Remembering Trivia Quiz

Answer: James Herriot

Remembering... that something happened in 1916 which made me happen. And therefore happy.

It was October the 3rd, World War I was still raging, and in England Mrs. and Mr. Wight welcomed the birth of little James Alfred. Grown up, James worked as a vet in Yorkshire. Later in life he wrote "If Only They Could Talk", released in 1970, telling of his experiences as a budding vet. This was made into the TV series "All Creatures Great and Small" some years later, and not only my parents loved to watch it. Wight, who used the pen name James Herriot, died in 1995.

Not only the Wights needed nappies that year. My grandparents, living in their farmhouse in a small northern German village, had another baby boy! My father. He worked as a baker, a sailor, a sailor in the German navy in WW 2, a bricklayer and a welder. I most likely left something out, but being born as the youngest, when he was nearly fifty years old, a great part of his life is hearsay for me.

Edward Heath was a British prime minister once, Eugene McCarthy was a politician from Minnesota, not to be confused with Joseph, the guy who was very much afraid of communists. Kirk Douglas was an actor in his younger years. Heath and McCarthy died in 2005. Mr. Douglas turned 102 in December 2018.

Answer: Watching "Singin' in the Rain" in the cinema

Remembering... things I know about 1925.

A plan for a nice evening out in 1925 New York. Read Edgar Wallace, "The Fellowship of the Frog", which would be out that year. Some fancy time watching "No, No Nanette" on Broadway. On the way home you whistle "Tea for Two", but your boy tells you he prefers "Yes Sir, That's My Baby", another great hit of that year.

I wonder if my mother's parents knew that song? Their little baby girl who later in life liked Edgar Wallace movies, enjoyed tea for two (or even more) was born that year.

Sadly, my grandfather died when she was still a baby.
And so he never could watch "Singin' in the Rain", because the story might have been set in the roaring twenties, but Gene Kelly chanted in a downpour of the year 1952.

Answer: The Song of Bernadette

Remembering... that my mother told me she loved to go to the movies as a young woman.

My parents got married in 1943 and they enjoyed going to the cinema. There wasn't much other entertainment around.

I assume that a young couple in a war-ridden country, with the man on leave from a battleship, had better things to do than watching the war on screen.

"The Song of Bernadette" is a biopic of that year, dealing with the life of Bernadette Soubirous. Not very romantic, but at least without war. Which can't be said of the other movies I used as wrong answers.

Alas, as my parents lived in Germany, none of these films were available for them. They most likely looked a romantic musical comedy like "Frauen sind keine Engel". The translation of this "Women Are No Angels".
But why should we be angels?

Answer: False

Remembering... posing in front of the twittering canary birds for family pictures. It always felt like ages.

These are all varieties of canary. My father kept canaries in an aviary in the garden. And even now, over 20 years later, I still remember him whenever I hear canaries sing.

They are mostly yellow, good singers and originally from Macaronesia, islands like the Canary Islands belong to this archipelago. Canaries have been bred in captivity since the 17th century, liked for their vocal abilities.

Answer: Berliner

Remembering.... eating Berliner on New Year's eve.

Berliner, or Berliner Pfannkuchen are the German relatives of the American doughnut. They are deep-fried, dusted with powdered sugar and filled with delicious jam. They are traditionally eaten at carnival, but our family had another tradition: New Year's eve! My father had been a baker as a young man and enjoyed preparing them. And we loved to eat them.

Churro are devoured in Mexico. Koeksister are a sweet treat in South Africa.
Malasada raise the blood sugar in Portugal. They are all deep fried and nothing for anyone on a diet.

Answer: Wake up

I remember... that my mother loved to hear music.
And sometimes she asked us for the title of a song.

Jamaican Boris Gardiner released "I Wanna Wake Up with You" in 1986. The song made it to the British Number one spot, and wasn't very successful outside of the British isles.

Now to get you in some romantic mood:

"I want to wake up with you
I want to be there when you open your eyes
I want you to be the first thing that I see
I want to wake up with you"

Answer: Hans Christian Andersen

Remembering... crying for the poor little match girl. My mother read this to us.

This H.C. Andersen story was released in 1845. The story is sad. The little match girl hadn't sold a single one. Afraid of her angry father, she doesn't dare to go home. On this cold New Year's Eve, she lights the matches and dreams of beautiful things. Her most treasured dream is one is of her grandma, the only nice person in her life. The next morning the little girl is found dead. She most likely died of hypothermia, which leads to delusions before you die.

While it might just sound like a sentimental sob story, it showed a bitter reality of the time. There were children that had to work. In harsh weather, dressed in rags, and fearing violence at home. Nobody noticed the little girl when she was alive, and she longed for her dead granny. She was happy to die. Andersen pointed at this lonely child. And children like her are still around today.

And if that doesn't make you cry...

Answer: Sport Lisboa e Benfica

Remembering...never understanding anything about the game at all! But I was forced by the force of majority to gather some knowledge.

Ok, I cheated. This is more geography than sport. Hamburger Sport Verein and Borussia Mönchengladbach are both German clubs. One in Hamburg, my father's favorite. One in Mönchengladbach, my mother's favorite. The German capital is Berlin.

Futebol Clube do Porto can be found in Porto, a town famed for its wine, but the capital is Lisbon. That's where SL Benfica kicks the leather. That's also a place where my youngest brother lived for a time. He had married a nice Portuguese woman, had a good job there and was a member of Benfica. Not playing, but paying.

Answer: Olivia Walton from "The Waltons"

Remembering... Watching "The Waltons" on TV. And wondering why their meals were that peaceful. It wasn't with our family.

The Waltons had nine children, the oldest being John Boy, the youngest being Elizabeth. Two children died at birth, but they are mentioned in the series. Despite not being rich, they always seemed to be a loving family.

Miss Ellie had three sons: J.R., Gary and Bobby. The boys had a half-brother from an affair of their father. Despite being rich, there wasn't a lot of love in that family.

Alexis had three children by her ex Blake Carrington: Adam, Steven and Fallon.
Another dysfunctional family.

Wilma Flintstone had only one daughter, Pebbles. But her husband Fred didn't always act like a grownup, so you might say that she had two.

For the good luck of our parents they spread the birth of their nine children over 20 years. Otherwise they would have needed the strong beverages frequently consumed on "Southfork Ranch".

Answer: Ginger Baker

Remembering... 2019.

The year Ginger Baker, the drummer of the rock bands "Cream" and "Blind Faith" left the world to drum in some higher place. He died in October, aged 80 years.

The actors Harry Anderson and Burt Reynolds, and singer Charles Aznavour already died in 2018. All of them had some trouble with their hearts in their life.

Which connects them to my youngest brother, who had heart trouble for decades and died after the long-awaited heart transplant in 2019. He was 65, my parents and one brother had predeceased him.


But I will remember all of them.