Happy New Year

I’m wishing all my friends, readers, partners and customers a happy new year. It’s time to close the old book and open a new book. today, 31/12/2024 is the last day of the year and we are closing a full book. Full of memories, thoughts, plans and success but also some failure. The future has not been written yet, and on this last day of the year we can reflect on what we have achieved and done. Tomorrow things can change again  On the 1/1/25 we open a blank book. Nothing has been written in it yet. It is empty. It is now up to us what we do and and create in the new year. Let us do something positive and bright where our Kid’s and future people can be proud of. Let us not give in to hate and bullying. Let us see the positive things.  We will face a lot of challenges, like Donald Trump as US president, a convicted felon, narcissist, racist, just to name some things. It will be a terrible 4 years that lie ahead of us.But we have to make the best out of it. We will face many more challenges. But only if we work together as a collective we can overcome them. There is no single person that can change a thing. We can only change things as a whole.  If you like my blog please comment, and follow me on Facebook, X, Blue Sky, Instagram or Threads.

Merry Christmas everyone

It’s been a really relaxing Christmas and New Year for me and the family. My Mum (82) and Ralf (7) has been celebrating with me under the Christmas tree. We had an awesome time. Christmas Eve I cooked Salmon with Lemon, Honey and Garlic and added Mashed Potatoes, and Eggplant as sides together with Austrian style potatoes salad. It was really great. In Austria we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve not on the 25 which for us is the first Christmas Holliday day.  On the 25th I’ve made roast chicken in the oven with fresh green salad and boiled rice. Of course we had deserts on every day and it was an amazing food generally. I agree it was too much but that always happens at Christmas, we always eat too much.

Gigafactory in Sunderland

I’ve been fortunate to get a subcontractor contract with BSI Electric to work at the Gigafactory in Sunderland. The Gigafactory will in the future be producing batteries for electric cars.  The team I am working with is awesome. There are some really great people and tasks that I’ve trained for and because of the college classes I’m taking. At the moment the contract is only until Christmas with the possibility to extend it for up to two years. This depends on several factors, and as I enjoy the work and people I work with I would really like this to continue. The reason for this is that BSI had an accident with some injuries just the week before I started. So their contract is being evaluated. 

Ralf’s new food

Ralf has been getting a new food. Up until now I was feeding him his food that I got from a local pet store. It was great I thought because it catered to his dietary requirements, offered a variety of flavours and 65% meat content while it was human grade food. Recently he had issues eating his food, He left his bowl for like. two days and ate the bare minimum. No idea why. When I asked at the pet store, they said that the recipe hasn’t changed and all is as usual. However Ralf doesn’t like it anymore and I tried all flavours ending up having a multitude of flavours at home (Angus Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Duck) non of it he would want. While speaking to a friend he mentioned that he feeds his dog Tails that is a tailor made food. It’s tailor made to your breed and dog size and age. However as Ralf is a fussy eater and usually doesn’t like the same food twice in a month I am a bit worried but they gave me a two week free trial. As far as I can tell, at the moment is that he likes it. He poops a lot more than before and even had some accidents in the living room during the night but I assume it will ease down when he gets more used to it. At least that is what I hope. What I realise is that Ralf has much more energy. Well if you want to try Tails for your Dog, use my link and get two weeks FREE. You can also use, the voucher code BSFKPYFQ at the checkout both ways you get two weeks free. If you are currently feeding Tails to your pet I would love to hear what you think about it and how your dog reacted to it, and as usual. If you like my blog, read it, share it and comment. I love to hear from you. Mark

Donation Request

Good evening everyone! This is a really difficult post to make, but it’s important to ask… I would like to ask you all to Donate to the blog any I am going to explain in this article why. Don’t worry it’s not for me or the upkeep of the blog even though it costs me £150 a month to run it but that’s nothing really. No it is something that is really important for me. Food for all I’m not rich and you don’t have to be to help others. I have started during the pandemic to cook vegetarian meals for people who can’t afford biodynamic, organic, vegetarian meals. At the moment I am preparing roughly 30 to 40 free meals per week. Those meals I cook fresh, and I usually make a 3 course meal mostly soup or starter, main course and sometimes a dessert. I pay this out of my own pocket and sometimes I get organic food donations from a friend and a local company selling biodynamic produce. I could really do with some donations to get more money to help more people. There are so many that can not afford to buy the food they need and with some extra money I could help more people. Health Currently I am having two people that I support with their medical bills. Most of it I pay for their prescriptions in the pharmacy as they do not have the money to pay for them. There are currently three people I can’t help as their medical bills would exceed my possibilities. One person has a dental bill of 25K that she needs help with and the other person needs help with post surgery cost. The post surgery costs, for recovery and rehabilitation that is not covered by the NHS will be coming to 15K. As I am trying very hard to help those people I have already decided that 10% of my sales for Mugs, and Weleda will go to help them. I’m just worried really that I won’t be able to cover all the cost for this by using the 10%. Please if you think you can spare a one time donation or a regular standing order please do so. If you can’t that’s okay too just ignore the article.

Not a big update but

It’s not a big update today but something I want to share with y’all. Ive made 3 new T-Shirt designs well OK two one is for myself and I think you can guess which one it is. The third one with the dog in the heart shape is flexible It can be used for a mug, t-shirt, or slate stone to remember a loved pet that has passed away. It is one of the most frequently requested designs and I thought I do one now that is available to anyone.  I will make them available on MWP-Design soon.

Website Update

This is going to be a short post today. I have made some updates to my website. The individual pages have had a massive update and I created galleries instead of single pictures to make it easier to read and in some cases I have re-formated the text and made it shorter or longer and some of the individual pages like the WELEDA page now shows the blog posts related to the page. It is supposed to give a better overview. Let me know what you think about those updates and if it improves my blog website. At this point I also want to thank all of you for reading and commenting my blog. Please if you like it spread the word. Mark

Uncle Waiting List

For the last 3 months I have been on the waiting list at Uncle in Wembley for a 3 Bedroom 2 Bathroom Apartment. Up until today I am still waiting and I am really getting a bit upset but I can understand that no one is moving out and that Uncle can’t force people out if they extend their contract. Now I just have to keep waiting. Maybe in their new development that is going to be finished soon I can get something. My point is that I want an apartment that is on a higher floor up so speaking like 12 to 25th floor. I don’t want to be on a lower floor but also don’t want to be underneath the root terrace. So kind of in the middle up. All uncle had available lately was 3rd and 6th floor. So it just means I have to stay in Whitley Bay longer until something I want becomes available. I was hoping to move back to London in the summer…

Karl König Founder of Camphill

Karl König 1902-1966: Biography Dr Karl König (1902-66) was an Austrian physician, author and lecturer. In 1938, König fled the Nazi invasion of Austria and settled near Aberdeen, Scotland. It was here that he founded what became the Camphill movement in 1940. Based on the educational ideas of Rudolf Steiner, this network of special education schools for children and villages for adults with developmental needs are now established throughout Britain, Europe, North and South America, and southern Africa. He was also working very closely with Dr Ita Wegmann, the founder of the Anthroposophical Medical and cosmetic company WELEDA.  Karl König’s Early Life Karl König was born on September 25th 1902 in Vienna, Austria, the only son of a Jewish family who owned a shoeshop. He studied zoology, biology and medicine at the University of Vienna, graduating in 1927. During König’s studies on embryology, he encountered the works of Rudolf Steiner through Goethe’s scientific writings. König immediately identified with Steiner and was soon acquainted with a number of his followers, including Ita Wegman. Upon graduation, König was offered several high-profile positions in Vienna but instead accepted an invitation from Ita Wegman to join her clinic in Arlesheim, Switzerland. König’s time at the Clinic would shape the Camphill movement. It was here that he met his wife and co-founder, Tilla Maasberg, and it was here that he first witnessed the Advent Garden. During this festival, where children with learning disabilities circle a spiral of moss, lighting a candle from a large central beacon, he promised to ‘dedicate my life to the care and education of these children’. Following his time at Arlesheim, König moved to Germany and was involved in founding the Pilgramshain Institute – one of the early curative educational centres based on anthroposophy. However, due to political pressure König was forced to leave Germany in 1936. He returned to Vienna where he ran a successful medical practice and led anthroposophical study groups until 1938. Karl König and the Camphill Movement Fleeing Austria after Nazi annexation in 1938, König was part of a small group of doctors, teachers and artists to be granted political asylum in the United Kingdom during 1939. König moved to Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where this group founded a home for children with learning disabilities that became the beginning of the Camphill movement. After the Second World War, more schools were founded as well as curative education villages for adults with disabilities, based on the ideal of working together as a community. In the following decades, König’s Aberdeenshire community grew and expanded into Britain, Europe and America, becoming the Camphill movement we recognise today. During this period, König worked tirelessly to help children and adults with special needs through publications, talks and seminars – and by founding communities the world over. Karl König returned to Germany in 1964, founding another community near Überlingen. He died there in 1966. Today, the Camphill movement he established includes more than 100 communities in over 20 different countries.