This Week in Wijnjewoude 2022

Not much this week. We had to close the business. A few more in the family have it as well - the last sister standing, Greethilda, has been doing the shopping for us... Just for something to do - I watched the Queen's Birthday Footy (again!!) . Surprising just how comforting Boeke has been. At least I was able to look after Janny for a couple of days - we're now a week later and she is slowly on the mend. She tested positive on Sunday and I was positive on Tuesday - I'm sure I have a nastier version than she had :-). I went to bed at 2000hrs on Friday night - the news on the TV was about the Abortion/Supreme Court decision in America. All I could say to Janny was "that's the least of their problems". Must have been that thought that woke me up at 0300hrs - remembering being a kid in the schoolyard at Ringwood Primary School (65 years ago) being taught how to do some medieval "folkdancing" -  scarred me for life!....but the real point on my mind was ...

  Village Fair 2022 I usually manage to avoid these, but this year I was roped in to the Pub Quiz, the Bingo Day (with the clients) and the Play-Back Show. Because a sister and a niece both had Covid - for the 2nd time! - I was enlisted as a "Stand-In Minion", along with another brother-in-law. Alas, we didn't win -  nor any consolation prize. The Rozema Family has won it several times before, so everyone else has lifted their game... (The Covid numbers are on the rise in the Netherlands, so events like these are going to be a good test - perhaps I shouldn't have gone, but it is hard not to get swept up in it all). As usual, we shall see... Update We both went for a PCR test this morning because Janny was feeling crook - and she tested POSITIVE and I was negative (at the time of the test). So, a tough week coming up...we'll probably have to close from Tuesday on. Sister Ankie is holding the fort on Monday. Another sister Bertha, did the shopping for us. Boating ma...

  This was from nu.nl. A question from a reader...  it was interesting to think that growing up in Australia there was so much to learn about the Snowy River, Ord River, Thompson Dam and so many more from the "world's driest continent", compared with living with (and having to manage) the water here in the Netherlands. I'd recommend again one of my podcasts (in English by a Melbournian) https://www.republicofamsterdamradio.com/historyofthenetherlands A couple of the early episodes describe how the (too much) water shaped the culture of the people and the country itself. (And now I'm reading about "making the country more drought resistant"). https://www.nu.nl/nu-klimaat/6204693/klimaatvraag-hoe-maken-we-ons-land-beter-bestand-tegen-droogte.html According to Schilte, it is especially important that the groundwater is replenished as much as possible and that as little disappears as possible. That is why the water level is kept as high as possible all year ...

 Week 22 Gas trader GasTerra, which is owned by Shell, Esso Nederland and the Dutch State, among others, will be closed on Tuesday (31 May) from supplies from Gazprom. The Netherlands refuses to comply with the demand to pay for the gas in Russian rubles. GasTerra argues that this is a violation of European sanctions against Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine. I've been blaming Merkel for the situation that Germany found itself in, but I read an interesting article in one of my 3 Guardian subscriptions that explained that the problem has been building for more than 50 years, despite warnings from many, including the US. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/02/germany-dependence-russian-energy-gas-oil-nord-stream?utm_term=629927b6b7db639a5f548374fe09616d&utm_campaign=MorningMailAUS&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=morningmailau_email ( I see that it was my Australian version: I wonder if Australians follow it as closely as I have been forced to?). It obvious...