Ela(n)stiek

Yesterday I was at a festival, lovely atmosphere and wonderful music. The festival is called Elastiek and it takes place in a small village in the south of the country. A lot happens there, an outdoor market, games for the children, street theatre, and a lot of music. Two big stages, and a lot of performers, with some big names in there. The atmosphere was good, lots of volunteers and very few police. Some places were very crowded, but nobody got aggressive. It is a strange mixture, really. There are a lot of commercial activities, you can buy clothes, jewellery and other trinkets, there are some second-hand bookstalls. You can buy all kinds of food and drink everywhere, get a henna tattoo, support charitable organisations and you can get beer everywhere.

I was there to see An Pierlé again, really. Her first show in the Netherlands for about 6 months, so I couldn't really miss that. She played in a big tent in the Church Square. A slightly shorter concert than usual, and a different atmosphere, because not everybody was in there for the music, and there was a lot of talking at the bar in the background. She left out some of the really quiet songs, a good decision. A very mixed audience this time, some who had never heard of An. I talked to a man who was complaining about having to pay a lot of money for concert tickets to see people who didn't even make much of an effort. This time he got a lot of effort from the people on stage for free. He must have left the tent a very happy man. A lot of children there too, and a lot of photographers.


The accordeon seems to get more and more battered. A few keys were missing last time, this time it seemed to be held together by tape in some places as well. It still produced the right sound though. The little play that is part of Sing Song Sally these days seems to get more and more extensive. An obviously enjoys it.

A lot of children had found themselves a good place between the barrier and the stage. An made good use of that, persuading some 7 or 8 little boys to join her on stage for the final song "Paris s'eveille". The boys needed a little direction at first, but soon they got into the spirit and provided some good dancing in the background.


I had a go at taking pictures again. I'm not that good at taking pictures under such difficult circumstances, but I guess I got lucky and was in the right place at the right time. I actually managed to get some nice photographs this time, and I'm really pleased about that. Now I need a little more practice. The concerts in my backyard are about to start again, so I might have a go at some of those.

Bible

I started rereading the Bible last week. I once read all of it, reading five chapters a day, and I've started doing that again. I've just started Exodus, the big stories of Creation, the Flood, Abraham, Jacob and Esau, Joseph in Genesis behind me, and now Moses to take his people out of Egypt shortly. I'm enjoying doing this again because it's been so long, and though I do know all the stories, it is good to go back to the source and read the details again. I'll be in the middle of the big stories for a while yet, but I'm already looking forward to the psalms and the prophets.

A Grand Day Out

Not Again...

I went swimming again today, and I had to drag myself out of the pool in the end, because I really had to go. Maybe someone can remind me that I'm an idiot next time I decide not to go swimming because there are all these other important things I need to do.

Swifts Again

The sky is full of Swifts today. It's a beautiful sight, those dark, acrobatic flyers against a bright blue sky.

Christy Was Here

Christy played Carré last night. I remember his little brother Luka playing there a few years ago now, a wonderful concert that resulted in the live album "Amsterdam". Now it was Christy's turn. I last saw Christy in Paradiso, twice, about 18 months ago. I can remember the moment he came out on stage, this great personality in a simple black shirt and trousers, but such great stage presence. The concert gave me goosebumps more than once.

Christy can seem the most beautiful, tender ballads, and then turn with great force to his more political songs. And he has all of his great comic stories, the story of Joxer, of Casey and of Knock. They make for some great fun during the concerts. It makes for a varied concert, but he does it all with great commitment and passion. Part of the list, the git's list as it says on Christy's book, really is set, but he will also allow for jukebox time, when the audience can call out requests. There usually are way too many, but he does what he can.

Christy sang his brother's song "City of Chicago", which is a gorgeous song that we were invited to sing along to. Sad, but very beautiful. And he sang the song for Victor Jara, which is very simple but very moving. Nancy Spain is another beautiful and gentle song. And then there is Lisdoonvarna, the song that will get everybody going. I won't put a setlist here, almost all the songs are special for one reason or another. And it amazes me that his man can fascinate this audience for a whole evening without any special effects, no elaborate staging. Just two men and a lot of guitars playing for almost two hours.

And the great thing now is that Luka will be back in Paradiso in October, a game of musical chairs.

Rena, my companion for the evening, wrote down a setlist, and her husband added the pictures at:   Rena's Christy Page

Out In the Dunes

It was a good day out in the dunes today. I went to a different part of the park than the one I usually go to, a little further to the south. It partly overlaps with my usual walk, but it includes some other areas as well. And I got all the way to the beach for a change. It was a beautiful day, it was lovely and sunny, but not too warm because there was a really strong wind. The closer you got to the sea, the more it started blowing. Enough to blow all the cobwebs away. From my head anyway. I did manage to get sunburnt again, I always do on these days when you don't realise just how strong the sun is.

I started out early, so it was still lovely and quiet when I reached the park. I did come across a group of walkers, complete with Nordic walking sticks, and they made a lot of noise, but they soon disappeared out of view. From then on it was mainly bird song, though the usual background noise of the nearby racetrack never did disappear completely.

I do know this park very well, so walking along means I come across a lot of places where I have birding memories. On the northeastern side of the bird lake I saw and heard my first nightingale, many years ago, and on a particularly rainy day I first saw crossbills, a lot of them up in the pine trees just on the other side of the lake. This is the place where I first got a real good look at a kingfisher in my own country, just on the opposite side of the lake, from the bird hide. There is a lovely little quiet corner on the edge of the lake, where you can sit down and be hidden from view, and if you sit there quietly for a while all the little songbirds will show up. Today I got to see a whitethroat, dunnock and willow warbler there. And a little further on a reed bunting and stonechat. And the nightingales were everywhere today.



Today the place belonged to the swifts, though. They arrived back here about a month ago, and they were all over the place today. There must have been a lot of insects, because they were all hunting above the open ground. It was such a beautiful sight. The lovely thing here is that, if you stand up on a hill, they will come whizzing past very close by, on their way down, so you get a really good look at them. And I got a real good look at a cuckoo, another real summer bird. You an usually hear them all through the day, but you hardly ever get to see them properly.



All the summer birds are back, really, it's the middle of the breeding season and you can see and hear that. You can hear the sound of birds all around you, all the different songs, coming from so many directions. You can see the birds flying around with food in their beaks, on the way to the nest, and then sometimes you can hear the young calling from their nests in the trees.

It was also a good day for butterflies, warm enough to get them active. I was very happy to spot these two, a Grizzled Skipper and an Orange-Tip, but that one had really been through the wars.





And I got to see some Common Blues, which I always love, so small but perfect in every way. Walking along one of the sand tracks I also disturbed a Sand Lizard, which was enjoying the sunshine. A rare animal, protected, but you will quite regularly come across one in the dunes. It's a beautiful little animal.

Travelling back on the tram and the train was interesting too. My theory is that the use of mobile phones on public transportation is sponsored by the transportation companies to provide entertainment for the passengers. On the train a woman was in the middle of a big argument with someone, and we could hear every word. If I had been on the other side of the line I would have hung up long before the conversation was actually ended. The woman kept saying to the other person "you should just say what you think and be straight with me", and then went on to tell the other person to listen and shut up. On the tram a woman was discussing her psychological problems with one of her colleagues and talked about a lot of personal things. It does intrigue me, why do people discuss all their personal issues on such a busy train and tram. I once heard a woman end her relationship on such a busy tram. I guess I'm just very old-fashioned. Or boring.

Transportation I

I almost always use either my bicycle or public transport to move about. While out travelling over the years that has provided me with some memorable experiences. I travelled all the way up to the northernmost part of Norway on a very luxurious cruise ship. Not my usual habitat, and I did stand out a little. No cabin, but sleeping on the floor of one of the conference halls, not big meals in the dining room, but sandwiches and salad I brought with me at a table in the lobby. I vividly remember the slightly pitying looks I got from some of the real residents as they moved from one meal to the next. The ship got me to where I wanted to go though, and sailing through the fiords was beautiful.



Then there was cycling all over Shetland, bringing a bike over from Amsterdam on a couple of ferries and a couple of trains. An interesting and challenging experience. On Unst, Shetland's northernmost island I came across one of the best bus stops I've ever seen. It even had its own website at the time. It's under construction at the moment, the website, not the shelter, I think. It was decorated like a proper little house, and I felt very comfortable there. It was intriguing to get this beautifully decorated bus shelter in the middle of nowhere, close to the northernmost point of Shetland.





And then, talking about bus stops, the other great bus stop I know is on Tristan da Cunha. The island has 273 inhabitants, and one long road of just a few kilometres long. There is a bus stop on the edge of the only settlement on the island, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. There is a bus service taking people down to the Potato patches there. Unfortunately I was there on Sunday, when the bus doesn't run, so it was a long wait, and I didn't have my bicycle this time....

Fashion Palaces

There is an exhibition in the Historical Museum about the old Amsterdam fashion houses. They have dresses and other kinds of clothes and accessories from the early part of the twentieth century up to the sixties. It is very much an exhibition about the era when there still was a great difference between women and ladies, and this was an exhibition about the ladies. There were various fashion houses in Amsterdam in the early twentieth century, some are still around, some have disappeared. The ones still there still have a pretty good reputation, I haven't actually visited all of them. I guess I'm not really a lady.

The exhibition was very stylish too, nicely lit, a lot of items on display, but all very tastefully done. I liked a display of hats, it made me want to start wearing a hat again. I had a lovely pink hat when I was about three I remember. Or rather I know because I've seen the pictures. But anyway, some nice hats here too.



Looking at this year's fashion, some of the dresses on display could be in the shops right now. There was a dress from 1955 which would look very nice for this year. I like it.



And some pretty black ones that are not unlike some of my own dresses. And I liked this piece as well, Very modern in some ways and dated in others.



They also had a great wall of posters and prints, with a lot of different images, advertisements from the different eras. Different styles of clothing, different styles of design, but again, mostly very tasteful.




One of the best things about the exhibition is near the end. An old-fashioned fitting room, with wooden models of dresses and suits, and mirrors all around. A great place to play with a camera...

Greta Garbo

I've for a long time been fascinated by Greta Garbo. She was born just over 100 years ago in Stockholm, and she lies buried there now. She spent most of her life in the United States though, first living on the West Coast, then in New York. Her life seems to be a long series of contradictions. At some point she was probably the most
famous face in the world, while at the same time she was always trying to protect her privacy. She is known for some relationships with other famous people, but she spent all her life living alone. For a while she was the most photographed person in the world, and then she spent the greater part of her life running from the cameras. The more I read about her, the less I seem to know.

I saw five of her films at some point, and was fascinated by this woman. She looked beautiful but unapproachable. The films are very dramatic, beautifully designed and shot. My favourite was and is Ninotchka, because it is fun, and because it is the most timeless of the films. Some of the others are very much of their time.

A few years ago I visited Stockholm and I went to visit Garbo's grave at Skogskyrkogården. It's a beautiful cemetery, very green and spacious. I wandered round there on my own for a while, and ended up at Garbo's grave. It's a simple site, but spacious and green, like the whole cemetery. You can sit down there and enjoy the quiet, be really alone. I wasn't completely alone though, out here I saw my first ever pied flycatcher. It sat on a branch near the gravestone, and was absolutely stunning. It is such a beautiful little bird.

I started collecting some postcards and photographs round that time too. I saw a picture of her, an old postcard, which I bought and then found some more. She looks different in all her films, and some images are absolutely perfect. The picture I like best isn't a postcard, as far as I know, it's a still. Beautiful though.



And some of the postcards are stunning too. She looks different in all:

BBC Radio

Years ago, when I was still living in another place, I used to listen to BBC Radio at least a couple of hours a day. I listened mainly to the World Service and to Radio 4 and there were a lot of shows I loved. I used to listen to all these classic comedies programmes. Some of them were recorded before I was born, and they certainly were before I learned to speak English, but I did enjoy them. My favourite was always the Navy Lark, a small cast of characters, a predictable story line and lots of catchphrases. The series had something wonderfully naive and uncomplicated about it though, and it did always make me laugh. Then there was Hancock's Half Hour, I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, Round the Horne, The Goon Show, and Take It From Here.

I also listened to the new comedy shows, like Radio Active, Just A Minute, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, On the Hour and my favourite, The News Quiz. I taped most of the shows so I could listen to them again and again. I know some of the old episodes of The News Quiz by heart.

Then I moved here and I couldn't listen to my old favourites anymore. Suddenly I had no more Radio 4 or World Service. I sometimes listened to my old tapes, and to the tapes I bought from the BBC shop. I missed new episodes of the News Quiz though, and the TV version just wasn't as funny...

And now, through the miracle of the internet, I can listen to my old favourites again. There are more reruns of the Navy Lark, Hancock and Round the Horne, and new episodes of I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again. I can hear all the new variations of Mornington Crescent! And I have my News Quiz back. And it's still as funny as it was. No Barry Took, unfortunately, but Sandi Toksvig is a great chairperson.

And I don't just get the comedy, I also get the drama. I get to listen to the Lord Peter Wimsey stories, and right now Alex Jennings is one of the performers on "Nicholas Nickleby".

City Birding

Sitting at my desk in the office on the fourth floor I have a wonderful view across Amsterdam. Today I saw a Stork flying past, so I grabbed my binoculars, never too far away, and sat birdwatching at my desk. I remember seeing a Stork fly past from the same building before, a few years ago, but at the time I was in a meeting on the eighth floor of the building. My manager at the time was a birder too, so when I saw the bird fly past I looked straight at him, he looked at me and we both said: "It is, isn't it?" He was chairing the meeting at the time and this caused some laughter at the time.

I do get to see a lot of birds from where I am. You will always have the gulls, or my Dutch albatrosses, the pidgeons, the jackdaws and the jays. Now, in the summer I get all these swifts doing their acrobatics right outside my window. Sometimes I see geese, ducks or cormorants. There must be many more, but I am expected to get a little work done while I'm there so I don't get to see everything. There always is enough to see though.

Reading Again

I just finished another interesting novel, "Tulip Fever" by Deborah Moggach. A few years ago I went through a period when I just couldn't find anything good to read. I asked some friends for tips at the time, and ended up with a long list of books to read. It must be about six years ago now, and I still take to that list when I'm looking for inspiration. I got some really nice and interesting suggestions at the time.

One friend suggested rereading Jane Austen, which I did a couple of years ago. All of the novels, except for Emma, were on board Europa, and I read them on the crossing from Cape Horn to the Cape of Good Hope. I don't know why, but I can reread those books over and over again. Good stories and characters, the language is Wonderful and so is the humour. The same friend made me go back to Lord Peter Wimsey and his Harriet. Again, I love the stories and the humour, but in this case it is mainly the characters. I am a great fan of both Peter and Harriet. Maybe I was influenced a little by the wonderful tv adaptation which starred Edward Petherbridge and Harriet Walter, two of the best British actors. I always have them in my mind when I think of Lord Peter and his wife.

And she gave me a book that always makes me smile when I think of it. "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith is just such a perfect novel. It has atmosphere, eccentricity, great characters and a wonderful story. The kind of book you want to read over and over again just to recapture the great joy of it. A film was made of it not too long ago, but that just didn't capture the magic of the novel. I'd rather read it because it sparks my own imagination.

Another friend sent me a recommendation that did exactly the same for me, she got me to read Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. A story that is on the edge of fantasy and reality, that keeps moving all over the place and always manages to take you with it. Whenever I talk to friends about the islands north of Norway these novels come to mind. And again, I don't necessarily need to see the play or the film, I like the images I have in my own mind. I know Pullman has written a lot more, and I will get round to reading more.

The friend who recommended this one to me was also the one who sent me to "Tulip Fever" and to "Girl with a Pearl Earring", two books about my own country and about painting. I know Delft very well, so reading about Vermeer I recognised the environment without any problems. And I know Amsterdam well, so I could also move about the city with the main characters in "Tulip Fever".

The lists my friends sent me is almost finished now, just a few more to go, and then I'll have to start thinking again. Or maybe ask my friends again. But, any suggestions anyone?

Mika

Some time ago I watched Jools Holland's Later on BBC 2. It's a wonderful music programme for grown ups. I watched it because one of my top two favourite singers, Christy Moore, was on. It then turned out that Yusuf Islam was on as well, and he gave a wonderful performance there. As did Christy, of course. One of the other guests was a rather unusual singer, called Mika, who just sang one song seated at the piano. I wasn't sure what to think of him.

Then, shortly after, there was an album up on the Luisterpaal, with an enormously brightly coloured sleeve, Mika's "Life in Cartoon Motion". I didn't make the connection at the time, I wondered whether or not I should listen to this album, and in the end I didn't. You can't listen to everything.

But I couldn't escape this one. A little while later again I went to see a friend, and she had the cd and was very enthusiastic about it. She played it during lunch, but we were all talking so I never really got to listen to it at all, I just heard it in the background.

For some reason this man seemed to be haunting me though, and shortly after again I accidentally ended up watching the Lollipop video on some music channel, and I just really liked it. So I looked for more on the internet, and, yes, of course, I bought "Life in Cartoon Motion". I often play it, and it always cheers me up. It's way over the top, I guess, but I don't really care. It's good fun!

Habit or Temptation?

I've grown so used over the past few months to cycling down the PC Hooftstraat instead of all the way through the park, by far the nicer of the two, that I still automatically cycle down the shopping street. Is this just habit, or is my desire to see all those pretty dresses in the shopwindows stronger than I would care to admit?

Swallowtail

Last week I saw, for the first time near Amsterdam, a Swallowtail. I'd seen them in Barcelona, and once in the very south of my own country, but never near my home town. The sad thing is, however, that I found it on the road, it had been hit by a car, and its body was damaged. The only thing to do was to put it in the grass by the roadside and to hope it would recover. I am not so sure that it did. So I have mixed feelings about finding this beautiful butterfly here.

Rising Damp

This morning I cycled into work in the rain again. It's been a long time since that was the case, after all the dry and warm weather we've been having. It felt good, though, I actually enjoyed it. I did discover that my waterproof cycling gear isn't quite waterproof. My knees are decidedly damp.

Gabriel

I spent the evening in Paradise, close to Mr. Gabriel Rios. Well, it was actually Paradiso, and there were about five metres separating me from the gentleman. But it sounds nice, anyway. It was a strange evening in some ways.

Today is Remembrance Day in the Netherlands, so at 8 p.m. the place got completely silent for two minutes. It was weird, because there was a lot of noise in the hall, and then it was as if the place was frozen in time. Everyone was quiet and stood completely still. Then the noise came back just as before. Paradiso used to be a church, and just for a moment it felt like one again.

When Gabriel Rios came on stage I had a little trouble recognizing him. He wasn't wearing his lovely, woolly, knitted hat.... I was looking forward to seeing the hat. He was stylishly underdressed, apart from his wonderfully colourful shoes. He is very cute, all dark and handsome and very charming. I must confess he did sometimes remind me a little of Mr. Bean though, and he does seem awfully young, which says more about me than about him, I guess. Still, I can think of worse things to look at for a whole evening.


I was about two metres from the stage, and was surrounded by mainly young girls, dancing most of the evening, staring up at this man up on stage. They came in small groups, and sometimes seemed too busy amongst themselves to have a clue about what was going on on stage. And then there are the mobile phones though, and the need to share each text message as it arrives. Rios did manage to catch the eyes though. And he did get the whole hall dancing in the end. A little shake of the hips at just the right moment worked wonders.

He sang some quiet songs, but mainly faster songs that people could dance to. When he started "Broad Daylight" someone in the audience handed him a packet of orange juice, because the track was used in the commercial for that brand of juice. He drank it there and then.

I was reminded of when I first heard Rios' music last year. While I was sailing to Antarctica. One of the crew members really liked "Broad Daylight" and it was on his "favourites" cd, the one that was played after every meal, when the crew were doing the dishes, and at various times in between meals. I was in the cabin next to the galley, and heard the song over and over again, even while I was seasick. Or sometimes in the middle of the night. Hearing it so often didn't necessarily make me a Rios fan at the time, though I did sort of like the song.

I do keep wondering why some people come to concerts. The amount of talking and noise amazes me. You cannot really listen to the music because there always are people talking somewhere near you. Even when Gabriel asked the audience to be quiet just for one song some girls in front of me decided this was a good time to use their phone to take each other's picture and to have a giggle. Apparently these days Dutch audiences are notorious for their habit to just keep talking throughout the concert.

Anyway, I just thought I'd take some pictures of Gabriel instead....

Make A Plan To Love Me

I found a song by Bright Eyes called "Make a Plan to Love Me", which really intrigues me. How can you make a plan to love someone? Is it as simple and rational as all that? Can you make a plan to love someone, say in a month or six months? Or is this the 21st century relationship? This is very much a professional issue for me, as a planner. I mean, how much can you actually plan? Can anyone explain?


Make A Plan To Love Me

I heard you're scheming new pyramids
Another big idea to get you rich
Make a plan to love me sometime soon

You said you got a foot in the door
You buy and then you sell, you buy some more
Make a plan to love me sometime soon

Life is too short
Death doesn't ask
It don't owe you that

Some things you lose
You don't get back
So just know what you have

And make a plan to love me sometime soon

First you want to ride off into the Sun
Then you want to shoot straight to the Moon
Make a plan to love me sometime soon

When you are young the world is a Ferris Wheel
I know we will grow old it is lovely, still
Make a plan to love me sometime soon

Life is too short
To be a fool
I don't owe you that

Do what you feel
Whatever is cool
But I just have to ask

Will you make a plan to love me?
Will you make a plan to love me?
Will you make a plan to love me sometime soon?

Good Habits

I just managed to swim for another hour, fourth day in a row this week. I'm doing something right!

The Smile of Evil

I read Marianne Fredrikssons "The Smile of Evil" this week. I like Fredrikssons books, her psychological insights, her characters and her stories. I especially liked her biblical trilogy on Eva, Kain and Norea. This was a modern story again, about a woman who has come out of a violent marriage. I am not too sure about this one, though, some of the storylines were a little convenient.

Fredriksson died last February, so this was her last novel. What I like about Fredriksson is that, while getting involved with the story and the characters, she manages to write lines that stick out and that you remember and that make you think again. I'm sorry she won't be writing more memorable lines.

R&R

Sometimes the idea of a desert island becomes really appealing, some time on my own in a remote corner of the world somewhere. I may not necessarily always choose the traditional island, I can think of some nice ones way down south where I wouldn't mind spending a couple of weeks on my own. Then again, a nice sandy beach with lots of sunshine, a few palm trees for my hammock, warm water for swimming sounds pretty good too. But I guess in the end you don't get to choose the island where you get stuck.

And then I get to take my very own Desert Island Discs, of course:
Eleni Mandell - Miracle of Five
Christy Moore - Live in Dublin 2006
Luka Bloom - Radio Bremen
Zita Swoon - Band in a Box
An Pierlé - White Velvet
Sarah Bettens - Scream
Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion
Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
Bach - Cello Sonatas 1027-1029 (Martha Argerich & Mischa Maisky)
Leonard Cohen - Ten New Songs

(And yes, I know it's supposed to be just 8, but this seems like a well-balanced set, and why should you stick to all the rules stuck out there on a Desert Island? And anyway, ask again in a week and half my choices will have changed again. I like making lists.)

Then there is the book. I get to take Shakespeare and the Bible, but I've read both. I guess they are good enough to reread though. Which reminds me of one of the most beautiful pieces of poetry Shakespeare wrote, suitable for the situation:

"Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open, and show riches
Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked,
I cried to dream again."

But I digress. I still have to pick another book to bring, and that is the hard part. I am not good at making choices, and then to talk about books. I mean, what book is going to keep me occupied for a long time while I'm out there? I'd probably end up picking poetry, Emily Dickinson, R.S. Thomas or W.B. Yeats. If it was to be a novel, it might be Bleak House or Middlemarch. It's been a long time since I've read those, and both are complex enough to keep me busy for a while. I guess I'd end up with Middlemarch, just to have Dorothea's company.

You also get to take a luxury item, but I can't really think of one. I guess I care more about books and music than about luxury items. If anything I would want to have the predictable endless supply of pen and paper, to do an endless amount of writing. Or should I maybe opt for my binoculars, I'm sure my island is full of the most stunning birds....

How did I get here in the first place, all I really wanted was the peace and quiet of a desert island....

Swifts

They really are back now, the Swifts. I can see them soaring past my window in small groups, I can hear them through the open window, their acrobatics are amazing as ever. They are just so wonderful to watch.

Swimming Again

I managed to swim for another hour today, but it was more of a social experience, I guess. Yesterday it was lovely and quiet and I could just swim without thinking too much. Today it was a lot busier, and I needed to pay attention to avoid collisions.

It does amaze me sometimes. I mean, what is wrong with men? I know the age of chivalry is long past, and maybe it wasn't all it's cracked up to be, but it seems to me we're heading to the other extreme. I sometimes think men were asleep under a tree somewhere when evolution provided us with a social gene. One man tried to overtake two women in the pool today, but only nearly missed me and created such waves I had to stop to breathe. And then there are all these types who simply don't see you. I know men have trouble with peripheral vision, but this was absurd. It's really a matter of simple courtesy and good manners, but I probably am hopelessly old-fashioned. It's a good exercise for me, I guess, sticking to my own course and not getting distracted or upset. I need to practise more though, I'm not very good at it yet.

Summer Is Here!

I just saw my first two Swifts for this year from my office window. Summer is here! This has really made my day. I love the sound of Swifts in the city, and I love to watch them fly, those unmistakable silhouettes whizzing past at great speed. One of the joys of summer.

Gift

My gift for today was an hour in the swimming pool, almost uninterrupted, just swimming and dreaming.

Wishful Thinking

Sometimes you look out your office window from the corner of your eye, and just for a moment you mistake your gulls for albatrosses as they glide past. Or is it just wishful thinking?

Books Again At Last

There are times when I can quite easily read three or four books a week and enjoy every single one. The past few months I haven't really been able to read much at all. There always is so much to do and so much to think about that I just haven't been able to settle down to anything much.

Last Friday I actually read two books though, and loved both. I had started Peter Ackroyd's new book "The Fall of Troy", about an archeologist and his wife working on an excavation in Turkey, supposedly of Troy. The archeology is a good background for the way the relationship between the two is portrayed, and for the way it develops. It reminded me a little of "First Light", the novel that made me a fan of Ackroyd's.

Then I read a book by a Belgian novelist called Kristien Hemmerechts, about two sisters growing up. A strange and slightly unnerving book, but intriguing and beautifully written. I love her books because she is always pretty straightforward but poetic at the same time. There is great insight in her work.

Sunday I finished my reading weekend with another Dutch book, the one that recently won one of our country's major literary awards. I'm not too sure about that one, because I really like the premise, the way the book is set up and the feelings in there, but at the same time I'm not sure that it really works.

New Scars

Talking about scars. Cycling home from work yesterday I managed to hurt my ankle trying to avoid a cyclist coming along the wrong side of a canal. And then I ended up almost getting hit by a little van which was backing out and not really watching where he was going on. He just missed me, but I reacted a little slowly, and somehow managed to hit my finger on the brake of my bike, so I now have a blue finger. Oh well, at least I didn't fall over again.

Scars

Now that it is almost summer again you start to look at life differently. There still is a mark on my left leg from my fall into the hold of the Europa earlier this year that isn't hidden by my jeans every day anymore. It's almost three months ago now, but the scar remains, there is a bump and a small scar on my shin. I guess they'll stay as a permanent reminder. I have a few more of those. They've become physical memories.

There is a tiny scar on my forehead which I got when I was really small and I fell onto a milk jug. It's one I don't remember myself, so I must have been tiny.

And I have a couple of small scars on my left hand which I got from falling off my bicycle on Texel. I arrived there one day in the autumn, early in the evening, when a storm was blowing and cycled all the way up to the north, against the advice of the man at the bicycle rental company. It took a couple of hours, against the wind and in the dark, and I fell twice. The second time I hit a car coming out of a driveway, and I got a little damaged. Not sure about the car... The worst thing was that on arriving in De Cocksdorp at half past eight all the restaurants were closing and I ended up at the café having something hot to eat. It's become a favourite ever since, though, so in the end it wasn't too bad.

There should be a small scar behind my right ear from an ear operation I had when I was ten years old, but I've never seen it myself. Apparently it's no longer there anyway. When the surgeon who operated on me way back then examined me again a few years ago he couldn't find a scar and so reached the conclusion he never operated on me. But that is a whole other story.

I guess on the whole it isn't too bad really, considering how often I've managed to hit something, have fallen over or have fallen of my bike. In most cases the wounds heal and don't leave any mark, which is a miracle in itself.

Phones and Doors

The trouble with these new-fangled tiny cell phones is that you can't slam the phone down on someone when you're really angry. Instead you have to push this tiny button, which doesn't quite have the same effect. Thank heaven for doors.

Terns

I still can't believe the beauty of these birds, pictures of South American Terns that I took in Ushuaia last year:

Images

On my computer I've installed a programme which automatically refreshes the picture on my desktop. The nice thing about it is that you never know, when you close your programme windows, what picture you will find behind them, and so you can be surprised by your own pictures. I have a nice set on there, mainly with pictures from my Antarctica trips. Some are of myself, brave woman facing the elements, others are pictures I've taken and which turned out rather well. Let me give a sample:


Me being particularly brave in a big storm (picture by Rian)


Me guiding the ship through the icebergs (picture by Lex)


Magellanic Penguins on Isla Martillo


Giant Storm Petrel on Aitcho, Barrientos Island


Gentoo feeding its young at Hannah Point

Nostalgia

Finding all those films on Donny Osmond on YouTube really took me back. I spent most of today tidying and sorting out here at home, and couldn't resist going through my memory box. It's just an old box with some of the things I bought long ago, when I was a huge fan. I was a real teenager, wanting to know all about my idols, trying to find out any way I could, always looking for new pictures, more music. The walls of my bedroom were literally covered in posters. I still remember which albums were rare, which ones I never got, but only got to hear at a friends' house. At my school we were all Donny Osmond fans, no David Cassidy fans in sight. I was just beginning to learn English at the time, and I remember writing down the lyrics to the best of my ability. A few years later I threw them all away, because it turned out that what I wrote down didn't necessarily have anything to do with what was sung on the records.

I actually threw out quite a lot, something I do regret now. I'd made several scrapbooks, and got rid of most of them. Today I did find my very own concert review and the ticket for one of the concerts I went to. I still have very vivid memories of the concerts, or maybe of the events, rather than the music. I remember at the first one I went to, in Leiden, being near the stage, right in the middle of the crowd, and I remember just how hot it was. I remember I was wearing a chequered blouse and my Osmonds t-shirt, and I remember all the screaming. The second concert, in Rotterdam, a couple of years later, was much more organised and civilised. There were seats and a lot of people making sure we stayed in our seats. It didn't make such a vivid impression on me as the first one. I was a little older too, and maybe a little less dedicated. There just are a lot of good memories there.

Memory Lane

I've just discovered the joys of YouTube, and I had a great evening going back to old favourites. I was a great Donny Osmond fan in my teens, and there are some great films of him on the site. It's not just the music and going back to all the old favourites, it's also the other stuff that makes me feel he's a nice man with a great sense of humour. And he's still cute.

Kids Today

What do you say when you go babysitting a boy who is eight years old, and when he is told about the plight of the albatrosses offers his entire pocket money for the week, all 50 cents, to support the campaign. It leaves you speechless.

Mika's Music

I seem to keep coming back to the music all the time at the moment. I don't know why it is so important to me, but it is. I keep looking for new things, and I keep rediscovering old favourites. Today I heard Mika by chance. I'd seen him on "Later with Jools Holland" and wasn't impressed, then the cd turned up on the Luisterpaal, and I saw it several times but never actually listened. Then a friend had it and liked it, but I still didn't see anything special there, and then today I watched the clip, and it just made me happy. So I went and looked for more, and found more, and it's such joyful music.

Eleni Mandell

After all the energy and sounds of Zita Swoon in the big room at Paradiso, it was off to Eleni Mandell the next day in the small room. Totally different concert, but again, I enjoyed it very much. Not too crowded, not too much smoke, but some lovely songs. Everything about Eleni is deceptive. The sweetest songs aren't all that sweet if you listen to the lyrics, and she looks so nice and innocent too. She is a nice lady, but not that traditional.

She played my favourite, this wonderful song about the salt truck, and the man to rely on. And she played "Girls" the song that keeps going just the other way every time. And then a beautiful song like "Miss Me". All from the last album "Miracle of Five", that I found a little while ago. It is a wonderful cd. I like the music, but I really love the lyrics, and when I told her that she said: "I love words". I like that.

eleni's website

Mondoleone's Smiles

Leon Giesen has a song where he talks about being distracted during the day by the thought of making love the night before. It's a nice song, typical Mondoleone, because he has such an unusual view of something so familiar. If you go and see him in concert he has a lovely film of just people's faces, thinking the same thoughts, and it is a very sweet and moving film. As I was walking down the Overtoom today I saw a face just like that. I don't know what the girl was thinking, but it did make her smile. And that made me smile.

Zita Swoon

I don't know how to begin really. Long ago I heard this name, Zita Swoon, and I wasn't sure what it was. A singer? A band? I just liked the name, it intrigued me. Then I found out it was a Belgian band, another Belgian band. I watched a live concert on tv and didn't know what to think of it. I wasn't really all that impressed. Then I saw some of their videos and I was impressed by the music and by the creativity I saw in the videos. And there was this singer called Stef Kamil Carlens.

I bought some cds, listened to them, put them away and listened again later. Unusual music, something you need to get used to. Then I saw a concert announced for Amsterdam and I had to go and listen. So I was at Paradiso last night to hear this intriguing Belgian band, and it was so much better than I expected. I had a good introduction during the day, listening to the new album, Big City, on VPRO's Luisterpaal. The first song, "Pretty Girl", got me and I really like the album. The band played some of the new songs last night, and some old favourites.

Carlens is a great front man, he wore a beautiful red suit and danced and sang with a lot of energy. Nice eyes.

The new album is on the luisterpaal for a little while yet.

Batacl-An

I went to see An Pierlé perform at the Bataclan club in Paris. I enjoyed the concert, especially because the crowd was so enthusiastic. It was quite a big hall, but one with a sense of history and a good atmosphere. It's an old theatre apparently, one where Maurice Chevalier performed.

I guess on the whole the setlist was the same as it was in Trix a couple of weeks ago, but it felt different at times. An sang all of the encores in French, so there was a French version of "Anytime You Leave", of "It's Got to Be Me", and even of "Sing Song Sally". That made the concert special too.

I saw some nice pictures of the concert on Robert Gil's website as well as on Lexsample. There even is a video of "C'est comme ça" on YouTube this time.

Lexsample
Robert Gil
C'est Comme Ça on YouTube

Paris in the Spring

I seem to be all over the place at the moment, in more ways than one. Last weekend I was in Antwerp, this weekend I was in Eindhoven and in Paris. It sounds pretty decadent, and it feels like that. I think it should be Amsterdam next weekend.

Paris is a strange city in many ways. When I go there I feel at home, I can find my way there, and I have enough places to go back to. At the same time there always are new places to discover and to enjoy. In some ways Paris is just like any other big city, with a lot of people and a lot of traffic everywhere, but there are all these little pockets almost, where time seems to have stood still, or where there is room to breathe.

Shopping at the Boulevard St. Michel is fun. Gibert Jeune seems to have a dozen shops there, and it took me some time to find the one I like best, the one where they have all the second hand paperbacks.

I didn't buy much, but I found some little treasures at the record shop though, like a second-hand Eleni Mandell I hadn't heard before, Cliff Richard's Small Corners (which I'd been looking for for years), and the dvd for "Demoiselle d'Avignon", which takes me back a long time, longer than I'd care to remember.

I went to the Parc Villette, to the Science Museum for an exhibition on the Poles. This is the International Polar Year, and it was interesting to see a little more of the French involvement. It's only a small exhibition, unfortunately, I had been hoping for a little more. I learned that it is hard to find volunteers to spend a winter in the Antarctic, which surprised me. I wouldn't mind spending time there.

I guess what made this a perfect trip was the weather. It really was springtime in Paris, the time of year when you don't need a coat, when you can sit down in the Jardin de Luxembourg and eat your bread and cheese there, when all the outdoor cafés are full, and you can just wander round in the sunshine.

Little things

Sometimes it's the little things that make all the difference. Like a co-worker who goes on a trip to Oslo and then brings you back a present just because you gave him some tips on what to do and see out there.

Mme. Pierlé

The first time I heard Luka Bloom play live the support act was an unusual Belgian girl called An Pierlé. She was a woman of contradictions from the start. When she walked on stage and talked she sounded like a very shy, very young girl. Her Flemish accent contributed much to this image, as did her appearance. She was blond, quite small and wearing a little black dress. She sat at the piano on her ergonomic ball, which made her "the girl with the skippy ball". But when she started playing suddenly there was all this power and energy, all this emotion and creativity. I first heard her play in Utrecht and Amsterdam in 1999, and then a couple of more times on Luka's next tour. From the first time I heard her there were songs that stuck in my mind. The urgency of "Nebraska", the gentle "Mud Stories" and the unusual lyrics of "God in a Cage". Then there was this staccato song called "Hi". It was always the music and the lyrics that stuck, even after hearing a song only once it would keep coming back into my mind.

At first I wasn't sure what to think of her music. It was genuine and original, it struck a chord, but it seemed to sound almost mechanical, and I needed time to get used to it. I considered buying her cd at the time, but didn't. Then a few years later I came across it again in a record shop and I did buy it. I listened to it, and I still had this ambivalent feeling about the music. Then after a while my partner listened to it a little more, and then I got him her second cd, "Helium Sunset". Different from the first, but with such wonderful music and lyrics, a little gentler maybe with different arrangements. She wasn't just a girl at the piano anymore. Then on "Live Jet Set" the same songs came back, but fully orchestrated, and very beautiful.

So then she came to play at a festival in the Dom Church in Utrecht. After a classical and a jazz piece it was her turn finally. She started off very well that time, by asking the audience for complete silence. She had lost her handbag, and rang her own mobile phone to try and locate it. It was found hiding under one of the seats, and she could retrieve it. This really broke the ice that night. She sang beautifully in this church, and I heard new songs again, as well as some of the songs I had just discovered on "Helium Sunset".



Then I heard her at other concerts, both here and in Belgium, and she kept amazing me. There was a great concert in the open air at the Rivierenhof in Antwerp where the fountains were made to dance along to "Sing Song Sally". Concerts in De Melkweg and Tivoli here in the Netherlands and an appearance at a literary festival in Rotterdam. She always manages to move from these small, gentle and moving songs, to great outbursts of energy and power, from sitting quietly on the edge of the stage to jumping about all over that stage.

I once, sort of by accident, attended a rehearsal of An with White Velvet and some guest musicians in Brussels. I sat there in an empty concert hall while they were going through some of the songs, and that impressed me very much. She's a professional, a perfectionist, and she could hear absolutely everything, all the instruments, every string. She knew exactly what she wanted and how to get to where she wanted to be. The concert that evening was very special.

She was one of the performers at the "Night of the Love Song" in Paradiso last year, the only time I heard her sing in Dutch. A special performance and an unusual song, very cheerful and with a children's choir, but ambiguous as well. She showed her usual great energy and zest for life there and provided a good, joyful and energetic end to the evening's entertainment. You could see even the most grumpy of Dutch poets with a smile on his face.



This weekend I went to see her in Antwerp, the town where she grew up. She played a big club, but it wasn't too crowded and there was a very relaxed atmosphere. She seemed a little tired, but that didn't stop her from giving all she could. She can play very energetically, jumping and dancing round on stage, and also play very gently and with great tenderness. She wrote a song about the death of her grandfather which is very moving. And she still sings "Mud Stories" which never fails to move me. This was the first time I had heard her sing "Anytime You Leave" live. It's a wonderful song about a woman's revenge on the man leaving her. She is very creative and, in this song, as in some others, full of mischief.

When she plays now you see that same passion that was there during those first performances. There is even more energy there now because she moves away from her piano more. When she dances on stage you can see the music and the passion reach her toes, so to speak.



When I hear An's songs in my head there are certain lines and lyrics that keep coming back, they are poetic phrases, but they have the greatest impact if you hear her voice singing them. She wrote a song about Siamese twins that has a haunting line in it:

"Siamese twins are separated
They couldn’t stand themselves no more"

And she can put feelings into words in the most moving and beautiful ways, for example about the death of her grandfather in "Closing Time":

"And now I'm lost and overruled
My eyes sore and
As time was closing in on you
Fear stroking"

And another wonderful image from "Nobody's Fault":
"I guess I’ve always been a dreamer
With a dirty mind"

Then there is "How Does It Feel":

"Anything lost
Anything broken I'll share the cost
But I wonder how does it feel"

"Promise you will never stop wondering
How does it feel"

I could go on like this for a while, but if I had to pick one song just for the lyrics it would be:

Sorry

Say you will
Don’t be shy
I’ll ask nothing
But your time
In return
I’m concerned

I’m so sorry
I can’t do this much better
In front of you
Though I try
I hurt you

By the strange things I never can tell
‘Cause I’ve got them all covered so well
You can’t name them nor solve them
Without getting involved

I’m surprised
Never thought
I’d be shy
Always joke
Always smile
Showing off

I’m a jester
I’m not nice
I’m flirtatious
Made of ice
But I’m scared
Deep inside

Still the same things we never can tell
‘Cause we’ve all got them covered so well
You can’t name them nor solve them
Cause you're getting involved

Hahahahaa
Hahahahaa

No I’m serious
Though I try
It’s my search for
The things I hide from myself
Stupid me



Living Day to Day - weblog on An
An's official website
An's Myspace

Antarctic Bracelet

On the way back from Antarctica, at Buenos Aires airport of all places, I bought a simple wooden bracelet. It is to some extent my Antarctic bracelet because it has the colours of Antarctica in it. It has several shades of blue, some white, some grey and black in an unruly mixture. You can see the icebergs and the sea, the snow and ice, the rocks in them. Then there is the gold in there, the colour of the lichens on the rocks. I like all these colours, the way they are mixed, and the way they remind me of my trips down south. It is good at times to have a reminder of a world out there when you spend your day in an office in the middle of a big city.

The Lady Has Gone Missing

I read yesterday that the lady has gone missing. She was attacked by an iceberg and floated off into the night, unseen by anyone. Europa won't be the same without her.

Two Seasons in a Day

And sometimes a girl gets what she asks for, glorious sunshine and a beautiful spring afternoon. I guess this is what they call changeable weather.

Snow in March

Just when you think spring is here, when all the birds are frantically starting to defend their territories and to find mates, and all the bulbs start showing their heads, you look out your window and all you see is snow. And you are up half the night because your feet are so cold you simply can't sleep. They say the weather gets rough towards the end of March, so I guess that
is true. But I want my spring back, I want sunshine and a gentle, warm breeze.

Antwerp

I like the city of Antwerp. I don't know what it is about the place, but I generally feel quite at home there. I've been there quite often over the past few years, because I know people who live there and the more I get to know the place, the more I like it. On the whole the atmosphere seems pretty relaxed, no pushing and shoving, and the streets are a bit broader than the ones here so you get room to breathe and to walk.

It's a great place for shopping, maybe a bit too great. You get some of the same shops you get here, but it always seems there is so much more space there. Antwerp presents itself as a fashion city, and it is. With the mood I've been in lately that is a dangerous place to be though. And yes, there was this really pretty dress I found, and it didn't cost much, and it looks really great on me. And I guess that isn't too bad, really, Antwerp also is the city of diamonds...

Antwerp also has the best second-hand record shops that I know. A huge selection of the old and the ancient everywhere, though it usually takes a little while to find out just how all these records and cds are organised in the various shops. And then there is so much out there, that after a little while you do tend to give up. You need to know what you are looking for, otherwise there is no point even starting to look.

Then there is the nightlife, the restaurants and cafés in hidden streets and corners. Places with wonderful names and decors, all very much in the Catholic tradition. The Belgian waffles in the street, those famous Belgian Fries, the chocolates. But I was a good girl and I didn't have any of those things. Not one chocolate... I even turned down this delicious looking chocolate egg.

I do think I should plan another visit to Antwerp though.

Education

Formal

I know education is important for all sorts of reasons, and I've been thinking about that again just lately. I've been very lucky in every way with my education, and I do realise not everyone has as much luck. I also enjoy learning, it is what keeps your mind active and open and what helps you to grow and develop. I know all that is pretty obvious, but it doesn't hurt to stop and think about it once in a while.

I was actually first sent to school about six months before I was supposed to. I was playing with my best friend at her house and apparently we were arguing and making a nuisance of ourselves. Her mum got tired of us, picked us up, took us to the nearest nursery school, and the following Monday we started school. I think I always enjoyed it, especially primary school. I went to a good school, and had a succession of good, dedicated teachers. I started out with a lady who must have been very young still at the time, just starting out as a teacher, and she was always very nice. I kept in touch with her for many years after she left the school. And I remember the headteacher at the school, who was very down to earth, a good teacher, and also dedicated. I learnt all the basics at that school, plain old reading, writing and arithmetic and I got a very good basic knowledge of history and geography. The basis was solid enough for everything that followed. I only really have good memories of the school, the friends I had there, the teachers, and I felt at home there.

My secondary school was very good too, strict, but a high standard education. Looking back at what I learned there, what I still use and remember, it is the languages, French and English, (German was never really my idea of an interesting thing to learn), all the literature, and I liked history and economics. I learned basic things there, like doing your own taxes, that I still use. My Latin and Maths have more or less disappeared, but I guess if I really wanted I could retrieve them at some point. Again, I remember a lot of good teachers, and it was the stricter ones that got the best out of me. Especially for French, which I started out doing very badly at, but once Evelien became my teacher I learnt so much. The scale of this school was so much bigger than at my primary school, and I did feel a little lost here sometimes. So many teachers, so many different subjects, and after the first three years a different set of students for the various classes too. I became part of a small group of good friends that I got to know very well, and that I felt comfortable with.

Then at university the whole setting changed. You had lectures and tutorials for some 10 to 15 hours a week, the rest of the work you did at home or at the library. I felt a little overawed by it all, especially early on, and it took me some time to feel at home in this big place. I did learn so much though. I went through the old style university education, so I had three years to get my bachelors degree and managed to take courses in all subjects related to the English language. So I took courses in grammar, phonetics, stylistics and semantics, as well as the history of the English Language; I learned Old English and Middle English, and I learned all about English literature. I learned to analyse and think for myself. I was never one for extensive research in secondary sources, though I did do that, I always wanted to work out what I could make of the texts first. I did a lot of close readings of poetry, and enjoyed that, and I just read as much as I possibly could. But I always enjoyed reading and studying novels more than anything.

My one year at Southampton University was special, because there I could take any course I wanted, and I didn't take any exams. I wrote papers, attended tutorials and lectures, but it gave me a chance to concentrate on the subjects that I was most interested in. So I attended three different Shakespeare courses, for first, second and third-year students, which gave me a chance to read all of Shakespeare in one year, and attend classes on the plays. I went to lectures on 19th century novelists and modernist writers and got to read a lot for those classes too. I remember reading four Dickens novels in four weeks and attending tutorials on them with a Dickensian lecturer, a peculiar man, with peculiar habits. It seemed just right though.

Back in Leiden I started my specialisation, taking courses on Modern Poetry, on the myth of Odysseus/Ulysses in literature, on the history of comedy. They gave me some lasting literary interests. I still love modern poetry, and during that course I was asked to present a paper on R.S. Thomas, still a great favourite. And I ended up writing my thesis on Restoration Comedy, another favourite still.

There also are teachers I remember because they gave me something special. My first teacher at primary school with her great gentleness and love for children, a real lady to me always. My French, Latin and Dutch teachers at secondary school who all impressed me for various reasons. My French teacher always was so disciplined and in control of herself and in that way was a great example, whereas my Latin teacher, a very nice man, always seemed a little out of this world and he could always quite easily be distracted from teaching.

The literature professor during my first year at university who always encouraged me to think and analyse for myself, probably the most important thing he could have taught me. And my modern poetry lecturer, who gave me the biggest compliment by telling me that my paper had given him new insights into R.S. Thomas and had brought him back to the works. He was a lovely man.

(In)Formal

Then you get your university degree and you get to go out in the world, fully educated. It just wasn't true. I am suddenly reminded of my driving instructor here. It took me quite a while to get my drivers licence, I took 44 lessons in exactly one year, I had the first lesson on October 4 and took my test on October 4 of the following year. I went to take my test, though I wasn't overly confident, but I did pass that first time. When I came back into the hall where my instructor was waiting for me and told him I had passed he looked at me rather incredulously, probably even more surprised than I was.... I think we were both right to be a little nervous at the time because I had quite a few near-accidents over the next few months, and scared a
fair few people, including my favourite uncle.

But I digress. When you finish your education your desire to learn doesn't stop, it never does. I still take courses on all kinds of subjects. The last one I did was on digital photography last year, but I learned more languages, took a course on interior design, on modern architecture, on Amsterdam history, on psychology. And then there are all the courses at work, on project management, risk analysis, programme management, time management, the history of Amsterdam and on all kinds of subjects related to personal development. Not all courses are necessarily that great in themselves, but you are forced to take a step back and maybe question things you take for granted.

If you keep an open mind you are always learning. I learn from all the people I meet, I learn from the books I read, even, or maybe especially from all the novels. I learn about birds and nature by just being outside, especially if I go out with someone like Jurren, who knows so much. And I learn from everything I do at work, I learn from travelling on Europa. It's always good to start out and try new things. Formal education can give you a lot of skills that are basic to leading a full life. I can't imagine a life without reading, a life without literature, without knowledge. I like the richness I get from knowing other languages, from knowing about my culture and other cultures, from knowing about my history, about where I come from. It's the
informal education that really teaches you though. You need the formal skills, but only by using them do you really learn. I learn most from other people, from watching people, talking to them, listening to them now, because I spent so many years already learning from books.

Also, I have reached the age where you start to pass on your knowledge and experience, so I sometimes teach courses at work, and I am a coach, and that is something I really enjoy, and something I learn a lot from again. It is good to test what you know, and to find out if it still holds true, or if maybe others have different views that can change your ideas again. I like finding out these things, and not getting stuck or standing still.

Change Your Underwear, Change Your Life

A few years ago I found this book in a second hand bookshop, and couldn't resist. It is one of those self-help books, but this one is great. The cover is the best shade of bright pink, with a pair of lovely red lips on there, and lots of little red hearts. I know psychology self-help books are as popular and as addictive as diet books, that is why this is such a great book. This is the "quick and easy" variety, very practical, often very silly, though that is probably not intentional, very obvious and great fun. Some things in there are worth trying, others just make you laugh. Changing your underwear obviously does not refer to finally putting on something clean after a couple of weeks and getting strange glances from friends, co-workers and fellow passengers on a tram. Just thought I'd explain.

For me, really, if there is a crisis in my life, or if I really need to change things, it is my hair that goes. I always get this uncontrollable urge to cut my hair really short, and after that things start to change. Or I start to make changes. In the book someone mentions that dyeing your hair does the trick as well. Maybe I should try that next time, my hair isn't long enough right now to make a big change.

But back to the book. It's actually a comparatively old book, published in 1996, and has some sort of public health warning saying this is nog official therapy and the authors are not taking any responsibility. The book is aimed at women and is written from a fairly conservative point of view, at least, to my European eyes. Looking at the tips on relationships I sometimes wonder if I am supposed to treat my boyfriend like my partner, my son or my dog. I can't quite tell. Then again, fortunately I can work that one out for myself.

The language is wonderful too. This is a book for and about "vibrant females". About using tears as a negociating tactic. And it is a book where joining a dating service is described as an interpersonal skill. But it does teach me at least how to "grab my man's attention". It's simple, I "hang on his shoulder like an adoring ornament", I "laugh at his jokes"and I "act interested in everything he says". Or, I can use the complimenting technique. It's as easy as that.

I am making fun of it, and some of it is way over the top, but, as with all books like this, there is some truth in there somewhere. It just feels like this one is all about play acting, rather than being genuine, and that never works.

And if anyone wonders after all of this, yes I did.