Week 17 Dodged a Bullet

Week 17

Scottish Con Artists

I had a guy drove in with his work utility van saying that they "had some asphalt over" which they wouldn't be able to use on King's Day, being a Public Holiday. He asked if he could speak English and was nice enough (as con men are?). Now, our temporary driveway is in a terrible mess and it would cost about €100 to fill in the holes.... I thought that sounds OK and said go ahead and fill in the holes then. I told Janny  and straight away her warning lights started flashing - apparently there have been stories going around about "asphalt con men" - stories which I don't get to hear in my "bubble". I call it mess-room talk where one might always hear something of relevance to just about anything. I simply don't have any of that at Ken's Kingdom.

I went for a drive to see if I could find them and did- so I told them that "my wife thinks you are con men" and so we won't be doing it. Again, they seemed OK and a second guy said oh, it would only cost about €1800 to resurface that stretch - a far cry from the €100 for "leftovers". Funny, I normally defer to Janny in all these things - because I know I can't "read" people - I'm just an easy touch.

Maybe we should have a "Con Man Alert App" for our village?

Edit 1: The Police issued a statement saying that they couldn't do anything to stop them but people should be "wary". Why are "English-speaking men roaming around trying to sell asphalt"?. the dreaded Facebook also helped in spreading the word.

Edit 2: I have been thinking about this and thought of some other incidents. We once paid a "mole catcher" 25 guilders to set traps to catch all our moles - which were making a mess of the front lawn (grass - lawn is a bit of a stretch). Again. it all seemed OK. - he set all the traps and said he'd come back in a "couple of days". Next morning, we woke up to find all the traps were gone.... and so was he!
We have a "brothers and sisters family fund" which we contribute to - so that every couple of years we do something "special" as a group. eg a show, indoor skiing, 70's dress up night, etc. including food, drink and transport. Now, years ago when the kids were little, there was a disadvantaged youth who stayed with them for holidays and has maintained intermittent contact over the years. A couple of years ago he asked for a "loan" to get him out of trouble with bad debts. I was the odd one out who advised against it - probably because it just didn't sound right and I wasn't close enough to have any emotional ties. Not really a "con" but more an example of how judgement can get clouded.
Janny has a cousin who did prison time as a result of "fraud" in that he really did "con" people into shady investments. This was all very sad for his parents - Aunty and Uncle - of course. 

Frisian names

Not to dwell on it here but I thought it would be a segue into looking at a few Frisian names - ie people's first names in particular. The above-mentioned cousin's name is Oebele 
(oo-bal-la). The chap who installed our new motor in the boat is Watze (what-ze). The nurse who came to our house for Ben's birth was Wopke (wop-ke).
Even Janny is Jantje Sietske (yun-cher seat-sker). Then there's  Fokko, Sicco, Fokje, Sipke. I guess I'm used to it now but even so I occasionally meet someone with a name that I have never heard of before. One of the Council's refugee reps is Hieke (heak-ah) - a woman - although it can be a boy's name as well, apparently.
We once had a chap staying in one of our apartments who had 3 kids - Vera, Wilma and Herman - lovely family and all that, but it just struck me that I couldn't have thought of 3 more old fashioned names (in English, at least).

The Weather

We even had a tiny bit of snow last Saturday, hail and thunderstorms on Monday and expecting a COLD King's Day Holiday on Wednesday. Coldest "last week in April" since 1991. Not boating weather, but we'd better get into it fairly soon. (or else it will be winter again!).

Finishing touches

Swapped the temporary kitchen workbench - we had to wait for the black one to be made.

Ben

Has had his "last ever" exam at Windesheim - still waiting on some results and he has some project work to finish off. Then off to Hong Kong - just like that! (Due in Hong Kong on 31 August). He has done some more casting work - having to try some clothes on for some trial photos - to see if any more work comes from that. He also has a few "options" - for New York, Madrid - but that is all "wait and see" if he gets the nod.

His Weekend Away

A few more members "initiated". (don't ask).

Refugees at our place

Well, it looks like it is going ahead - our first "asking price" was rejected, so we came back with a 2nd proposal that excludes gas, electricity and BTW (GST). This has been accepted with the proviso that the residents have to pay for their own gas, "as part of what they have to learn". Like us, it seems that the Local Govt. people are also wary of the "blowout" that could occur with heating bills.

We have to wait a couple of weeks for final confirmation as some of the principal decision makers "have gone on holidays". Oh well, at least I have a bit of time to think about the works that have to be undertaken at our end - including a system to record everything, up to and including the BTW for the taxman! Now that I think about it, this part really gets to me - the rent from the apartments is considered as "income" so we get to pay 21% BTW (on the transaction) when it comes in and then whatever rate of income tax at the end of the year as well!! No wonder we're trying to save on the gas bills.....

Our normal Care Farm income is in a sector that is BTW free so we only have to pay Income Tax on that. 

If we buy anything for the apartments we also have to pay BTW on the purchases - so at least that can be written off against the BTW we have to pay on the rent - but I do have some extra bookkeeping to do to keep track of it all!
Edit: There was a newspaper story during the week saying that the Federal Government "will be making more money available for the integration of asylum seekers". The Local Government's price to us was based on what they get from the Feds - so maybe we can squeeze a bit more. At least it will be interesting to see if they make mention of it.

Photos

We went to a 25th wedding anniversary party (for "Bregtje" and Herman!). This was the view of the heath from the restaurant - just up the road in Bakkeveen. Good food!

Saturday afternoon with Ben in Groningen.

They have food market stalls here every saturday. My experience of similar markets has always been "why bother, it's just the same price in the shops". But this time, the vegetables were substantially cheaper - so we made a note of "maybe doing a fortnightly trip" just for the market.

Some of Ben's friends are living in Groningen while they do their studies - it really is a "student/university city" with all sorts of people and cultures. 

He took us to an "out of the way" restaurant for an excellent lunch.

King's Day

Almost forgot. Last Wednesday was a Public Holiday for King's Day. Some people in our village organised a Koningsmaaltijd - A King's Meal - "free" for everyone in the village. It was originally planned for outside - but with the prospect of unseasonally bad weather, they moved it into the village Community Centre. There was food, music, entertainment, drink - all for a "voluntary contribution". By all accounts, it was a great success.