Week 42 Unusually good weather

 

Week 42 and 43

Interesting stuff

More Insulation work

Crumpets

Remembering the Dead

Daylight Savings ends

The Boat comes out on Thursday

UNESCO recognizes Dutch inland shipping as Intangible Cultural Heritage

October 22, 2024

Inland shipping has been officially included in the Network of Intangible Heritage Netherlands. This recognition underlines the unique cultural and historical importance of inland shipping in the Netherlands.

Inland shipping has a rich history that goes back to the time of the skippers’ guilds in the 19th century. Traditionally, it was a family business, with both husband and wife on board involved in sailing, loading and unloading cargo. This led to a unique intertwining of family life and work, making inland shipping an exceptional cultural phenomenon. Generations of skippers’ children grew up on board ships, learning the tricks of the trade and developing skills that were essential for the successful management of their ships.

Change through modern developments

This tradition is passed on through the years and changed with the arrival of modern developments. Where life on board used to be completely isolated from the shore, technological advances such as radios, marine radio, mobile phones and the internet brought family life increasingly into contact with the outside world. This has changed life on board, with a decreasing probability that children follow in their parents' footsteps.

Yet inland shipping remains indispensable in today’s transport sector. Families of skippers still combine various crafts, ranging from navigation, cargo management and maintenance to developing creativity and ingenuity in solving daily challenges. All this takes place against the beautiful backdrop of rivers and waterways, where ships form the veins of the economy every day.

Recognition

The recognition of inland navigation as intangible heritage is an important step in the preservation of this rich cultural heritage. It not only underlines the value of the traditions and the life and living on board, but also the unique bond between skippers and their environment. Although many skipper families now also have a home on shore, the feeling of freedom and connection with the water remains a central element in their existence.

This official recognition not only honours the history of inland navigation, but also its contemporary significance. We hope that this will contribute to the preservation and further development of this valuable culture for future generations. Inland navigation is more than just a means of transport – it is a vibrant community, a family history and a source of national pride.

No surprise, with the new Government

Dutch climate policy is not enough to achieve the climate goals. Under the new government, emissions are falling too slowly, making it "very unlikely" that we will achieve the goals on time.

The Climate Act states that the Netherlands must emit 55 percent less in 2030 than in 1990. But the chance that we will achieve that target is less than 5 percent and therefore "very unlikely".

This is stated in the Climate and Energy Outlook published on Thursday by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL). The planning agency takes stock every year by calculating government policy.

The PBL estimates that the Netherlands will probably not reach its climate target until 2035, five years later than stated in the law. In order to still reach 2030, the government must "make a big effort", says PBL director Marko Hekkert. That means implementing policies that can reduce emissions, and quickly.

To say the least, time is running out for the climate goals. Last year, the report had a different conclusion . That was when it became clear that the goal of a 55 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 was realistic for the first time. The PBL estimated the chance that the Netherlands would achieve that at about 15 percent. It was still unlikely, but possible if everything went well.

The Weather

It is the end of October and yet we can go out in a T-shirt and the terraces are full. October is once again a real transition month between summer and winter. But the last hint of late summer will be gone from tomorrow.

It has been exceptionally warm for this time of year in recent days, Weerplaza meteorologist Berend van Straaten tells NU.nl. "20 degrees is really exceptional for the end of October. Actually, 12 to 14 degrees is normal, so in some places we are well above that."

Van Straaten calls the high temperatures exceptional, but not unique. "Yesterday we had the warmest October 25 ever, but that record was not as sharp as other October days. October is really a transitional month. A month of extremes, in which it can still be quite warm, but also very cold."

Due to the nice weather, catering establishments are still keeping their terraces open. Due to the pleasant weather, the terraces are still full at the end of October. "That doesn't happen often. You can really speak of a touch of late summer," says Van Straaten. "Usually, the terraces are already dismantled, but because of the pleasant autumn weather, they have postponed that for a while."

Haha - the boat comes out on Thursday, so the weather will probably have changed by then :)

...and it's touch and go with the mowing - maybe another one on Monday - even though the grass stays wet all day, it keeps growing until the temperature drops.

Around the Farm

Another 2 weeks of doing insulation and the extras needed to finish it off - painting and window trims, skirting boards - and a leak from somewhere at the edge of the roof...

When Paul was here recently he did quite a lot of painting - but was not happy with our cheapie, disposable paintbrushes...so he sent me one - and he's right, it is quite noticably a better brush

It got the nod of approval from Tjeerd...

We "found" some old paint from about 2008 - it was supposed to be for sale from our Atelier but we have used most of it ourselves...

The tins are starting to rust now so we have to get on with it.

Names like Hot White, Romantic Taupe and Distressed Cream - and pretty good quality - it felt thick enough to be put on with a trowel - and only needed one coat!

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Getting the heating pipes back in order

Dressing the windows...

All ready to put the heating back on Monday and Tuesday...

Fixing the leak....

Cleaning the Flail Mower for the winter...(we had to put that away so that we could put the shovel on the tractor - more useful over the winter).

The dark patches are water damage. The water runs down the brickwork and inside over the lead strip at the top of the window.

We think we have fixed it... but now have a rare event - waiting for rain...

We had Kids' Weekend (week 43), so I made some crumpets for them...

They weren't sure to start off with - but they were all eaten - what's not to like with enough butter and honey?

Odd spot: 

Toasters aren't an everyday thing in Dutch households. I use ours on a daily basis - breakfast and/or lunch.

Anyway, Janny toasted the crumpets for the kids and when they were all gone one of the boys asked for bread in the toaster as well...which Janny duly did and the boy said "but it isn't round" when it popped up...Janny had to explain that I had made the crumpets beforehand...so, I guess they don't have a toaster at home.

Janny doing football with the kids - a special version that gets everyone involved - otherwise some of the boys are a bit too "willing".

Last night there was a Remembering the Dead Ceremony (Janny's new Committee membership) they had a church service and candles set up around the cemetery.