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.