Congratulations to Herr Johann Lukesch in Weißkirchen who is 90 years old today.
Archives for January 2015
Johann Lukesch – 90th Birthday
January 11, 2015 By
Carollers at the town hall
January 9, 2015 By
Carol singers in German do not go from house to house before Christmas eve, they do it afterwards instead – specifically between 27th December and 6th January.
During this time, the so-called “Sternsinger”, organised by the local church and who are sometimes translated as “star boys”, go from house to house to collect for a particular good cause using the year’s motto and dressed as the Three Kings.
This year the motto is “Segen bringen – Segen sein!” (bring a blessing – be a blessing!) and the money raised will go to help children worldwide, in particular in the Philippines. With the whole country taking part, it is not unusual to raise over €40 million.
Before they leave they write 20*C+M+B+15 on the door frame, the letters standing for “Christus mansionem benedicat”, or “God protect this house”. [Read more…]
They’ve donated blood 475 times
January 8, 2015 By
The monthly blood donation at the Red Cross in the Marxstraße on Saturday, 13th December, 2014 saw a group of donors thanked for their long-term commitment.
Manfred Schneider, 66 years old and himself from Oberursel, donated blood for the 75th time. He started donating 20 years ago when he moved to the town and was himself a trainer at the Red Cross.
Wolfgang Agel, 59 years old and from Bad Homburg had followed the call to come to the neighbouring town for the 125th time, citing the fact that the dates suited him better here. He started donating blood in 1974, which was an important year for him. Not only did he start his national service, but he also got married. He was given special leave to attend the blood donation and used the opportunity to visit his wife.
Kosmas Rehberg, Ulrich Heitbrink, Wolfgang Agel and Manfred Schneider (back row) with Christine Schöck (left) and Michaela Tappenden from the Oberursel Red Cross and Jürgen Swobodo (right) from the Blood Donor Service
Kosmas Rehberg, 56 years old and from Bommersheim also donated for the 125th time. He started donating when he was 18 years old and a neighbour took him along to the then central school in Oberursel. He remembers that back then it was only once each year.
But it was Ulrich Heitbrink, 64 years old, who was the clear leader making his 150th donation. When he started donating at the age of 18 in the North Rhine Palatinate state he was still considered a minor and needed his parents’ permission each time. In 1974 he moved to Stierstadt and finally in 1979 to Weißkirchen, at which point he started donating in Oberursel. “I just wanted to do something good that was easy to do”, he explained.
All four donors received a certificate and pin showing the number of donations that they have made from the Blood Donor Service, along with a hamper for the 125th and 150th donations or a bottle of wine for the 75th from the local Red Cross group.
This article appeared in German in the Oberurseler Woche on Thursday, 8th January, 2015.
Celebrating 20 years of Oberursel’s Ausländerbeirat
January 8, 2015 By
The Ausländerbeirat (Foreigners’ Advisory Council) in Oberursel first saw the light of day 20 years ago. It was a difficult beginning for the committee, as their former chairman Hansjörg Schlegel pointed out recently at their anniversary celebrations. “The town did not want such a committee, they were forced to have one by law” be remembered. There was also some uncertainty as to who was responsible for them in the town hall and what rights they should have.
The invited guests – including former members of the committee – had gathered in the Georg-Hieronymi hall on Saturday, 13th December, 2014 to celebrate the committee’s anniversary – a committee which is elected every five years to represent the foreigners in the town. And they were determined to celebrate with about 60% of their annual budget being spent on the evening.
But whether their situation had got better with time was something that Herr Schlegel did not go into. However the role that the committee should be playing was something that their current chairman Dr. Franz Zenker talked about in his speech. He talked of a “democratic deficit” and how important it is, that the foreigners have voting rights in the towns in which they live. After all, other areas of normal life do not differentiate between between foreigners and German nationals. “The tax office does not ask which nationality you are” he commented. [Read more…]
Karlheinz Stoepel – 90th Birthday
January 7, 2015 By
Congratulations to Herr Karlheinz Stoepel in Bommersheim who is 90 years old today.
Children’s cinema in the Portstrasse
January 5, 2015 By
The bluebox portstrasse will be showing a film for children aged 6 and over on Friday, 9th January, 2015 at 2.45pm.
As the organisation is not a commercial cinema, they are not allowed to advertise which film will be shown in advance. If you do want to know which film will be shown then call 06171 636930 and they will tell you.
The bluebox is located opposite the U-Bahn station “Altstadt” (formerly “Portstraße”).
Bingo at the Seniorentreff
January 5, 2015 By
The Seniorentreff in Oberursel will be offering an afternoon of Bingo on Thursday, 8th January, 2015 between 2.30pm and 4.30pm in the “Altes Hospital” (Hospitalstraße 9).
Anyone who is interested is invited to come along and try their luck!
Donate Blood
January 5, 2015 By
Blood can be donated at the Red Cross in Oberursel on Saturday, 10th January, 2015 between 1.30pm and 6pm. The Red Cross is located at Marxstraße 28, opposite the U-Bahn station “Lahnstraße”.
To donate you must be healthy and between 18 and 68 years of age. If you have not donated before, then you must not be over 60. You must take some form of identification with you, such as a passport, that contains a photo.
You can read more about what then happens here (in German).
Find out how the Celts lived in Oberursel – family tour
January 5, 2015 By
A tour for families around the area of the celtic settlement near Oberursel is being held on Sunday, 11th Januar, 2015 at 2pm.
The tour starts at the Taunus Information Centre and costs €3 each for adults and €1 each for children. Those taking part should have sturdy footwear.
