I'm Kerstin Rohman, a teacher from Berufskolleg Lehnerstrasse (a Vocational Training College of Further Education) in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany.
As our City is twinned with Darlington, i decided to start my sabbatical in England. Tom Nutt was so kind to find Accommodation for me and my French bulldog, Lilly. He made me feel very welcome. The photos enclosed show our meeeting in Darlington, which began with traditional English Fish & Chips (hmmm very delicious), at the County Hotel with Nigel Davison, following a visit to South West Durham Training Company. Then Tom showed me around Darlington with its typical market place and clock tower. He explained the Darlington Heritage Trail to me, so that you can follow marks on the pavement leading to all the places of interest. As the weather at the beginning of September was lovely and hot, my visit ended with our enjoying drinks outside on the market place.
Spending two fantastic weeks based in Thirsk with a package full of adventures in Darlington, Newton Aycliffe, the cities of York and Durham as well as experiencing the beautiful nature of North Yorkshire in the moors and along its coast made me decide to come back for another two months.
Since October 2016 I have been volunteering at the Ritz Cinema and the Oxfam Shop in Thirsk. I also give some German lessons. After Halloween and Bonfire Night I'm keen to know how the English people prepare themselves for Christmas.
Report by Kerstin Rohman.