I would write this post in German, except that I feel a little bit rusty at the moment. I have admittedly been getting a bit of practice in this week, but I still find it shocking how much of a language it is possible to forget once you don’t use it for a period of months. I know that all my German knowledge has not seeped out of my brain, that it is in fact just resting in a dark recess somewhere, but it is requiring conscious effort to pull it back out to the front again. So many words are getting stuck on the tip of my tongue

Munich is probably the most expensive city in Germany but also the most beautiful and exciting, and I am determined to drag Babel there one day soon, although preferably in the summer. I am going there with my family tomorrow for a mad Christmas market visit, and am very excited A full blog report on exactly how much delicious German food I managed to cram into one weekend will follow at some point next week, but not Monday because I’m seeing Babel for his birthday. (more…)

Yesterday, I went to Primark for the very first time. There’s been a big store in Birmingham city centre for potentially years now, but I’ve never paid very much attention to it. Firstly, because given a choice between a trip to the dentist for an extraction or a shopping expedition for new clothing, I would choose the dental extraction every time. Secondly, because my belief was that it sold fashionable/tacky clothes, and my aim with clothing is to camouflage into the background and not have anyone look twice at me. Thirdly, because I’m sure there have been stories in the news about Primark using child labour or some such to produce their clothes, and that wasn’t something I necessarily wanted to support, even if my boyfriend is about to jump in and tell me in Spanish that child labour is a good thing How did I end up in this infamous store yesterday then and spend in excess of £20? (more…)