Week 48 The Poetry Walk

Week 48

The Poetry Walk

The Freeway to our place was completed a few years ago - it could already be 5!  At our turn-off they did major landscaping on both sides including breaking down some old farmhouses and closing some roads. 

On the south side they turned it into a nature walk called the Poetry Route.

(One of our brothers in law has been making "Covid Challenges" for the family (just to keep everybody busy during the Covid times).

So, this walk was part of one of the Challenges.

We're very spoilt having such beaut walks all around us - but this time we bundled Boeke into the car and went further afield (just a few kilometres).

Sunday afternoon

With poetry (in Frisian) along the way... Now, Frisian is supposed to be "close to English", but these are beyond me, apart from a few sentences here and there!

Not yet Winter...

Each year we put these in front of the ventilation holes under the floor - stops the floor getting too cold!

...and last night they started putting salt on some of the roads...and I'll be searching for my gloves soon - for Boeke's early morning walk.

Boeke's Haircuts...

...cost €50,00 every three months!! We tried it ourselves during the first lockdown - it's worth the €50,00 to get it done by someone who knows what they are doing!

0730 hrs behind our place (on the right)

I know I'm getting homesick when I start looking (in vain) for Chocolate Ripple Biscuits! It really is a lost cause after 27 years, I guess.

So, again I made a subsitute with some other biscuits that have the same texture...but it's not the same!

More firewood!!

It gives the boys something to do...

( We had 8 boys this weekend - that's about as much as we can handle - Janny is still getting phone calls for more, so we are trying to think of a way that we can open for an extra weekend, or two). We also had to split up the two brothers - they do nothing other than trigger each other when they are together - it seems to be working much better (for everyone!).

Ben sent these photos from Amsterdam...

In the News

Face Masks Mandatory from 1 December

In a statement on Thursday, the Dutch government announced that face masks will be mandatory in public indoor areas in the Netherlands from December 1.

The announcement does not come as a surprise, as Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Hugo De Jonge had made it clear that, after months of deliberation, this rule would be implemented in the Netherlands. De Jonge stated that the rule would be enforced under the new coronavirus law, which comes into effect on December 1.

Non-medical face masks will be mandatory in shops, museums, restaurants, cinemas,airports and theatres, for everyone aged 13 and older. They will also be mandatory in secondary schools and universities (but not in primary schools). Lastly, anyone working in a contact profession (i.e. hairdressers, driving instructors) will be required to wear one, as will their customers.

Masks are already mandatory on all forms of public transport, but the rule will now also apply in stations and at bus / tram stops. Anyone who fails to wear a mask will risk a 95-euro fine.

Exemptions to the face mask rule

There are a handful of places that are exempt from the new law. A mask is not required if people have a fixed seat (i.e. in a restaurant or theatre), but as soon as they stand up and walk around, to go to the toilet for example, then a mask must be worn. The same goes for schools - masks can be removed during class when students are seated, but must be worn when moving through the building.

Masks are also not mandatory in places of worship (i.e. churches, mosques, and synagogues). Face masks will also not be required during sports, musical rehearsals or performances, for radio and TV interviews, or when acting.

Lastly, the law does not apply to anyone who is unable to wear a mask due to disability or a health condition, but police officers or community service officers (BOAs) can ask a member of the public to prove that they are exempt front the rule.





The Dutch are the best non-native English speakers - again!



The Netherlands has, yet again, nabbed the top spot in the rankings for English proficiency. Well done Dutchies!

EF English Proficiency Index 2020

The EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) 2020 is the world’s largest ranking of countries, regions and cities by adult English language skills. EF calculates each score through three separate tests - two of which are available online for free, and the third is an online placement test used by EF during the enrolment process for English courses.

Every score for all of the tests taken was then normalised by EF in order to obtain the percentage of correct answers for each test. All the scores for each country / region were then averaged across the three tests in order to calculate an overall score. In the 2020 study, there were a total of 2,2 million test-takers, hailing from 100 different countries and regions.
The Netherlands number one in the world for English proficiency

The EF EPI has awarded the Netherlands the number one spot for the second year in a row, with a total score of 652. Since 2011, the Netherlands has consistently achieved a top-three ranking, claiming the number one spot a total of four times (2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020).

Amsterdam also performed well in the 2020 international city scores, coming in second place with a score of 656. Nationally, while Amsterdammers may be the best English speakers in the Netherlands, they are closely followed by Rotterdam and The Hague.

One of the reasons EF cites for the Dutch speaking such good English is because the Dutch spend an average of 12 years of their lives at school (higher than the global average) where quite a lot of attention is paid to learning English. Furthermore, unlike neighbouring countries such as France and Germany, the Dutch don’t dub any of their films or TV programmes, so from quite a young age they are exposed to the language.

Marc Hollander, Country Manager EF Education First Netherlands, said in a statement: “It is great that the Netherlands has again managed to occupy the number one position this year. It has become clear that communication is key, especially in the challenging circumstances of the past year.”

Top 12 countries for English proficiency

According to EF’s 2020 report, the top 12 countries / regions around the world for English proficiency are:
The Netherlands - 652
Denmark - 632
Finland - 631
Sweden - 625
Norway - 624
Austria - 623
Portugal - 618
Germany - 616
Belgium - 612
Singapore - 611
Luxembourg - 610
South Africa - 607

Week 47 Oliebollen en Appelflappen

Oliebollen en Appelflappen

Ah, the Covid Kilos...

Officially, not even winter yet...and in need of comfort food! (Oliebollen = "oil balls" (a bit like donuts) and Apple Flaps - apple in donut style pastry or just plain pastry)

I also made a Jaffa self-saucing pudding - from my BBC Good Food Collection...

A quote from the recipe...

"This intense chocolate orange sponge bake with thick sauce is about as indulgent as a good pudding gets".

This is from one of my favorite weekly emails/blogs

John P. Weiss

https://johnpweiss.com/blog/162634/how-to-matter-in-a-world-adrift

Mesmerised by the fire...

I found some old photos that Barry took on one of his trips over here.

I went to Stuttgart one year with Barry and Mendrisio another - both times for the World Cycling Championships.

Barry was quite an amateur photographer - I remember early on that he always had contact sheets of photographs, including our trips to Canberra and Sydney (for part-time work).

 He found the switch to digital photography hard to make - he was once "crooked" on me because I took a beaut photo - observing that "anyone can do it these days".

I was thinking about Barry the other day - sometimes when I light the fire out the back, I just sit and stare at it, mesmerised and drifting away with my thoughts. (must have been because I was looking at the photos).

I found myself thinking of Barry's friends around the world - mostly, if not all, made through his travels and connections with cycling. It was never really my thing, but now and then I would get interested in hearing Barry's stories and even meeting some of his friends.

Bruno, from Cologne, is such a likeable chap. He was a German Cycling Champion (I think an amateur) - I have seen the Rainbow Jersey in a glass cabinet at his place. He and his wife Gabi and daughter Emily came to our place once. I took them out on the boat even though it was windy and at the end of the season.

(We were thinking of going to Cologne for the Christmas Markets - but not this year with the ongoing Covid situation).

Another old "mate" of his lives somewhere not too far from us - he dropped in one day as he was cycling nearby. 

(They're all getting pretty old, these days).

Yet another lives in Den Helder - Barry used to drop in on him after being at our place.

Fred "the fisherman"...(as Barry called him)

I met Fred in Backnung (near Stuttgart). The local tourist office in Backnung has a book for sale which tells the story of a few young lads from the area. Two brothers and a third young man (all aged about 18) set their sights on riding their bikes to Melbourne, for the 1956 Olympics.

This they did, meeting Nehru in India on the way and they were flown to Darwin from Indonesia by Soeharto. They arrived in Melbourne in time for the Olympics! I wonder if such an adventure could be undertaken these days?

Along the way, in Italy, "Fred"  undertook a scuba diving course. After the Olympics, Fred remained in Melbourne - he met Zara, who was a dancing girl at the Tivoli - and drove a bus for a while. He later put his scuba diving to use and ended up diving for abalone. This turned out to be quite a successful business and when I met him he had a fish restaurant in Williamstown. He was also sponsor of a cycling team - which is why he was back home - for the World Championships.

Backnung was a very nice place - must get back there one day...

Barry told me of another cycling friend - from England - who ended up marrying a girl from Groningen. I forget his name now, unfortunately.

 I was able to look it up years ago in an old newspaper report from Groningen - the chap won the race and was given a kiss by one of the "official" girls at the end - they got married and were living in Canada when Barry told me the story. Of course, I can't find the newspaper story now.

On our way back from Stuttgart, we called in on another old cycling mate - he now owns a coffee franchise called...Coffee Fellows - again, I have forgotten his name...

We're all 13 years older now, as well!

I met "Blackie" one time on a Skype call with Barry - and I sometimes hear from an old girlfriend of Barry's (from school days).

Funny where my fireside trances take me sometimes...

Around the Farm

Finding all the Christmas stuff again...

Still fixing the leaks...

Janny hasn't paid for the roof yet - as it is still leaking! here and there. The ridge capping seems to be the main problem - the water gets in at the top and can come out literally anywhere on the way down. (Depends on the wind direction, mostly - but it needs another preventative layer underneath the capping itself). The white end bits have all been replaced with the same stuff, but with a "down-turn", also aimed at preventing the wind.

They have to come again to finish it off.

Gathering my paint for the boat - it goes into the shed on 30th November. 

Clearing the spouting (again!)

Last Sunday, we took Ben back to Amsterdam. He really does live in a nice area. We found a good take-away (there's not allowed to be anything else at the moment).

The streets are just about empty!

Ben's front door...

We were asked to sign a petition to "save the trees" - almost unbelievably (for the Netherlands) they want to cut down these trees in Ben's street - presumably to create more parking spaces - but there will never be enough (trees or parking spaces), in any case.

Week 46 The Election

The Election

Nah, not that one...we have one coming up in March

A few talking points came up in an article I read...

1. It is normally senior citizens who man the polling stations. ie the most vulnerable age group for Covid - so maybe they will re-think that one.

2. We are allowed one "proxy" vote at the moment - ie. Janny could take my vote in - with all the authorisation and matching signatures. They may increase this to 2 or 3 - so that Janny could take mine and her Mum's, for example.

3. Surprisingly, to me at least, there is some doubt about the security of mail-in votes.

It is rather reassuring that I have never seen any gerrymandering or voter suppression - "imagine giving that Australian guy a vote" - and I'm pretty sure they won't try to dismantle the postal service to help one way or the other...just sayin'...

Just on the Postal service - we have delivery 6 days a week - I imagine someone fought for that sometime in the past. The funny thing for us is that we get a swag of mail on Saturdays and hardly ever anything on the Monday

. 

Again, it is reassuring to note that the mail is next day delivery throughout the country, although it seems like 7 days a week with parcel deliveries.

And in the meantime...

I'm trying to listen to and read only the BBC and The Economist - The Dutch Government stuff is very informative and quite often in English. But I'm switching back to Audio Books in my attempts to remain "unalgorithmed"...Ben has even convinced me to try Yuval Noah Harari - a far cry from my (still) favorite author Robert Goddard - for at least the books that I have enjoyed the most in recent years. They might even get a re-run...(22 audio books at over 20 hours each!).

For Covid news - The National Institute for Public Health

https://www.rivm.nl/en/international

Current information

https://www.rivm.nl/en/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/current-information

The Boat...

In 2009/2010 I had the gas installation renewed and upgraded - gas cylinders in a sealed steel box, fixed pipework, gas outlet (in case of leaks). Perfectly safe and "approved" with all the relevant documentation, or else we wouldn't have done it - plus a red cloth showing if the gas was "on" - and we would call out "gas on" or gas off" as a reminder to each other...

( Early in 2019 a 70 plusser (rings a bell?) from Amsterdam died after an explosion in his boat - I haven't found the results of the investigation, but at the time it was thought to be a gas explosion).

But, some things are sent to try us, as I remember Mum used to say...

They changed the rules! Our authorised Gas man checked it over and agreed that our set up is as good as any he has seen - BUT it doesn't comply with the current regs - he double-checked - "under no circumstances can the cylinders be inside the boat". So that's that!!

Luckily, he has thought of an alternative solution...yet to be explained to me...we shall see...

as early as the first week in December - as I have the boat booked in for painting and varnishing - we'll be able to get an early start next season - I'm working on a heater ! (just have to convince Janny).

Hello Fresh...

I'm not totally convinced, as they started with a bad name over here...but Ben organised a free trial for us - 5 days for 3 people.

Ben and I have shared the cooking and there is certainly enough food

Gestoomde bao bun met speklap in ketjapmarinade (steamed bun with pork).

Wildzwijnburger met kaas en chutney (wild? pork burger with cheese)

Pizza-portobello

Mac & cheese with Pumpkin

Chicken thighs with roasted paprika

Not bad for a no-obligation trial.

Again, we shall see...It could well be a Covid thing - avoid going to the supermarket and pay a little extra for food that we wouldn't normally try. Or, we could put in extra effort and buy the ingredients ourselves - and have it delivered in any case.

Around the farm...

More firewood...

Cleaning up...

All the tractor machinery is about 15 years old - starting to show a bit of wear and tear...

We're trying to get it all inside for the winter - after cleaning it.

An aside...one of our nephews used to be a top mechanic at a tractor sales and repair business - he was "head-hunted" to become a practical teacher at a trade school in Heerenveen. (More pay and more time off!). Anyway, it is likely that he will take our stuff, including the tractor, for the students to learn on - we only have to pay for any parts. So, a good deal all round - but we have to clean it first!

I bought this mower when we were in Lower Plenty (30 years ago!). It still starts on the first pull! I have put one set of new blades on it - and I once changed the spark plug - but only because I thought I should...

And still room for 3 cars in the garage!

We put a new motion sensor light on one of the apartments...and then wondered why it wouldn't work! duh...

Peter found something new to make...

...and Janny found this at an Op Shop - made from old bicycle wheels - something for Rudie to make.

Out and about...

Just about all beech trees in this section of the forest

and the new landscaping behind our house...

This mound is for a row of oak trees - to line up with the existing oaks in the background. There used to be the remains of an old house to the left of them - until about 15 years ago (or more!).

and, "our" bit of forest across the road