In the Pink* in ‘de Tuinen van West’!

On Whitsunday, or Pinksteren (still a Bank Holiday here) my other half and I set off on our bicycles to visit our allotment garden in de Eendracht. On the way we took a detour and explored the newly planted area in De Tuinen van West. (The Westerly Gardens). This is a centuries-old polder landscape adjoining the outskirts of Amsterdam and Halfweg, largely unused by the residents of Amsterdam. In 2007, Osdorp and Geuzeveld-Slotermeer councils presented a plan to the Amsterdam town council, proposing a total regeneration of this area and it was approved by the powers-that-be!

The ambitious plan should be totally completed by 2020. It will create possibilities for; allotment gardening, picnicking, sunbathing, horse-riding, cycling, hiking, fruit-picking, a visit to the sauna and canoeing along the canals. There will also be a large, protected wetland/eco area to attract birds and wildlife. It’s already working because yesterday we spotted a spoonbill flying overhead.

As you can see from the photos, the plan is still in a fairly embryonic stage but the boardwalk is already installed and many trees have already been planted. We also came across some adorable Falabella foals (miniature horses) on the way! It was tempting to pick one of them up and take him home in the rucksack…

To complete our cycle ride we called in at the Cantina which is part of Het Rijk van de Keizer, a restaurant and events company. It has its own vegetable garden, event/dining halls and a smaller eatery, the aforementioned Cantina. Food and drinks are served from a converted railway wagon overlooking a canal, away from the noise of the Amsterdam-Halfweg motorway. The Cantina is open in the summer months for snacks and light meals. It can also be hired for a party or brainstorming session. Het Rijk van de Keizer has capacity for parties and weddings catering for up to 400 guests! If you have less ambitious plans then the Cantina is the perfect place to escape the busyness of the city and sip a coffee while admiring the polder landscape through the Willow trees. You can even enjoy your beverages on the back seat of a 1970s car. How it got there I don’t know, perhaps a failed cut-and-shut job? It doesn’t really matter but anyone who fancies a nostalgic, backseat snog can indulge themselves!

Idiom: in the pink* Fig. in very good health; in very good condition, physically and emotionally.

Publishing Opportunity for Ex-pat Writers

As a member of online writers’ group, Writers Abroad, I am proud to announce that we are now accepting submissions for our 2013 anthology! Deadline is midnight, 31 July. We are looking for contributions from current or former ex-pats. So if you have a story, poem, or non-fiction piece that you are burning to write, then what are you waiting for? Don’t forget to read the all-important submission criteria below.

Writers Abroad will be publishing their fourth anthology, with the working title of Far-Flung and Foreign: People and Places

Mappa Mundi in the 21st Century by Terra Incognita

We are seeking submissions of short stories, flash fiction, non-fiction pieces and poetry on the theme of foreign places, which must be firmly grounded in a particular place such as a country, area, town, village, building. The anthology will be print published and later available as an e-book.

This year Writers Abroad will be donating all profits made to the charity: Book Aid International. Book Aid International increases access to books and supports literacy, education and development in sub-Saharan Africa. They provided 543,280 new books to over 2,000 libraries last year alone and have sent more than 30 million books to partner libraries since 1954.

Author Amanda Hodgkinson will be writing the foreword. Amanda currently lives in the south west of France with her family. Her debut novel, 22 Britannia Road, was released in April 2011.
“An affecting story, extremely well told” (The Times)
“Riveting, luminous” (New York Times Book Review)
“Convincing and touchingly portrayed” (Independent on Sunday)

To view the rules and conditions of entry and how to submit please click on anthology submissions.

The Last Queen’s Day

Unless you live in a cave, you will probably have heard that the Netherlands now has a new king and queen, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. On the last Queen’s Day, 30^th April 2013, Queen Beatrix abdicated the throne and passed it on to her son. I was surprised it was called an abdication, to English people it sounds so negative. The only abdication we know is that of Edward VII, a bad memory for most Brits. I had expected a more positive-sounding verb for the handing over of the throne. It was such a happy day that abdication somehow didn’t fit.

The good-looking couple, Willem-Alexander and Maxima are very popular amongst the people, capturing the interest of the younger generation too. They have three beautiful, blond daughters, so what’s not to like? Even many anti-royals failed to turn up to the protest gatherings.

My other half and I went to the Apollolaan as usual and sniffed out a few bargains. Not so many as last year though. Sellers were asking higher prices but I was very pleased with the unworn Little Black Dress I picked up for 12,50 euros. Not least of all because my anti-shopping device, otherwise known as The Hub, couldn’t say, ‘but you’ve already got a LBD,’ because, I haven’t!

Around 2pm when the swearing-in ceremony began, many stallholders abandoned their wares and scurried off home. So leftover stuff was free. Some kindly people put their telly out on the street for passersby and neighbourhood friends to watch.  We had the best of both worlds, soaking up the atmosphere and watching the highlights of the ceremony on TV.

After sampling the bargains, music and food on offer we availed ourselves of the facilities at the Hilton Hotel! Very kind of them to offer free toilet use to Queen’s Day revellers. Mind you, only the better class of people come to the Apollolaan…

Then before I got in my pink car to go home, we sampled some bitterballen. Crispy, fried balls filled with meat and floury potato. Very tasty with a dab of mustard. If you try them do be very careful as the soft insides are always extremely hot. It’s best to break them open, let them steam a bit, then take your first bite. You have been warned!

Watching the people

Watching the ceremony on TV

National car boot sale

Tulips, of course

Lex and Max look a bit pale…

The Real Queen

Mmmm, bitterballen

Bitterballen are right for any occasion

The Hilton Lobby

The Biggest Bear Title

Sad tune for Bea

Time to go home

LBD bargain of the day!

Verdant Oasis in Amsterdam West?

My local park, which I can see from my recently geraniumed balcony, is named after world famous philosopher, Desiderius Erasmus (1467-1536). The Erasmuspark was designed by Egbert Mos in 1957 and he incorporated lots of straight lines, rectangular beds and trees planted in rows. (Like much of Holland if you ask me!) The design was compared with a Mondriaan painting. Unfortunately, like so many projects, the plan was only partially executed due to lack of funds.

In 1992 Bos and Lommer Council commissioned landscape architect, Urban van Aar to renovate the park that had been neglected for years. In 1996 his plans were started and finally completed in 2001. Since then we have had a few popular additions such as marble polar bear, Orso, by sculptor, Simona Vergani and a new café, Terrasmus.

Friend and writer, Siobhan Wall described the Erasmuspark a few years ago, in her book Quiet Amsterdam, as an unexpected verdant oasis tucked away in the corner of the city. Verdant, it still is but quiet oasis no longer! At least not in the summer months. The café, playground and soon-to-be-erected podium are turning it into a much busier and noisier park. It’s great for people with young kids who can grab a cappuccino while little Bartje heads for the swings. But not so good for grumpy oldies who like their peace and quiet, I mention no names…

It’s also a refuge for hundreds of rabbits who tend to come out at dawn and dusk. Most of them look wild but the park is also a popular dumping ground for pet rabbits when people go off for their summer holidays.

The bridge leading to the park, de Vierwindstrekenbrug, has a statue on each corner, representing the North, South, East and Westerly corners of the earth. The statues and bridge are typical of the Amsterdam School architectural style. The bridge was opened in 1925 and crosses the Admiralengracht. Do drop by the park if you are in Amsterdam West, it really is worth a visit. Oh, but be careful as you’re on your way to order a smoothie, or walk your dog, the grass by the children’s playground is perforated with enormous rabbit holes, either that or the polar bear comes to life at night, leaving behind yeti-like footprints…

Painting the Town Red – Zet de Bloemetjes Buiten!

Dutch idiom, ‘zet de bloemetjes buiten’ literally translated means, put the flowers outside.  Painting the town red is the best translation, but please let me know if you have other ideas as expressions are sometimes so hard to translate directly.

Another flower-related expression in Dutch is ‘achter de geraniums zitten,’ which means retiring and sitting at home watching the world go by from behind the geraniums. Unsurprisingly, it is often used in the negative when people stop working, retirees saying they’re definitely not planning to sit behind the geraniums.

The more traditional Dutch love to fill their windowsills with plants to prevent nosey neighbours looking in. Often elderly people position their chair by the window and watch streetlife from behind the plants, enjoying life vicariously, one assumes. Two roughly equivalent expressions I can think of are; being put out to grass, and going to seed. Being put out to grass has some positive connotations though and ‘achter de geraniums zitten’ only has a negative meaning.

Inspired by fellow Writers Abroad member, Vanessa Couchman and her blog post on Life on La Lune, I too have put the annual red geraniums on the balcony. Or rather the hub did as he is the green-fingered one in the family. Vanessa’s flowers, in terracotta pots in rural France, are in a much more picturesque setting I admit but even so, a few flowers can make a world of difference to a plain apartment building.

The biggest garden centre in Amsterdam is Tuincentrum Osdorp, where we go for the annual Christmas tree argument, it’s also the most expensive and has a dubious sideline in tacky garden accessories. There’s a nice café though and as I’m rather partial to a slice of cake and coffee it’s my garden centre of choice. Not my other half though! He always goes to Bakkers Kwekerij in Nieuw Sloten. Cheaper and a lot less busy. It seems the geraniums will have to come in tonight though as it’s going to freeze!

The Pope -- by Sally Robinson and Mike S. Young

Reblogged from The Story Shack:

Well, I’ve made it. It was a narrow thing, though. All that head-shaking and nudge-nudging. And it’s truly beautiful.

Read more… 459 more words

Enjoy this flash fiction by fellow writers' group member, Sally Robinson!

Easter Sunday at Westerpark City Farm

One of the things I love about Amsterdam is the city farms that are dotted around town. City farms are such a wonderful way to introduce town kids to animals. I grew up on a farm and know how much one can learn from our four-legged friends; patience, empathy and perhaps most importantly, the chance to nurture the responsibility and commitment needed to look after a pet/farm animal. I always loved springtime back home on the farm and often, like Little Bo Peep, had a  trail of lambs trotting after me. Tiddlers, we called them. I have no idea where this name originated. Tiddlers are lambs that have either lost their mothers or need extra milk from the bottle.

My favourite city farm is the kinderboerderijWesterpark. Below are a few photos of Easter Sunday afternoon. Lots of activities for children naturally; face painting, egg decorating, pony rides, petting the animals, and of course hunting for eggs!