Outside the wharf at Sirius in Plön in 2018

Born in 1955 and one of only very few left alive from my class at school, I consider it a privilege to be still around. My wife Maryna (see her website at www.creftor.com) is a very talented artist and teacher and a fabulous companion (now not to mention, a wonderful mother!) and very lovely to boot. I have four children from two previous relationships and have definitely ‘been around the block’.

Born in Congo-Belge, 14 years in Beirut, Lebanon, a few years at school in the UK, some time spent in Djibouti, 25 years in Bielefeld, Germany, then 8 in Adelaide, Australia; six months in Farnham, UK, the next 3 ½ years in Ukraine and then back in Germany to Lockhausen, where I worked in Herford, Welding Stainless. We were then tempted to go to England, where I worked for a year. After a few disasters (one of which was my first boss there, the other being the british Home-Office, who refused Maryna’s leave to stay,  we returned to Germany to a place called Dersau, Schleswig-Holstein, not far from Plön, where I worked in Boatbuilding until March 2019. We moved down here for a number of reasons, the most important being the proximity to my children. If I wasn’t going to spend my retirement in the UK, then at least close to my only other family. Now back working in Herford, TIG welding stainless steel (mostly fancy kitchen stuff) and living in Spenge, not far from three of my children and under one roof with the latest addition, Armstrong.

I hope that you find these few pages that document some aspects of my life interesting. Enjoy!