Week 20

 

Week 20

From the EU Observer

The French philosopher and writer Albert Camus once said that we suffocate "in the company of people who think they are absolutely right". Had Camus still been alive today, he would have needed plenty of fresh air.

Kids' Weekend again - I have to help out today - I think just driving them to the swimming pool - so good to be having some sunny weather...and not having to light the fires every day. Again, I think of the cost of living component of heating - we've had the heaters on since last september!

Lizzie Peelman (nee Norris)

(she's the reason I write this letter each week)

Hello Ken,

We think you will be interested to know that our researcher, Del Atkinson, has found quite a lot of information on Lizzie Peelman and her family in Linton, which we would like to send to you. For instance, using clues in the letters Del was very quickly able to identify who her family was (the 'Cris' and 'Jane' mentioned in the letters were her sister Jane and her brother-in-law Chris Stratton). And Lizzie's maiden name was Norris. There are quite a few of Lizzie's relatives buried in the LInton cemetery.

Normally we would ask you for a research fee of $30 for this, but we wondered if we could do a swap in this case? Could you send us scans of the photocopies of Lizzie's original letters and we will send the documents we have uncovered?

We look forward to hearing from you Ken.

Regards,

Jill.

This came about because an old fire brigade mate of mine has a property not far from Linton - I just happened to ask him if he knew of it? Yes, quite well, apparently! His sister lives there, I think.

Anyway, I sent him the Lizzie Letters and he suggested contacting the Linton Historical Society - which I did.

I didn't hear anything for about a month, so I just assumed that it was lost in the ether somewhere.

But then came this reply first...

Hello Ken,

Thank you for your reply & the link to Lizzie Peelman's letters. They convey such a snapshot of life in Linton in the 1890s - & the importance of poultry in Lizzie's life! We will keep them on file in our archives.

 

We will also check to see if we have any information in our archives on this family. If we do , we will be in touch again.

Regards,

Jill.

Trap Renovatie (Stairway Renovation)

Tjeerd and I had to nut out how to apply the new treads and risers to our stairway in the house. Each packet has one tread - we had to cut off the excess and more by luck than good management, the offcut was exactly the right size for the riser...

I first made a fake tread just to see what it looked like...

Measure twice, cut once was definitely the order of the day... but I soon discoverd that a simple device made of two bits of wood worked much better than a tape measure...

Each tread is different in size - they get wider as they go up and each one is wider at the front than at the back

I've had to number each tread and riser - they all have to come out before we do the painting and then be glued in when we move back in.  We'll only have the office upstairs for our own use. The rest will be made into a "family apartment" for Ben and/or other visitors. I rather fear that the empty rooms will be filled with junk - something I'll have to work on...

Wifi

Yesterday, I installed the last two Wifi Access Points - in Apartment 3 and Apartment 4...

so we're totally covered now...

So, at any given moment I can see who's connected...not that I have any time for this - it's enough to know that it is working :)

mowing

It has finally stopped raining (see note re droughts later) so I can get stuck into my mowing.

The "Beast" is very hard to get used to...that's my name for the new mower - it's actually a "Grasshopper" brand, but Beast is more appropriate :)

I did some mowing in just over an hour - it used to take much longer!

I also did some tractor mowing with the new klepelmaaier (a flail mower). The result is not as tidy as the old mower - but good enough for the sheep paddocks! I could go over it again with the Beast if I need to get it really tidy - but there's no need these days

And Janny did the mowing in front of the house - with the old ride-on mower, which we are trying to preserve for a few more years...

BTW, the old mowing deck is now "old iron" - it was totally rusted through...

Tjeerd and I also put up a fence for Boeke when we move back into the house...

The part in front of the rhododendrons is green mesh fencing - not so noticeable in the forest

The Weather/climate

In July 2019, the 40° temperature barrier was broken for the first time in the Netherlands. Torrential rains, which flooded parts of Limburg in 2021, also came as a surprise, and caused about €500 million worth of damage.

“We know extreme events will happen but not exactly when and where. So we need to be prepared, for instance by creating shady parks in urban areas. We also need to make people aware of what is coming,” Van Gaalen said.

The PBL report identified three climate trends for the Netherlands. The country will become warmer, dryer and wetter and each of the trends comes with its own financial and social cost. Some 8 million people in the Netherlands are in areas at risk of floods. Flooding also threatens infrastructure, and increasing temperatures adversely affect health, with costs already estimated at €1 billion.

The most pressing problem to face the Netherlands is drought, Van Gaalen said. It affects agriculture, nature and water quality and adapting to the dry conditions is nearing its limits.

“Dry periods are becoming more frequent and last longer and at the same time the demand for water is growing. That means that more areas will be faced with a lack of water for irrigation or even drinking water, Choices will have to be made,” he said.

Combined with existing problems and the effects of manure on the soil, climate change will make nature in the Netherlands more vulnerable than ever, Van Gaalen said.

Week 19

Week 19

I was reminded this week of my devotion to "pottering"....(first seen on a BBC web page - 16 years ago when I thought "that's me"!)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7428376.stm

To some researchers, though, especially those who warn of things like "sedentary death syndrome", the value of pottering is clear.
Just walk an extra 600 feet a day, and in 10 years that would have avoided you putting on an extra 10lbs of fat, they say.
Keep active, even when it's not strenuous, and it will have an impact on your health.
Obviously having regular periods of strenuous activity too will be better still. But for that you'll definitely need to find the right shoes.

But the last 6 months has hardly been pottering - working to a plan, more or less...

It's been a long weekend - Hemelvaart Day (The Heavenly Voyage aka Ascension Day)...

So I tried some paving on my own while Janny was for 3 days at a local music festival...I sent photos to let her know I was working :)

For the heavy block that I could only lift with the tractor...

I sent the link for the Lizzie Letters to the Linton Historical Society

https://lizziepeelman.blogspot.com/2016/03/lizzie-peelman-letters-revisited-note-i.html

Hello Ken,

Thank you for your reply & the link to Lizzie Peelman's letters. They convey such a snapshot of life in Linton in the 1890s - & the importance of poultry in Lizzie's life! We will keep them on file in our archives.

 

We will also check to see if we have any information in our archives on this family. If we do , we will be in touch again.

Regards,

Jill.

 Sunday (today) is a day of rest. I was up early to watch the footy (0500hrs) and then just normal things like walking the dog, reading, doing this...and helping Janny with a screen printing project...paper bags for the local Community Centre Snack Bar...

History

One of my frequently visited Dutch sites is historiek.net

Maybe it was topical...there was a long read about the treatment of Jews in the Netherlands during WWII

https://historiek.net/jodenvervolging-in-nederland-tijdens-de-duitse-bezetting-1940-1945/164332/-

A propaganda piece from a local newspaper

Why is so little, so very little done against the Jew?
Why are Jews still allowed to visit hairdressers, so that brush, scissors and razor, touching their Jewish faces, will soon work on my head?
Why do the Jews and Jewesses here in Holland still not wear the Star of David?
Why is Judaism not prohibited from using trams? Mothers and the elderly must therefore stand. Why are bicycles not taken away from Jews and distributed among fellow citizens for whom this means of transport is a necessity?
Why don't the Jews have to give up their telephones? That's national property! How many Dutch people cannot get a connection because there are no telephones available! Available? Tens of thousands are available! Get them away from the Jews!
I can name many more abuses, but I only ask: WHY IS A JEW – IN PRACTICE – EQUALED TO A DUTCHMAN?
When will something finally happen, not on paper, but in DEAD?!
And who should do that deed? 

Week 18 First This, Then That

Week 18

 lists

power cut

decomposition

gegraagd roodstaart

mowing

My to do list(s)

I make a list  as we're having coffee with the clients at the start of each day. Mostly for me, but sometimes for Tjeerd (I wouldn't get much done without him). More often than not we work together - we both seem to enjoy it and I always try to let him know how much I appreciate what he does.

I also wander from the list quite often - I tell Tjeerd we're having a "Surprise Day" today, if something unexpected pops up.

Crossing things off the list becomes important in it's own right - "first this, then that".

With so much on our plate at the moment, I've also started to make categories...

1. Grounds

2. House

3. Apartment # 2 (the one we're in)

4. Buildings in general

5. Equipment, Machinery, Tools

6. Dagbesteding (Day Workers' activities)

Other :)

"The environment appears to be drowning in plastic for the same reason that global temperatures continue to rise." - The Economist

I read an article in The Economist about plastics - the main point of which is that the petro-chemical industry will be continuing in this field even if we do manage to get off fossil fuels.

It struck a nerve with me because I sometimes have days when I am quite alarmed at just how much plastic goes through my hands. It's just in everything. There has been a rather feeble effort at removing plastic straws and knives and forks, but nothing much more noticeable than that. There is a proposal to raise the deposit on plastic bottles from 15 to 50 cents. We have our own recycling bins...

The Gekraagde Roodstaart (The Collared Redtail)

Google translates to Collared Redstart - but staart is Dutch for "tail", so Redtail is better - especially since they do have a red tail :)

We had a few days when 2  of  these birds were hanging around outside the windows of the Day Work atelier. Fascinating to watch - I think they were nest-building, but not in our nesting boxes.

I started to make (yet another) list of the birds we see quite regularly

pimpelmees

koolmees

merel

heron

stork

About a month ago, a brother in law saw (and was awakened by) cranes in the heathlands (with water pools and forest) opposite our place. This was particulary noteworthy as they were an endangered species in the Netherlands.

The crane has been breeding in the Fochteloërveen since 2001, making its comeback in the Netherlands as a breeding bird after centuries of absence. In the meantime, cranes have also discovered other places where they can breed. A great success for nature conservationists in the Netherlands. Cranes breed in vast swamp forests and raised bogs. The establishment in the Netherlands coincides with a strong growth of the German breeding population, which is also expanding westward. This population growth took place across large parts of Northern and Eastern Europe. The cranes that pass through the Netherlands breed in Scandinavia and winter in southern Spain and northern Africa. They prefer some areas in the Netherlands such as the Peel, the Dwingelderveld and the Leersumse veld. Their trumpeting call is unmistakable.

They are called kraanvogels (cranebird) in Dutch. (kraan is also a tap and a crane (machinery))

I'm starting to think how I can encourage more birds to come outside our new livingroom windows...there is always a woodpecker here early in the mornings - but I am yet to actually see one!

The cats and the dog might have something to say about that...

Mowing

The grass continues to grow but the ground is still too wet - the new lawnmower weighs about twice as much as the old one - I got bogged 5 times and had to pull it out with the tractor...and it's raining again today - so it will be paperwork and footy replay...it's kids' weekend again so it was so good to be able to be outside yesterday, at least.

Last Sunday we had a power cut for a couple of hours during the day - a rarity here. Just shows how dependent we are - I went to bed!

One of the items on my list is to get the office working again...getting there...

Fence and gate finished...

Another article from The Economist...In the UK there has been a disturbing increase in the number of decomposing bodies found in residences - people living alone and not even missed when they die. A few years ago I was sent a survey which included questions about loneliness - I quite often think that I'm alone due to my circumstances and nature but never lonely. .More recently, I was asked to fill out a questionaire about "violence and have you ever felt threatened"? I began filling it out thinking in general terms - I asked Janny if we had ever felt threatened - fortunately NO. But it turns out that the questionaire was totally about domestic violence - probably more aimed at Muslim or other ethnic minorities (is that sterotyping??). Anyway, I was able to answer NO to every question - some of which were quite personal and disturbing. There was a "comments" section which I left blank - but I felt like saying "Lucky, eh?" I don't know why it was sent to me - maybe I'm on a list of foreign people living in the Netherlands....

Ben started his new Government job - Personnel and Organisation. They took him on even though he said that he had commitments in Spain! So, he's off to Spain again shortly and he can still do his work on line - he's only required in the office one day out of four. Sounds like a pretty good job!

Week 17

Week 17

"We would not be who we are today without the calamities of our yesterdays" - Salman Rushdie

With so much fake news these days, I am really appreciating my subscription to The Economist. One of the stories was a Book Review of Knife by Salman Rushdie.

Instead of doing my bookkeeping this morning, I've been reading up on some of the effects of climate change in the Netherlands.

There is a new report out - called The Delta Scenarios.

https://pub.kennisbank.deltares.nl/details/fullCatalogue/1000021640

(It's a large pdf file in Dutch. I had to split it into parts under 10mb then Google Documents Translate can handle it)

It's far removed from enjoying our time on the water with the boat - but I have always found it interesting to read up on the water management as a whole.

I read the "Water Levels" every week

https://www.waterpeilen.nl/

...and there are a few stories now and then about individuals trying to do their small part...

"More people are choosing to "green" their gardens

https://www.nu.nl/binnenland/6310028/steeds-meer-nederlanders-kiezen-er-bewust-voor-de-tuin-te-vergroenen.html

According to Frank van der Heide, director of Tuinbranche Nederland, greenery in the home or office is becoming increasingly trendy and is also increasingly being used functionally. The climate is also mentioned as a reason for greening gardens.

A brief story about the Delta Scenarios can be found here...(Using Google translate)

https://www.nu.nl/klimaat/6310328/te-veel-en-te-weinig-water-nederland-staat-voor-grote-uitdagingen.html

The Netherlands is a water country. And yet we may have problems with water in the future. There is too much and too little of it, scientists conclude in the new Delta scenarios. "We have to organize it in such a way that we can better accommodate the extremes."

In the Delta Scenarios, the largest challenges for the Netherlands in the field of water are listed once every six years. Deltares scientists studied four scenarios for 2050 and 2100, taking into account climate change, climate policy, population growth and economic growth.

"Learning to live with the water" is included in one of the scenarios - building floating houses or houses on stilts, for example.

Water issue

 
Climate change means that all water tasks will increase until
2050. The challenge for freshwater availability is
increasing due to the greater precipitation deficit in the summer
and the lower river discharges mean that less water is supplied.
This can have consequences for agriculture, nature, shipping and industry. Salinization is increasing along the coast as a result of sea level rise, which means that more freshwater is needed for flushing. Additional freshwater is needed to raise the water level in the peat meadow areas.
In the high Netherlands, increasing frequency, duration and
intensity of drought will mean that irrigation will take place in more places and more frequently. This requires additional surface water or groundwater. In contrast to Vlug'24 (another report), the drinking water demand hardly increases, which means that more extractions from ground and surface water are no longer necessary. The cooling water demand from industry and power plants is also smaller. Lower river discharges mean that shipping will increasingly have to deal with sailing restrictions, but the potential economic damage  will  be  less  than  in  Vlug'24  because  the  total  freight  transport  over  water  is  less.  All  in  all,  in  this  scenario,  the  task of  distributing  the  freshwater  across  all  functions  is  becoming  increasingly  difficult.  The  task  of  combating  flooding  is  also

increasing.  Heavy  downpours  are  becoming  more  common,  which  can  cause  problems  in  urban  areas  and  free-draining  areas  in  particular. Due  to  the  wetter  winters,  the  regional  water  systems  fill  up  more  quickly  and  the  storage  and  drainage  capacity  will  have  to  be  increased.  The  water  safety  task  is  increasing  compared  to now,  on  the  one  hand  due  to  higher  river  discharges  in  winter,  and  on  the  other  hand  due  to  the  rise  in  sea  levels.  However,  this  is  already  taken  into  account  in  the  current  water  safety  policy.

Meanwhile, back at the farm...

Janny and I had to go to a funeral on Monday - the mother of one of our clients. Our client is almost 60 and been living at home all that time - now some big changes coming up - he will probably have to go into "assisted living" care -and have to sort out the financing of his welfare payments - I'm not sure of exactly how it works, but it appears to be means tested - they use the term "eating up your own house".

It's been 5 years since Janny's Dad passed away - so we had coffee and scones with Janny's Mum.

The new floor is still not dry - apparently it dries at a rate of 1cm per week - so we have to wait another 7 weeks yet. They don't want it drying too quickly - to avoid cracking.

The kitchen is due towards the end of May.

It was Ben's birthday yesterday - and also the King's Birthday! They make a holiday weekend out of it. We went looking for a new couch on Friday and saw all the preparations for "Special Deals" for the weekend.

We went to a giant Homes Centre in Wolvega and just about settled on a couch...and then went to Drachten on Saturday and found almost the same thing with a 40% discount! So we signed up for it - with a 12 week delivery time - mid July, so we probably won't be settled even by then.

Frost on the solar panels

A bit of sun

Hail

Just about finished restoring the fence - the paving slabs could only be lifted with the tractor.

milimetre perfect - with the aid of a hammer!
 

Ben has a new job - with a Government Agency in Den Hague. It's a freelance job, working from home, with one day a week in the office. He is still working for the Hotel chain (The Social Hub), so he will be staying at their hotel in Den Hague - at a cheaper rate than he could rent somewhere. It's only for 6 months at this stage...but he has his "foot in the door" for Government work. He's been trying for a while now, but they so often say that "Government experience preferred".