A Remarkable Woman

Last night I watched a programme which had been recorded when Alice Sommer Hertz was 98. She is now 106 and living in London. When she was over 100 years of age she was going to the University three times a week for the Third Age. She is a concert pianist and survivor of Nazi concentration camps. Born in Prague to a family of musicians (her mother played with Gustave Mahler as a child) She lost most of her loved ones in the Holocaust but listening to Alice speak passionately of her love of music –‘it is our language – it is our food’ with her eternal optimism – ‘Life is beautiful – extremely beautiful’ was an uplifting and inspiring experience.

Almost every night she dreams of the moment when she and her child and all the other women from Theresienstadt were marched into a field and told to line up in rows of ten. In the distance they could see their men folk and they were never to see them again. The women stood in the bitter cold waiting to be shot and then a Czech voice rang out with the order:

‘Back to the Ghetto!’ and she said that from being Hell the ghetto became Paradise. Asked many times what one feels when one knows it is one’s last moment on earth she said there is no fear – just blackness – a black curtain comes down.

Interspersed throughout the programme she played the piano - she practises two and a half hours every day and said the German composers were geniuses. She didn’t want to ever speak of the atrocities that were committed but said it was extremely hard to have a child who is always hungry and not be able to feed him. She had no hate in her heart for Germans but said Hitler was a mad man and she could never understand why people had followed him. She maintained that if Hitler had listened to two bars of the music he would have hated less.

In the ghetto were a band of musicians and throughout all the privation and suffering the music gave them joy – they were healthy because of playing the music every night

‘It is the most beautiful thing that life can bring you. To my last day I will believe it helped me and made my life beautiful – it made me happy.’

Alice believed that her twin sister would not have had such a short life if she had not been a pessimist. She told Alice that it was a terrible world and when she died in Israel Alice came to live in London. Alice said three things were her religion.

#1 The love of a mother for her child

#2 The joy of nature.

#3 The joy of music. ‘We speak about music and we are happy.’

Asked what she has learned:

That she is grateful to her mother for telling her to learn, learn, and learn and to be thankful for everything – everything is a present. ‘Fill your life with beauty. Life is extremely beautiful – nature is beautiful and love is beautiful. Work the brain.’

Her beloved son also a gifted musician – a cellist - died aged 67.

Aged 104 Alice became famous with the publication of her book ‘The Garden of Eden in Hell’. I tried to find a you tube of Alice playing but there was only the whole programme, so below is Beethoven – one of her geniuses

Theresienstadt

The Music

E-mail from America

My friend Judy from North Carolina has a blogging friend who enjoys garage sales and recently - for just $2 bought an ancient journal she had unearthed under damp rubbish. The poem below is just one of the treasures included and because it is about England Judy aka Kenju thought I would be interested. I think it is quite special and the blog itself is worth a look. To read more about her find click on the link below and scroll down to January 23rd
http://redondowriter.typepad.com/sacredordinary/



Click to enlarge

My Sweet Pea Fairy

You don't have to believe in fairies but isn't she adorable? She's a last minute gift from Margaret and there's a poem on the back and everything. Click and you can read the poem. It's far too precious to use that hook so I must get a large enough plate stand.

The End of an Era

Yes we’ll keep in touch. Yes we’ll meet again and yes we remaining trio will keep the flag flying but it will never be the same again. Almost 25 year of intense friendship between four women and the catalyst – the glue which kept us bonded – after months of broken chains and disappointments is finally leaving - our much loved Margaret.

Last Friday we were having a farewell (not – we hope – a last) lunch together. Three of us walked down the lane – thankful that the torrential rain held off – and met up with Joy - who lives above us but had taken a shorter route - at the Italian restaurant.

As none of us were driving, the three younger, naughty ones had large glasses of wine whilst Jackie had the normal size. We were pleasantly surprised to find the main dishes were priced at £3. Joy had spag bog and three of us had various omelettes with a plate of bruschetta.

There was a lot of laughter and not a few tears as we looked back on the highlights and low lights of our time together and agreed how blessed we had been to spend it in so lovely an area. Unusually none of us were very hungry so we decided to walk back to mine and have coffee and éclairs (weight watchers – delicious but healthy –ish) instead of dessert.. Margaret gave us each a gift and a letter saying what we all felt. And then we had a glass of Christmas port - because it was there

At last the time came to go our separate ways and Jackie said plaintively:

‘We always said we’d end up in a home together.’ More laughter and tears. Can you imagine four elderly ladies having a group hug?

Off to Pastures new

The glue on a lovely day in Bath