Week 39

Week 39

No routine at all today. I normally start with looking at the week past, but I made some meat pies instead. Yesterday I made some Pear and Leek soup for Janny's Mum - after she dropped the hint about how nice it was the last time I made it for her...(we first made it from one of Adele's recipes in about the year 2000)

Of course, I do realise that I am simply finding things to do - instead of tackling my paperwork.

I have to calculate the gas use from the apartments and prepare our own invoices for last month...

Barry's birthday during the week. Just to remind me of how quickly time is flying by...

Barry's daughter still sends me the "Get It?" and other pages from Saturday's Age. Barry and I did them for years....

The Armchair Sailor in me was delighted during the week to start "thinking" again about the boat trip to France (via Belgium) - only thinking, not really planning :-)

So I dug up an old blog of mine - really just a place to store it, rather than share it.

https://historyfrenchcanals.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-history-of-french-canals-history-of.html

Pierre-Paul Riquet was the undoubted hero of that story.

I also looked up the rules and regulations...just for Belgium. There are more for France.

This site is pretty good - easy to Translate to English.

https://vakantiesophetwater.nl/verhalen/Varen-Belgie-eigen-boot

Boat license Belgium

The rules for the navigation license are the same in Belgium as in the Netherlands. If you need it in the Netherlands, then also in Belgium; the Dutch navigation license is valid in both countries. So you don't need an ICC in Belgium.

ICP Belgium

In Belgium it is mandatory for boat owners to have an ICP on board. The ICP is an international proof of ownership, you can buy the ICP in the webshop of the Watersportverbond.

VHF required

An important rule that applies throughout Belgium is the obligation to have a VHF radio on board on every yacht passing through the country. This also applies to Dutch people.

Sailing vignette Belgium

Flanders

In both regions of Belgium it is mandatory to have a navigation vignette on board. The Waterways permit for the Flemish Region has become completely digital with effect from 2020. The permit can be requested online via Visuris.be or by telephone on 0032-11279903. For those who rent a boat in Flanders it is nice to know that the vignette is included in the rental price.

Wallonia

It works differently in the Walloon Region. A navigation vignette is also required there, but in Wallonia the permit is free. At the first lock in Wallonia you have to report to the lock keeper, then your ship will be registered with a MET number. You will also be asked to submit your sailing plan. You have to sign out again at the last lock in Wallonia.

FD number Antwerp

An FD number (Financial Service Number) is required for passage through the Antwerp port area. It is best to request this before departure on Jachthaven-antwerpen.be . You must use this number to report via the VHF radio when entering or leaving the port area.

Extra Housing?

The Netherlands’ drinking water companies are warning that more sources of water must be found to cope with population growth, economic growth and regional urban expansion, according to research by sector lobby group Vewin. Without government action to secure more sources, all water firms will face problems guaranteeing supply. Three in 10 suppliers say they already need more capacity, Vewin said. In particular, drinking water firms say they cannot guarantee that proper drinking water will be available on time for the more than 900,000 new homes that the cabinet wants to build.

This intrigues me because, as I have noted before, one of my earliest thoughts when I came here was "Where are the reservoirs or dams for drinking water" ? (there aren't any. The Ijsselmeer (formerly the Zuiderzee) provides the largest reserve of fresh water).

Our drinking water supplier is Vitens. Their Director was on the news during the week, trying to explain the problem. He was pretty good - getting in early and explaining how they have to go through a lot of time consuming rigmarole to even get permits. I have the idea that the Pollies "promise" of 900,000 new houses hasn't really been thought through as far as the infrastructure required; drinkwater being just one consideration.

 Gas

The Dutch state has earned more than €360 bn from the exploitation of the Groningen gas field since extraction began in 1963, according to an analysis by the Financieele Dagblad (newspaper). Total revenues from the gas region amounted to €428bn when adjusted for inflation, of which €363.7 bn went to the government coffers while €64.7 bn was split between Shell and ExxonMobil, the joint owners of NAM, the company set up in 1963 to distribute Dutch gas. The amount of money raised from Groningen’s gas reserves has been a closely guarded secret, with official statistics only giving the total income from natural gas production – €452bn when adjusted for inflation.

This is one of the readers' comments from Nu.nl

(about the effects of Privatisation in the Netherlands)

In the past, electricity and gas belonged to the government, so not a company like Essent now, etc.. You don't need a source for that, that's just history... it was not a good idea then, and now it turns out (to be not a good idea) again, unfortunately. Companies have to make a profit, a government only (has to) cover costs, and that can save us as citizens a lot of money. But in any case strategic resources, such as energy, health care, post (telephone etc), universities (specific training), military resources, goals, security, water (housekeeping), should never be privatized. Unfortunately, that has happened...with all the consequences that entails.

New bridge coming to Rotterdam

Due to the expected increase in new housing, the Rotterdam Council has planned a new bridge - including cars, tram and bicycles - at a cost of €1 billion Euros - to be completed by 2035.

We only saw a small part of Rotterdam, but it did seem pretty well served with cycling paths and public transport.

Around the Farm

The little things... of my new shower project.

We're still waiting to hear the offer from the Local Government (basically whether they will calculate the energy costs as a separate item).

Exhaust fan... 

Shelf in the shower...

Exhaust fan outside...

Washing machine drain...

Handbasin shelves...

This one stumped me - on the right the cables are all from the original (OLD) colour scheme - on the bottom left are cables from a period when the individual wires had to be pulled through the plastic tube - top left is my new cable to the exhaust fan - but I can't figure out which block it has to go in... :-( 

My yellow and green cable should be black (for a switch) but I had this cable left over - I may yet have to change it, but I wanted to get the fan working(it does work, but it doesn't switch off).

Boeke, chairing discussions at morning coffee...

Ben in Thailand

Ben is very good at making friends...he had planned a weekend away with a group, but his Modelling Agency booked him for some work with the clothing company of a REAL Thai Princess! So, he has to stay for that, of course. The Agency notification had a little footnote that Ben should "be nice and polite".

Ben also had his contract extended for The Student Hotel - he writes and/or translates stuff for their advertising and other documentation.