Week 45 It Just Works

Week 45

I'm trying not to be too political here, but.... crikey!.

Walking

I might have mentioned it here before. Many years ago, I was in South Melbourne with Barry and there was a Heart Foundation billboard with the caption: "Old Age Catching Up? - Walk Faster". Funny how some things stay with you. I think Uncle Bill still had his garage down there then - with the old, old coca cola machine.

Walking is one of my favorite pastimes, not least of all because I enjoy the forest around us, but also because I can listen to my audio books..... And Zoey likes it, too. (But I'd rather be Boating).

Speaking of which, the boat is now "ready for the winter"...

oil filter, water drained, diesel filter, oil change, water pump impellor, anti-freeze, diesel fuel additive (against the new bio-diesel).....and the long winter wait......

What follows is my wimpy excuse for not walking as far this week.....(or last week).

My "man-flu" has turned once again into "sinus problems". I have always heard other people say they had "sinus trouble" without really knowing what they were talking about. Last year, I went twice to the dentist to "get my teeth out" - but it turned out to be sinus related. The doctor said it was the worst he had seen - on the x-ray. So, a couple of things come out of this - I'm lucky I never had any problems before - and once again I was given cause to reflect on just how good the medical system is over here. We pay health insurance and everything "just works". Even if our doctors (husband and wife team) go on holidays, then we just go to the next village - we signed a waiver to allow our medical records to be accessed wherever we go - even to the weekend emergency help in Drachten. I should say here that we are fortunate enough not to have to go very often - nice to know it is there, though.

Fair to say that world events have made me think about (and greatly appreciate) how well things "just work", over here. On one of our few boating trips this year, we went to Blokzijl for Sipke's 60th birthday. We met a couple of Australian boats (and their owners) - part of a group of about 17 Australian boats in Europe, all originating in Fremantle. When talking to one of the owners, he was telling of their trips into France and Germany - sounding very appealing to me. At the end, he said, "but you know what, we really enjoy it here in the Netherlands - everything "just works" (in a boating sense).

Hence my own thoughts now about how things "just work", in general. Think of a voting system (without blatant gerrymandering), Health Care/Health Insurance, Infrastructure, (and even MORE infrastructure), the Social Contract with the whole population for goodness' sake! Yes, everything has to be paid for, taxes have to be paid, but at least EVERYONE gets something in return.

And it's still only Autumn

Around the farm

Mainly doing a few "wintery" things like closing off the outside taps so they don't freeze and collecting firewood. The leaves have to be blown and raked and the spoutings cleared.

The drainage ditches also have to be cleared....










Unfortunately, I only have one work experience lad for one day a week........

More Asylum Seekers

We have agreed to take two (2) men into the apartments - probably one apartment each, but they could "share" if they want to. Apparently, they are married and waiting for their families to arrive in the Netherlands. Not sure yet where they are from.


Our Syrian family has moved on but I'm still doing some work for them - did I mention that I hate working on doors?


Still trying to make this one fit... I've had to make it wider and shorter, not to mention the chiseling for hinges and locks....I guess I've just had enough of them, having worked on them over the years. This was just one of a pile of spare doors....wait, who has "piles of spare doors"?

But, then again, what else would I be doing?




Door finished, finally...

More on refugees

Italy

Italy is struggling with the huge number of refugees landing on its' shores.

With all the BS on the internet, I heard an interesting argument that kids should actually be taught in school to be "skeptical" - in other words, to be able to evaluate the information and decide what is logical or what makes sense or who is telling the truth for that matter. Rather a pipe dream, I fear.


In relation to my heading, I saw an article that said many refugees in Italy are nominating their preferred "destination country" and refusing to board the plane if it is going somewhere else. What?!


Another article that I give more credit to refers to the influx of refugees giving new life to "aging" towns or villages in some parts of Italy.
A few years ago, the village of Acquaformosa signed up to a government scheme under which struggling communities take in asylum seekers in return for government funding. The project has enabled the resuscitation of towns and villages that for years have faced depopulation and economic decline. Each refugee/migrant is given €24 per day to pay for food and lodging - this inevitably finds it's way into the local economy. More villages are also signing up to the scheme.

From the Newspaper

Clean Air in Friesland

Friesland has the cleanest air in the Netherlands. Groningen 2nd and Drenthe 3rd. (the 3 Northern Provinces again lumped together). Zuidholland, Rotterdam the Randstad, Utrecht and Limburg the worst. Fijnstof (particulate matter) has reduced since 2010.

People were concerned that the increased speed limit (to 130km/hr) might produce more, but this has not eventuated; this might also be due to the increasing number of cleaner vehicles.

stikstofdioxide (Nitrogen Dioxide) Friesland 9.7micrograms per cubic metre
National average 16.2

Particulate matter Friesland 16 micrograms per cubic metre. National 19.7

WW II Bomb found

40 houses evacuated in Den Bosch (proper name is s-Hertogenbosch), south of Amsterdam, where a 1000 lb bomb from WWII was found during digging works. The bomb squad was called to dismantle it.

Repairing the dykes

A TV Mini-Series has just started on Dutch TV, titled "When the Dykes Break". A modern look at what will happen when the dykes break, as they did in 1953. Only one episode so far but it is interesting in that it includes (in the modern version) the politics of making the wrong decision i.e. not to evacuate The Randstad (the most densely populated area of Europe).

I have included this under "News" because it was also in the news this week that major dyke repair works have just been completed - at a cost of more than 600 million Euros.

I discovered that there is also a Govt. website that lets you enter your own postcode to see how far under sea level you are!

Wijnjewoude is between 4 - 6 metres ABOVE sea level. (But the boat might yet come in handy).


http://www.ahn.nl/pagina/apps-en-tools/postcodetool.html






One of my very first trips in the Netherlands was a "day out" with Janny's brother Sipke, to visit the Delta Works in the South. It made a lasting impression on me.

from Wikipedia

The estuaries of the rivers Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt have been subject to flooding over the centuries. After building the Afsluitdijk, the Dutch started studying the damming of the Rhine-Meuse Delta. Plans were developed to shorten the coastline and turn the delta into a group of freshwater lakes. By shortening the coastline, fewer dikes would have to be reinforced.
Due to indecision and the Second World War, little action was taken. In 1950 two small estuary mouths, the Brielse Gat near Brielle and the Botlek near Vlaardingen were dammed. After the North Sea flood of 1953, a Delta Works Commission was installed to research the causes and develop measures to prevent such disasters in future. They revised some of the old plans and came up with the "Delta plan".
The plan consisted of blocking the estuary mouths of the Oosterschelde, the Haringvliet and the Grevelingen. This reduced the length of the dikes exposed to the sea by 700 kilometres (430 mi). The mouths of the Nieuwe Waterweg and the Westerschelde were to remain open because of the important shipping routes to the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. The dikes along these waterways were to be heightened and strengthened. The works would be combined with road and waterway infrastructure to stimulate the economy of the province of Zeeland and improve the connection between the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.

Our Asian Correspondent back in Hong Kong

He's had a few exams and done very well. (I was going to say "surprisingly well" due to all his travels, but that would not be fair, as it obviously hasn't been disadvantageous). In fact, I read somewhere that most people living in "that other America" rarely travel more than 200 miles from home. It made me think of Ben and his travels, hopefully becoming a wiser and more rounded person as a result. Not such a bad thing if he does eventually pursue the Journalism thing, in whatever form.

In Tokyo, Ben took this photo - I think a train station

Back in Hong Kong - a Mountain Hike on a foggy day....