Happy New Year

I would like to wish you all a great New Year's Eve and hope you are celebrating with loved ones, no matter where you may be. Here in the Netherlands today is marked by a stupendous amount of fireworks (from morning to the early hours of New Year's Day) and the stuffing of faces with oliebollen (oil balls literally translated - and literally tasting too). 

How is the New Year marked where you are?

Where ever you are, however you are celebrating - 

all the best for a great new year! 

Photo: Madhavan

Well, That Was 2010

Photo: Billy Alexander

It's end of the year and so time for a little reflection. I purposefully don't do too much reflection on the year that has just gone as there's not a lot I can do to change anything that hasn't gone quite as I had liked but a little look over the year does help to create a little focus for the next year.

Without a doubt the highlight of 2010 for me on a personal level was the birth of my second son, and the time since his birth has been busy manic chaos and I've not had the time to do as much writing as I would have liked - but I'm not going to beat myself up about it because I know what it more important right now!!

Away from me, this year has seen some big events in the Netherlands. Here's an overview of some of the things to have hit the Dutch headlines this year - in no particular order. There's lots more of course and NOS and RNW have good summaries.

Politics: Extreme right MP Geert Wilders somehow ended up with a major say in political matters in this country. It took almost all of this year to get a minority government formed after the last one collapsed due to disagreement about the future Dutch presence in Afghanistan. After talking to just about anyone who had ever uttered anything political, Mark Rutte managed to scrape a government together. He then went on to be named politician of the year - was this for his perseverance? Determination? Strength in the face of adversity?

Crime: The most notorious criminal of the year (and not for the first time I suspect) has to be Joran van der Sloot. Currently awaiting trial for the murder of a Peruvian woman, Stephany Flores Ramirez, van der Sloot was arrested in May this year. He hit the headlines with his suspected involvement in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.


Sport: The sports highlight of 2010 can be no other than the Dutch team reaching the World Cup final in South Africa. An amazing achievement, despite the loss and the after party also hit headlines across the world.

Showbiz: Footballer Wesley Sneijder and Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen are a bit like David Beckham and Posh Spice but then a little less well-known and Yolanthe never belonged to a girl's band (she's an actress/presenter). They did, however, get hitched in Italy in the summer - barely giving Wesley time to recover from the world cup hangover. There was romance, glamour and a dispute over unpaid bills - showbiz in true style. It was all over the press  - whether you wanted to know about it or not.

Volcanoes: The best volcanic action this year was definitely the Icelandic one which no one can pronounce. It stopped air traffic everywhere. In fact, mother nature has done her best this year to ground planes across the world. She even tried to ruin my Sinterklaas celebrations.

What's the highlight of your year been? What has stuck most with you from events in the Netherlands or your home country in 2010?

Keeping the Bike Wheels Turning

Photo: A van Mulligen

An article on Nu.nl last week reported that many cyclists are complaining that cycle paths are icy and slippy. My initial thought was "Well d'oh! That white stuff keeps falling from the sky, it keeps freezing - and besides the paths are no party either, and even local roads are a mess."

And then the penny dropped - this is what makes the Netherlands that bit different from many other European countries, particularly my country of origin, Britain. Cycle paths here are a way of life, much more than they are in the UK and cycling in the Netherlands is an accepted means of transportation. Getting on your bike is not just a fun Sunday afternoon out, it's a way of life, it's a way of getting from A to B. So snow and ice on the cycle paths is cause for a moan - in the same way the Brits would moan if most of the roads were not cleared for driving safely on.

I read a blog post about cycling in the snow and ice - and at the end of it there was an interesting comment from a Brit living in Sweden. There, many cycle paths are cleared before roads. Culture plays such an important role in how we get about when winter hits.

I witnessed a young man cycling yesterday on my way to the shops and I wasn't sure if I should admire his determination or have him committed. He hared across the icy path in front of me on his two wheels, pedalled across the slushy road and careered onto the snow covered cycle path. And he came to a wobbly grinding halt. Undeterred, he picked up his bike in a graceful motion, placed it on the road and tore off again. Even those in cars were edging their way cautiously along the road but this young cyclist obviously had no desire to be held back by a bit of ice and ten centimetres of snow. However, other cyclists are a little more cautious - hence the complaints pouring in to the Fietsersbond.

The Fietsersbond (Cycling Association) is calling for all main cycle routes to be cleared (not just gritted but swept of snow too). However, we are already hearing mutterings that the salt supply is running low across the country.... and we have much more winter to come.

Are you braving the snow on your bike or have you tucked your bike away until the snow clears?

Merry Christmas

Photo: Kurhan

A very quick post before Santa arrives to wish you all a fun filled festive few days.

Merry Christmas!!!

And for anyone out there who hasn't quite finished their Christmas shopping... give a gift with a conscience!!

A December Winterland

Photo: (C) L van Mulligen

The Netherlands (and much of Europe) has turned into a white winterland in the last few days. Last Thursday it started snowing and a major downfall over the weekend topped it off. For those with no place to go, it has been a few days of sledging, snow boarding and even langlaufen on the unusually quiet roads. 

Photo: (C) A van Mulligen

For those with some place to go, it has been chaos. A quick trip to the supermarket on Saturday for my husband turned in to a scene from a strange movie - he waited with a cyclist for an ambulance to turn up after she slipped on her bike and cut her head open and he witnessed the fire brigade pulling a car from its side in the shopping centre car park after the driver had skidded, hit the kerb and turned the car. It's mad out there!

Photo: (C) A van Mulligen

For those heading abroad for Christmas the recent weather has certainly scuppered travel plans (see Chelsea Girl in China's tale of her quest to get home). I just hope that any of you heading somewhere to spend Christmas with your families make it there in the end. There is a thaw scheduled this week - so the weathermen say.........

Killing Two Birds with One Stone - Zebra Crossings and Police Targets

Photo: Christian Kitazume 

There has been a bit of attention in the press recently for the scrapping by the Minister of Security, Mr Opstelten, of ticket quotas for police officers.

The management team of Utrecht's boys in blue has instead issued a "guideline"of around 160 tickets per year and this will also take account of those police who are not consistently out patrolling the streets. Police performance assessments will still include this element.

Some of the police on Utrecht's force say it is pestering the public. I say "get your butts out to the nearest zebra crossing and meet your quota in a week." Seriously - public safety and a good performance assessment - win win right?

There was a recent article in the Dutch press that stated that more and more drivers are not stopping at zebra crossings. Worse still, many drivers don't actually realise they are required by law to stop and allow pedestrians to cross (the law states those persons clearly about to cross the road). This isn't the first post (or second or third) where I've touched upon this topic - and it won't be the last - but it is a pet peeve.

There is a zebra crossing on the road I cross to get to my son's school. I have stood there in a group of mothers, prams and toddlers whilst cars race on through and we have been collectively amazed that our invisible cloaks really do work!!!!! Mutterings in the group standing with me of "I'd like to throw a brick at cars that don't stop" tell me I am not the only one this bugs....

So anyway - two birds, one stone.

Christmas Tree Top - Dutch Style

Photo: Ugur Vidinligil

In the run up to Christmas in my first year in the Netherlands, my husband and I set out to buy decorations for the Christmas tree we would buy. I We decided on a colour and collected the necessary shiny Christmas balls, snowmen, reindeer and tinselly decorations together.

I then went on the search for a fairy for the top of the tree. Not a single winged-like woman to be seen. Instead some rather odd looking pointy thing that may well have doubled up as a lethal weapon.

"What's that?" I asked my evidently bored husband.
"It's a top," he replied.
"What?"
"A top," he clarified.
"Ok. Top of what?"I asked.
"Top for the Christmas tree," he said as if talking to a toddler.
"Right. That isn't like the 'top' of any Christmas tree I've ever seen. Where are the fairies?" I asked.
Blank look back. So off I went to resume my search of winged decorations. After a fruitless few minutes I returned to my husband.
"I can't find any fairies." I announced.
"Nope," he said.
So I picked up a silver 'top' for my future Christmas tree and mumbled all the way to the checkout about the insanity of a stupid, long pointy thing sitting on my Christmas tree, serving no decorative value whatsoever. But a Christmas tree with nothing on top is like a ballerina sans tutu. It just doesn't cut it.

So since that fateful day in 2000, this silver top (called a kerstpiek I believe) has intermittently sat on top of our Christmas tree. I say intermittently because the stupidness of the long pointy design has been proven time and time again: the top of a Christmas tree is often long and thin and it CANNOT HOLD THE WEIGHT OF THE BLOODY 'TOP'! So we either have a precariously hanging piek (and I am sure the inevitable will happen one year and someone will lose an eye) or a piek that lasts five minutes before I yank it off and put it back in the attic because it looks ridiculous.

But not this year! Finally, I have remembered the loathsome kerstpiek in good time, reminded by the Christmas decorations in Intratuin last week - so I sent an SOS text to my dad. And he has bought me a Christmas fairy. Finally, my tenth Christmas tree here in Holland will have the topping any good Christmas tree deserves.