The Mayor asked what I had cooked during the weekend. On Saturday, my wife and I had eaten in a nice Italian restaurant in Bremerhaven. On Sunday, however, we ate convenience food. The Mayor stopped everything. “Just one moment. Mr Ralf Brand says he ate convenience food.” He spoke as if I had announced the…
Ralf on fresh air, morning songs, quiet rooms, midnight thoughts, strong coffee, and the small things that help him wake ready for life. The Mayor said he found it difficult to imagine me sleeping. I understand this. I am normally doing something. I am cooking, driving, talking, planning, singing, looking at a machine or thinking…
Someone asked if The Pineapple articles could also be available as audio. It was a fair request. People are busy. Reading needs time and attention, while audio can travel with us as we walk, drive, cook or clean. Press play. Simple. Except that the play button does not appear by itself. Behind it sits a…
Peeling Potatoes 56 began with digital rest and ended with glittering unicorns, Viking chess, a laundry crisis on Venus and one silent hour on the Moon. The Mayor arrived emotionally drained. Not slightly tired. Not in need of one more cup of coffee. Emotionally drained. He wanted to hide in a corner, blow everything up…
This week’s Lunch conversation was supposed to be about creative rest. Instead, it became a collection of ordinary moments that quietly explained why we all need one. The first surprise arrived before the conversation had really begun. Rosii wasn’t at work. For someone who usually joins Lunch between lessons and busy days, simply seeing her…
Sometimes a conversation about cooking quietly becomes a conversation about rest, family, and the comfort of knowing exactly how you like things. Some conversations never stay on the topic where they begin. This one started with the summer heat. Babette was tired, the weather was heavy, and everyone was hoping a storm would finally cool…
A Sense of Direction Rest sounded like such a simple idea. Sleep a little longer. Put your feet up. Take a holiday. Switch off your phone. Then our tables started talking. Very quickly, rest became something much bigger. This week, Martin and Manfred wonder whether we are really living life—or simply consuming it. Ismar invites…
A conversation about artificial intelligence, curiosity and whether education should fill people with answers—or teach them how to keep asking questions. I entered the conversation with Bruce carrying one simple question. What is all the fuss about? Artificial intelligence is now blamed for almost everything that appears to be going wrong in education. Students will…
A conversation about railway technology became a conversation about judgement, shared knowledge and the courage to prepare for reality. Sometimes a person does not fail dramatically. The calendar becomes too full. The work becomes more complicated. Energy begins to disappear. Every new problem receives the same answer: another hour, another meeting, another promise. Nothing has…
Should We Give It a Rest? Probably not. We have spent several weeks talking about rest, and the main thing we have learned is that nobody agrees what it is. Some people want eight hours of sleep and a quiet room. Some want to walk up a hill, swim several kilometres or reorganise the garden…
