though I had thought about this when I knew you would be visiting and wanted to thank you for this action, among so many others, in person. This being the case, I would ask that you send me your street address so that we can post a small gift, along with the money, to you tomorrow, presumably from a post office outlet hereabouts.
 

Corinne collected me this morning, around 10:00 am. After I was discharged she walked the pannier-laden bike back to the hotel and I followed. Fortunately the rain had stopped so it was quite pleasant to be out in the fresh air.  We are now comfortably ensconced here until Tuesday when we fly to Toronto, around noon. Lady Dar is napping on the couch as she is still suffering from jet-lag. I feel reasonably well, given my week in hospital, but still not a lot of energy, due to the pneumonia, of course. Corinne sends her very best wishes to you both and is sorry she was not able to meet in person. Again, from the very bottom of my heart, thank you again, Ulrike, for all your selfless kindness and remarkable assistance. Fondest of fond regards to you and Tomas from both of us. Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: Morning I left Penticton, for Vancouver, April 12th. Lady Dar beside her "MarriageMobile"! Chloë drove me to Vancouver as she was going there for the weekend.

Hi Poppa! It is so good to finally have an email from you and we are all so glad to hear that you are recovering well. Your family in Los Angeles also wishes to express our gratitude to Ulrike and Tomas for helping you when you were sick and far from home!! Thank you!! With love to all from California

Chloe Alexis Dunn Dad!!! First contact. So glad you’re heading back home. Happy to see you looking to be on the mend and very happy you encountered such a helpful and caring person when you needed it. ❤️ Margareta Maunsbach Hi Patrick, I am so relieved to hear from you and get to know what actually happened when you arrived in Berlin. Lucky you somebody took care of you there instantly. However it is bad luck that you will not come to visit in Aarhus this time. I wish you a safe trip back on Tuesday, and hope to see you soon. Here or there.. Much love, M Sara Jane McGillivray Hi Patrick!! I am so glad to know that you are recovering and that Corinne has come to bring you home.Sara Jane McGillivray Good morning from Sunny Vancouver. Greek Days on Broadway starting shortly. Yes, thanks to nifty Facebook connections, we met Chloe on Monday after her work and had a lovely visit with her (lovely except for the news of your hospitalization and the grim photo of you). Wine tasting in Naramata is such good sport!! Also, had a few short walks on the KVR trail just behind the house we stayed at, and even had a quick swim at Three Mile Beach. We might just come back in July as we missed a couple wineries and would like to check up on you. Gentle hugs to you and big hugs to Corinne for a difficult June. Patrick James Dunn Lady Dar sends her thanks for good wishes. See you in July. Let us know when you know. Cheers!

Hi Old Farts, I trust that most of you have dried out by now! That was some rain on Thursday. This week, we are going to do a bit of public service. The Sheep Rock Trail which begins on the kilometer 4 forestry road is in need of maintenance. Parts of the trail are becoming quite overgrown, and there are a few blowdowns across the trail. I am certain that it hasn’t had a cleanup for quite a few years. So, I hope that a few of us can tidy things up somewhat, Here are a few bits of information:

-The road in from kilometre 4 is in about the same condition as a year ago (not great). There are about 20 water bars between the Apex Road and the trailhead. It is quite passable (I did it this afternoon), but higher clearance vehicles are recommended. We might even move a few rocks off the road as part of our cleanup project. -We will need some equipment for our clearing chore. If you have a bow saw, a pruning saw, pruning lops, a hand pruner (shears), or some sturdy gloves, please bring them along. If anyone has a small gas-powered chain saw, it would be wonderful if you could bring it and are capable of using it safely.
 

-We will begin at the trailhead, but will probably send small groups ahead on the trail so that we can do the clearing in sections. -There is no guarantee that we will be able to summit Sheep Rock. It will depend on our progress, -It is a good idea to have some bug spray with you. There were lots of mosquitos today! Also, bring some sunblock. -Some parts of the trail are damp, especially around the first bridge. Be prepared! We will: -meet at Home Hardware north parking lot in Penticton at 0800 on Thursday morning (0740 at IGA parking lot in Summerland). -carpool and drive to the trailhead (pavement to Apex Road km 4 and then 6 km of unpaved road to the trailhead). -spend an enjoyable day being of service. -return to Penticton in the afternoon for a well-earned refreshment and a debriefing. If, by some chance, we are going to get rainy weather, I will get in touch and change the plans to something else. Are you interested in joining us? If so, let me know by return email. Cheers, Jim