Though I saw it all around, never thought I could be affected

Peter Gabriel

Sinead O’Connor’s death the week before last shook me up. I had seen her once in person during a protest march in Dublin, years ago. She had an incredible personality and near magic presence. Last week, I listened back to some of her music, including a duet she sang with Willie Nelson, Don’t give up, by Peter Gabriel. I read up a little on her very full and complex life. Sinead tried so hard to never give up. She had friends though I think she might have been terribly lonely at times. May she rest in peace.

Pádraig went to what was almost like a mini Wacken, the world’s biggest Heavy Metal open air, which takes place over the first week(end) of August every year in a tiny village less than an hour from Tating, usually in fields of mud. Tating’s Dorffest was slightly less heavy metal but equally muddy. The music was brilliant, though not necessarily everybody’s taste, the food and the drinks were of the finest quality, Futjes, Bratwurst and Flensburger, and the company was unique.

Who needs Wacken if you have Tating?

We tried this ourselves a few times, following what we had seen in the specialised shop where we had ordered and fitted Pádraig’s ptosis glasses. It never worked well for us, as we were trying to lift up one eyelid and then the other onto the little spring-loaded arms fitted to the glasses. The optician we visited last week knew what he was doing when he lifted both of Pádraig’s eyelids with one hand and used the other to position them onto the arms fitted to the glasses. Much better.

While Pádraig’s eyesight is good, he has trouble lifting the eyelids as his third nerve got damaged during his accident 10 years ago. Not being able to easily open your eyes and being able to see what’s going on around you is obviously a big barrier to participation. It would mean an awful lot if we managed to make those glasses work.

But not only that. When people see you with your eyes closed they instinctively believe that you are “asleep” – whether you are or you aren’t – and they treat you accordingly. We only found out about these glasses a few months ago and it took weeks to get them ordered, delivered, and fitted.

An Optician fitting Pádraig’s Ptosis Glasses

It is essential that we learn how to use them better and regularly. They make a world of a difference to Pádraig’s life.

When I think of Germany, I think of the bakery displaying a sign, No Credit Cards, Only Cash; the filling station apologising to their customers that they cannot accept notes of 200 and 500 euro (!); the 12-page 8 point Times Roman document I had to sign when I added an international call option to my mobile phone contract; the 3-euro charge to get onto the beach; the summer beach party at the canal in Gelsenkirchen with 80-year old Schlagerstars and 20-year old fans in the audience; the Autobahn with endless ‘roadworks’ with nobody working; Karl May’s Winnetou and Old Shatterhand, friends, childhood dreams, a perfectly safe and predictable world.

When I think of the North of Germany, it’s the endless horizons. Hintern Horizont gehts weiter. And Udo’s (supported by Apache 207) first No. 1 after 50 years in the business, beating all previous top singles German records, Komet.

On our walks, we met old and new friends; Irish-type signposts; a “Kältekabine” where you test your jacket to make sure it is cold- and wind-resistant; a kite-surfer traffic jam in the sky; Husum Harbour attracting melancholic tourists longing for the liberty of the seas; fancy rest places in hammocks and a super-sized Strandkorb; ambitious therapists; and beach-going wheelchairs.

Meaning changes in different circumstances. So does the meaning of songs.

Don’t give up‘Cause you have friendsDon’t give upYou’re not beaten yetDon’t give upI know you can make it good

No reason to ever give up if you have friends who know you can make it good.