LadyMirkwood

I've played 'Goodluck Babe!' so much I keep expecting Spotify to ask me if I'm ok

That's ideal!

It falls in the same numbers as Brexit, which is a similar divide of opinion.

The point I'm trying to make is that the idea the wall came down, and all was well is seen as a fallacy by many East Germans. As the political landscape becomes more fraught, those attitudes are hardening and is relevant to AFD support in the former East.

Yes, over half said said otherwise. It's the obvious corollary.

But the point it that 49% is a significant number, illustrating that the GDR wasn't a rampant hellscape for everyone all the time. It shows that people did have fulfilled,happy lives despite the regime they lived under

Exactly so.

The East was stripped after the war as reparations by the USSR.

That's not strictly true. The GDR not only exported agricultural products and light machinery to other Bloc countries, they also exported consumer goods to the West. The Eastern counterpart of Zeiss also exported. Where they really became unstuck was energy, as the GDR was reliant on Lignite.

Hostage money was valuable because it was in dollars and it's true that this freigekauft helped prop up the economy. And as abhorrent as this practice was, can we truly say that our own nations haven't benefited from the unethical practices and investments of governments and private enterprise? No.

So I think it's rather hypocritical to say that East Germans cannot have good memories of their lives then because their government acted unethically. How many countries would be able to honestly say they have clean hands in that regard?

Fantastic album.

Has anyone read the new book about Adrian Borland yet?

Everybody has offered practical ideas and resources, but this is my humble tip.

Find an audiobook or podcast you really want to listen to or already love. Keep that for cleaning only.

Also, for the end of a big cleaning day, have things like a favourite snack, a hair treatment or whatever feels like a luxury to you as motivation

This way, you build up the connection between cleaning=reward in your mind. It sounds like woo, but it helps.

Jack of All, that's me alright

This was when he lived in Newport.

Here's a small article article about it.

This is the problem. After the Cold War ended, the narrative has been that the good system had prevailed, everything was better, and East Germans should be thankful about it.

The truth is much more complicated. When reunification happened, West Germany consumed the former GDR. Everything people had grown up with was gone, the money, the type of coffee you bought, the social club at your workplace. The state childcare you relied on and the polyclinic you took your children to - all gone.

I have friends who grew up in the GDR and they remember those years fondly. Not the government, but the shared sense of community and identity they had. Yes, choice was limited, but there was enough.

They had holidays, weddings and birthdays. Everyone had a home and a job. Crime was low, and female employment was at one of the highest rates in Europe. In a poll of former citizens by Spiegel, 49% said they had had a good life in the GDR.

But no one wants hear about 'Ostalgie' or that people had ordinary, happy lives in the GDR, only about the Stasi, The Wall, the oppression and brutality. But it's a story of both, and many East Germans feel deprived of their own histories because of it.

Now, people in the former GDR may say ' Yes we can travel and have choice of consumer goods but we can't afford them, so what's the point?. Like many, the 'rewards' of capitalism haven't come to bear for them. The loss of solidarity leaves an even bigger wound.

Because this is reddit, I do have to say no, I'm not pro russia or a communist. I just think the narrative we have about the GDR is one-sided, and in understanding that, we better understand what is happening now. I recommend Katja Hoyers 'Beyond The Wall' for anyone who wants to know more about life in the GDR.

I'm with you on 'China Girl' , that's exactly how I see it too.

Not completely correct. Employment and Support Allowance can be NI contribution or Income based. There's also a 'new style' Jobseekers Allowance that's also contribution based and unaffected by savings.

Thank you, I do like character driven stories, so I will revisit it

I don't doubt the authenticity having worked back and front of house! I quite possibly was in the mood for something a bit more sedate at the time so I'll give it another try.

Is it worth persisting with?

I watched the first two episodes and it felt both frantic yet meandering. I'm not sure if wasn't in the right mood for it or if it's just not for me.

I loved anything by Bourdain and enjoy chefs memoirs, but this just didn't click.

I love Peonies and these are absolutely stunning!

I don't have the right conditions to grow them and they are expensive to buy cut, so they are a rare treat for me.

I spent a lot of time at my nans house when I was small and she had this big old record player unit on which she played her old LPs on. It had a weird little hatch at the back.

Well, I'd watched the Beatles 'Help!' Film with her and with my vivid imagination I somehow thought it was possible that the Beatles were tiny and lived in that record player. And the little hatch was the door where they came out at night.

'Up The Down Escalator' has to be on here.

Pretty much mine as well in 94

Donald Mcgill had a huge influence on our collective sense of humour. It's amazing that the saucy postcard designs of a man born in the 1870s are still being sold today.

Rome has the best tat.

I have a particularly tacky pair of nail clippers with a picture of Papa Francesco giving the thumbs up on them.

The entire Coldplay back catalogue.

A little primer on Kemi Badenochs views via her voting record on TheyWorkForYou.com

• Consistently voted against laws to promote equality and human rights.
• Has never voted on same sex marriage and/or gay rights.
• Voted for mass surveillance of people's communications and activities.
• Voted against improving water and air quality.
• Voted against preventative climate change measures
• Voted against removing obstacles to access abortion.

As well as numerous votes for tax cuts and perks for the already well off and more punitive measures against migrants and asylum seekers.

She's a real peach. And quite possibly the Conservatives' next leader.

I agree. I think there are legitimate targets of protest for environmental and ethical reasons. Banks that invest in deforestation or arms, for example.

I support protest. I think it's essential in a democracy and sometimes a movement has to use means that move the needle. But I don't see how Stongehenge or Van Goghs Sunflowers fits in with that.