Veteran's Day 2012 in The Hague

The annual gathering of Dutch veterans took place today in The Hague. The weather was very Dutch; we used the parasol and the rain cover for the pram, visitors used their umbrellas adorned in short sleeves.... but that took nothing away from the day. It was as usual a great day.

The highlights were again the procession of veterans through the city centre, the military flypass followed by soaking up the atmosphere on the Malieveld. The sounds and atmosphere of Veteran's day are special by themselves; the sounds of veterans catching up in the blue and yellow striped marquees, chatting and laughing over beer and nasi; the roar of military vehicles over the field; the laughter and delight of children climbing towers and sitting on tanks and planes;  the galloping of horses; the military bands. It's a special day. Not just for the veterans themselves, but all those who witness the spectacle.

Here are some photos which capture the day.

The Military Flypast
Photo: (c) Amanda van Mulligen

Military Aircraft in the Clouds During the Flypast
Photo: (c) Amanda van Mulligen

A picture that looks like it could be decades old - but was taken today in the centre of The Hague
Photo: (c) Amanda van Mulligen

Crown Prince Willem-Alexander on the Malieveld
in The Hague for Veteran's Day
Photo: (c) Lars van Mulligen

"Vergeet Ons Niet" - the message of this band playing on the Malieveld today, highlighting the plight of
Papua New Guineans
Photo: (c) Amanda van Mulligen

Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, greeting veterans (and their wives) today in The Hague
Photo: (c) Amanda van Mulligen

A Veterans Day sand sculpture
Photo: (c) Amanda van Mulligen

Dutch military presence (past and present) highlighted on
a mile post
Photo: (c) Amanda van Mulligen

A UN vehicle
Photo: (c) Amanda van Mulligen

Will I, Could I, Do I Want to Stay in The Netherlands Forever?

This post nicely follows on from my pondering post about how life would have looked had I stayed in England instead of taking the plunge and moving to the Netherlands twelve long years ago. Namely the question,

"Will you, Could you, Do you want to stay where you are forever?"

Forever? I've never stayed anywhere forever. Not even close. I've never been somebody who could see myself staying somewhere forever.

As a child I called a fair few places home: Newbury, Andover, Warrington, Chorley Wood, Rickmansworth and Croxley Green (yes, seems like we did a tour of Hertfordshire....) As a young adult I lived in Bradford, Toulouse and Watford. Then I moved to the Netherlands.

In twelve years here I've lived in three different places: Voorschoten, The Hague and now Zoetermeer. In just over a month I will have lived in my current house for a decade. That must be the longest I have ever lived in one place. In one house. I must be settled. I must have found my home. Right?

Well actually, just last year, with the news of my third pregnancy a house move was on the cards. At zero hour it went pear shaped and we stayed put. So it's not my dream home. Zoetermeer is not my dream town. But it is where my family is. It's the house we've made home. It's where I belong right now.

So it's clear that this house, in this town, is not the end of my story. It's a stepping stone.

Could I stay in the Netherlands forever? I could. I'm not averse to my life in the Netherlands.

Will I stay in the Netherlands forever? I don't know.

In 2017 my husband's work contract ends and the world, in theory, is our oyster. In reality, I wouldn't want to move much further away from my family in the UK. The Netherlands and the surrounding countries are far enough.

An OAP cycling through the flower fields? Me? Not likely!
Photo: (c) Amanda van Mulligen

Do I want to stay in the Netherlands forever? I don't have an image of me as a pensioner fighting the crowds and cycling alongside the Dutch canals to visit my grandchildren, taking in the windmills and flower fields as I go. I'd like somewhere less populated to grow old. I'd like something a little more rural.

I don't have an elaborate dream of where I'd like to be living in later life (though I do keep seeing beautiful furniture for my french farmhouse kitchen......) I'm leaving my options open. I'll be where my family is. I'll be where it feels right to be.

Will you, could you, do you want to stay where you are forever? 

This post is part of the expat blog hop by "Tales From Windmill Fields".

Football - It's Just a Game Right?

Photo: (c) Amanda van Mulligen

Well actually it's not. Any self-respecting football fan will confirm that. It's not quite life or death but it's close.

And every two years I am confronted with a cultural dilemma when a Euro Cup or a World Cup takes place. Every two years my I wrestle with my nationality and my adopted home. Do I support the Netherlands or England? Which team do I affiliate more to? It's been an internal struggle for years.


The thing is that when you live in another country for a considerable time you come to know more about that football team than your 'home' country team. You are surrounded by Dutch flags and orange paraphernalia. It's hard not to get excited by it all. To get swept away in the fever of the locals. Names like Van Basten, Robben and Kuyt roll off the tongue. The local media is full of 'oranje' in the build up to the tournament.

Photo: (c) Amanda van Mulligen

Photo: (c) The Writing Well

Of course, the Dutch team are now back home licking their wounds. The follow up to reaching the World Cup final two years ago has been dismal, depressing and above all a little embarrassing. Two years ago the nation was in mourning after a World Cup Final defeat (me included). This time around the nation got angry. They lashed out at Bert van Marwijk and his squad. My brother posted a message on Facebook about the Dutch team being a bit of a joke this time around. My Dutch husband couldn't have agreed more.

A Mini Dutch Supporter
Photo: (c) The Writing Well

I had high hopes at the beginning of Euro 2012. I thought the Dutch were destined for great things once more. How could it not be after the euphoria and then the disappointment of the World Cup in 2010? My expectations of the English team were lower than normal, and that's saying something. Nobody expected England to do much. Is that the reason they are now battling for a semi final place against their arch rivals the Germans and the Dutch are at home analysing what went so horribly wrong?

After the defeat at the hands of Denmark it was clear to me that laying my hat of loyalty at the feet of the English was a surer way of avoiding disappointment. Or at least delaying it. I turned to Plan B. I started placing some hope in the English side. Not that I lost all hope in the Dutch - I was still hoping for that 2-0 miracle against Portugal..... but I had a back up.

And so, here we are, hours away from the match against Italy. To play for a place in the semi-finals of Euro 2012. Do I expect England to beat Italy? Well, actually I do. I have faith. Hope. Optimism. The picture has wildly changed over the space of a couple of weeks.

2004 - Then I was sure of my Englishness.....

Football certainly is a funny old game.

What If I Had Never Left England?

On my "Expat Life with a Double Buggy" blog I published a post which pondered how different life would have been for my three boys had they been born and raised so far in England, instead of the Netherlands. It got me thinking about myself.....

What would my life look like now if I had not moved to the Netherlands in 2000?

I am pretty sure I wouldn't have taken the plunge into a writing career. I can imagine I would be plodding along in a Human Resources career in an office environment that sucked the life out of me. Becoming an expat gave me an angle and an inspiration to write that life in Watford just didn't give me. That aside, a move to England would have mean retraining for my husband and a serious career set back for him so money not passion would have been my number one concern for many years.

Harry the Hornet - The Watford Footcall Club Mascot
Photo: Watford Ladies FC

Talking of Watford, one thing I would still be doing had I stayed there is sitting every other week with thousands of others in Vicarage Road, home of the mighty (cough) Hornets. That's Watford football club to those unfamiliar with the red and yellow of the 'Orns...... I was a season ticket holder for a looooooong time and it was a wrench to give that up!

Where would I be living now had my husband and I decided that life in England was the way forward and he had moved there instead of me making the move across the North Sea? A question I can't even imagine to answer! Back to a place I grew up in like Rickmansworth or Croxley Green? Near where my dad now lives? It would have to be within the catchment area of the school we wanted our boys to attend.....

My social life would certainly have been richer (it's no secret that getting friendly with the locals in the Netherlands is a challenge in itself) over the last decade. The relationship with my mother may not have crumbled had I stayed living nearby. I would certainly have seen my extended family, particularly my wonderful grandparents, more often than now.

The big things in life would be so different to now - but the little things too.

I would still be consuming Guinness in the family orientated pubs that grace British high streets. Eating Indian meals would have remained a regular pastime and fish and chip suppers would have been commonplace. I would probably still be consuming Nik Nak and Wheat Crunchies crisps (do they still exist?).

I wouldn't be able to utter a word of Dutch.

I would have probably been driving a car around the English roads without a shred of fear (a blog post to come about this real soon).

Any new TV may have been purchased in the local supermarket instead of online or the local electronics shop. I would be buying my hair gel in the local Superdrug or Boots (my jaw just dropped when I googled Boots a Dutch site appeared..... online Boots for the Netherlands and a chemist in the Hague??!!! How did that happen without my knowledge?) and my magazines from WH Smiths (where in a former life I did a stint working on the pen counter).

Who know's how life would have looked but once thing is for sure - it would all look so different to life now!!

How would your life look now if you had not moved abroad?

A cadre of change agents for newspapers

Instead of merely talking about how much the newspaper industry has to change, the Inland Press Association has decided to do something about it – in a big and bold way.

The association has created the Executive Program for Innovative Change to provide senior publishing folks with the in-depth strategic perspectives and concrete entrepreneurial skills necessary to efficiently and effectively

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