Odds and Ends

Before the weeks news, there is something that has been bothering me. In the hospital I had time to read Edgar Allen Poe's 'Selected writings'. Have you ever wondered why they put little quotations at the top of a chapter, often in latin or french. This one fascinated me and made me laugh. I could not see the relevance to the story or the year of writing (1820). Any ideas?

"In the name of the Prophet, FIGS"

.....cry of the Turkish fig peddler.

The Queen's Birthday

On Koninginendag or Queen's Day, the whole country turns into one huge combination of street-party and car-boot sale. Holland has had queens for so long that nobody can remember if there ever was a King's Day. Certainly none alive today ever attended one. In the street market it is always the same stuff every year, it just changes hands. The three-wheeled dinky-toys, the tearful little boy painted on velvet, broken coffee machines, plastic plate-racks, six-year old violin players scraping a living, bicycle thieves pedaling their wares, revolting orange muffins with cream going septic in the sun at 10 ct each. You don't eat them but keep them near you to attract flies and bacteria away from your person.. Bernadet is looking for that which she cannot live without. She does not know yet what it is but will recognise it when she sees it. I hope it's me.

There is always lots of music on the Queen's Birthday. Here we see Irene and Jan et al on the drums. I am sure it is very skilful and good for the soul and indeed the driving rythm was quite hypnotic, but I somehow prefer a band with a variety of different instruments. I would for instance have doubts about a ticket for Elgar  performed by an orchestra of 100 kazoos. I know, it's just me being picky. We did find a magnificent glass iron-framed lamp to replace the magnificent antique lamp in the hall, which now has to be put somewhere else. If not we can bring it to the Queen's Birthday next year.

The great Archeological Tour 

As you can see, they have been digging here.  They have found quite a lot of sand.

All around us, green meadows, horses, allotments and fields of flowers. Much of this will be replaced by 1200 houses in the coming years in the Zuiderloo Project. However, the law requires that a chance should be given to archeologists to see if the ground has an interesting history before the bulldozers move in. Bernadet has made a site that collects all plans, council meeting reports, contractors proposals etc in one place. It reached number 3 in the top ten at HEILOO-ONLINE, fame at last.
Bernadets Zuiderloo Blog

SpikesUitkijkpost never got higher than 5, and that when I spent all day clicking on myself.

We went to one of these digs last year but it was on a very small scale. There was a replica of a wooden spoon in the hole where it had been found, and a plaster cast of the skeleton of a 2500 year old dog. The original spoon and skeleton having been removed to Forensics. This proves that people with dogs lived here in the Iron Age. Or that the dogs were very smart at that time and mixed their own food. This time, we were taken into a container and shown the interesting finds. The replica of the wooden spoon, now in a replica of the hole in which it was found and photos of a plaster cast of a dog skeleton 2500 years old. I mean the dog was 2500 years old, not the photos. There were also lots of bits of broken pottery that may have come from pots, or equally from garden gnomes.

Over here! Another spoon!

When the group was assembled we went of to look at the findings with our lady guide. I had seen massive machines at work and assumed that the building chaps had started, but it turned out that the archeologists had abandoned the wheel-barrow and metal detector in favour of a giant earth-mover. The talk was very interesting, but there was little to see except enormous open-cast sand mines, all of which must be levelled again in 3 weeks for the builders. It seems that one side of the Hoogeweg was the sea and the other, land. The road itself sits on top of a sand bar, and the ground on the Zuiderloo side was 2 meters lower than now. Anything that happened thousands of years ago has been buried and protected by millenia of wind-blown sand. So lets get in there and uncover lost civilizations. Where the guide is standing, we are shown little round marks that apparently are made by the hooves of cows. The inedentations filled up with different coloured sand. There is also a ring of shadowy marks, 3 meters in diameter, which show that a circle of wooden poles stood here. Not very spectacular, but to increase the market value it is now known as 'Woodhenge'.

Keep digging! Legend says there were three stripy poles buried here!

Plastic Age findings

Now this is interesting. An Iron Age gardening tool. Not only did they live here, but they also had Garden Centres where they could buy tools. And gnomes.

It may seem that I am taking the piss out of the archeological efforts. Its just my sense of humour. I am really pleased that trouble is taken to preserve whatever happened here. Not a lot it would seem.

Scenes from the garden at Hoogeweg 34

I am able to spend more time than before on the garden. It's a bit of a mess at the moment but it's coming along. The table top is a side project. it will be all glass mozaic. The quotation is from a japanese naval officer who had his aircraft carrier shot from under him at the Battle of Midway. One of the few who were not killed or killed themselves. After the war he retired to his garden. I have misquoted him, and will correct it before the tiles go on. It should read 'It is better to have a garden than a war'. Originally I wanted to put the quote from  Abraham Lincoln. 'It's the life in your years, not the years in your life'  He only had 56 of them. Anyway, it doesn't have the word 'garden'. I have been collecting lanterns from the recycling shops. There are 10 of them now. A bit of yellow elecrical pipe and a small bulb and you have an electric candle. Looks great at night. 

Merel, the Horse Mumbler 

Merel spends more and more time with her horse. At one stage we thought it a pity to have a horse that never gets ridden and whose stall was perhaps not cleaned out as often as it should be (until the horse was banging his head on the ceiling). Now she lavishes love and attention on Katinka as never before, which is most pleasing as I get more chance to ride. I cannot do the heavy stuff  like shit-shovelling and heaving bales of straw around. Merel on the other hand, is incredibly fit and lithe thanks to the pole-dancing classes. She also gives lessons to little kids. Infinite patience and a warm smile make her very popular amongst the children who gather round as flies to a horse-turd. Here she is giving a lesson to a six-year old, the daughter of Karolientje's neighbour. For a first-timer, this little girl was fearless and competent. There is something ancient and mysterious about the peace that being with a horse brings. We three often walk around the lanes and these are the best moments of the day. We chat about everything and nothing, and let Katinka amble along stopping for snacks every few yards. Time just drifts. Most rewarding and therapeutic.


Mothers Day Breakfast 

Bernadet, when asked what she would like for Mothers Day, requested a breakfast.

We went shopping for the tastiest goodies and prepared a breakfast in the garden. What's the extra table for, asked the girls. Why, so that we can display all the gifts that we have for Mother on Her day. Stunned silence. Gifts? As in presents, wrapped in shiny paper with curly ribbons? Why, yes, that sort of idea. I do hope it will be big enough! Just joking! Just fill it up with stuff to make it look, well, full. Marmite, sandwich-spread, mint sauce, anything in a shiny bottle or packet. It was a great breakfast.        

Later in the afternoon I watched the Tukish Grand-Prix. My man Webber came second again. Vettel won again, not surprisingly. They have tried to make racing more interesting by allowing the car behind to modify his rear wing to make the car go about 20 mph faster on the straight. So you get past, but now you have the same thing happen to you on the next straight. Not really to do with the driving, is it? Also they have modified the tyres so that they do not last very long and you have to come in to change them. Again, not very realistic, just tampering. I prefered A1, in which all cars were identical. Only the driver made a difference, not the weeks in the wind-tunnel and the subtle changing of the rules. I personally think they should have a computer that connects a random device to all the cars. The random device consists of two wheels like a pair of electronic tombolas. One wheel has names of drivers, most of which are 'Vettel'. The other has 'happenings' such as 'Left front wheel falls off' or 'Brakes fail' and the message would go to the appropriate car and it will happen. Just before something happens, a warning message comes onto your TV - "Expect Something Nasty in the next 5 minutes". Now that'would make for exciting racing! I am drivelling.

Because of my illness, I have not been able to bring the Ricketts-Sprenkeling Holiday Home up to the VVV Tourist Board standard that would get it fully booked. We have only one booking for a part of a week and another for another part of a different week. So if anyone wants a very cheap holiday in Holland, we charge a paltry sum to cover the gas and electricity so that we don't go even further into the loss sector. Those dreams of a Butlins Empire are long behind us.

Lovely visit from Michelle, Carolien and Adam, but I have no photos, alas.
And from Ruth later in the week. Lovely to see her.

As I close for the day, the bath being full, I have a super DVD going in the background. It was sent by the God Halpin and is a recording of a live gig in Holland. Kieran and the amazing Jimmy The Smith at the Soldaatje. Great stuff. Just before the last song, Kieran says "Thankyou for being here. If you liked my songs my name is Kieran Halpin. If not, I'm Chris de Burgh".

Well done Chris. Oh dear. This is surely blasphemy and I shall be undone. Love to all and stay healthy and happy.