The Road Spotter

On an overcast November day I took a wrong turn and cycled along what the authorities call the largest gras land in the The Hague. It is the sound screen on the verge of the motorway to Delft. They also call it an ecological corridor. For example insects or small animals can travel along this route from the business district of Delft to the one of The Hague in Leidseveen. If they are not crushed under the tires or the smashed against the windscreens of the endless roaring traffic along this strip of nature.

To make it even more interesting they have set down a table and benches set so that the interested can observe the movements of nature around them. It is deserted. Why here? In the closeby recreation areas between Delft and Zoetermeer there are few,

However, a bit further on a man sits next to the motorway on his own chair. Since his retirement as a carpenter the seventy year old comes here regularly. Here his dog can roam freely and he looks at the traffic passing by. He does not mind the stink and noise. The entire area is full of roads and motorways anyway, he says. You have to be satisfied with what you can get. 

Trainspotting is well known. However, sitting next to a busy motorway is less than usual.

Playing in the streets

On an overcast and misty morning I cycle through the water gate into the historic center of the lovely town of Zaltbommel. It is sunday  and there is hardly anybody in the street and everything is quiet. But then I turn around a corner and hear the sound of a barrel organ. I follow the sound down the street and meet Peter, who is playing an organ in front of his house.

A barrel organ is operated by turning a crank so that bellows blow air through ranks of pipes. The pipes are housed in a wooden case. The organs are frequently highly decorated. The pieces of music can be encoded onto wooden cylinders or carton or paper rolls or books. The holes in the roll stand for the pipes to be blown with air which is created in the bellows and transferred to the pipes by individual tubes. The crank at the same time operates the bellows and forwards the paper roll or turns the cylinder. The art of the so called organ grinder is to turn the crank as evenly as possible at the right speed. There are varieties of organs, from small enough to be hand held, medium size to be transported on a trolley and the big organs which frequently come with Dutch markets.

Peter Schouten is an actor and director. In his latest performance he portrays an organ player and story teller. Built by the Perlee company in Amsterdam his organ is more than a hundred years old. Here in the street it looks simple, but Peter has left the ornaments inside the house while he is trying out different tunes in the street. 

 

Peter sent this photo to show how he and his organ look during the show

He prepares different performances in theaters, but also for private and childrens' birthday parties or shows in retirement homes or schools. For the performances he appears in a period costume. 

There are not only three barrel organ players in Zaltbommel, but there is also Thomas Sterk, who makes the music rolls and books for these organs.

Several musea display the variety of barrel organs in the Netherlands, for example in Helmond, Utrecht and in Haarlem.

Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel_organ

http://www.draaiorgelmuseum.org/

https://www.museumspeelklok.nl/

https://www.draaiorgelshelmond.nl/

Veterans’ day

Each year the Dutch armed forces celebrate veterans’ day. For the day, the Malieveld, the big plain in The Hague is turned into an exhibition ground. The veterans march through the city in a long parade. Groups of historic and modern planes and helicopters fly over the city where the Prime Minister and the King honer the Veterans. 60 veterans received a medal for their recent efforts.

Around 90,000 visitors stood along the route of the parade.

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Most impressive are the numerous military bands walking in the Parade. There is even a detachment blowing bagpipes.

Sources

https://www.veteranendag.nl/over-de-veteranendag/veteranendag-2023/

A girl everybody likes

The perfect concert to end an year of perfect concerts:

The singer with the most incredible hair....

Kris Berry and Perquisite in the paard on 21.12.2013

Beautiful, jazzy songs with poetic lyrics supported by excellent musicians

Perquisite plays electric cello, guitar, and support keyboards, 

Marnix Dornestein plays Guitar

and the three support brass players add to the groove

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3m7QzxngLM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlG0wOicLB4&list=RDAbkehzBN1Z8

Perform 'till you drop

The concert of the Belgian band "Vive la Fete" on 18.10.2013 in the paard:

Vive la Fête is a Belgian music group from Gent formed in 1997 by Danny Mommens (guitar, vocals) and Els Pynoo (vocals).

The group is also popular in the fashion world, where Karl Lagerfeld is one of their fans, and has enlisted them to perform at a number of his big shows.

The singer Els Pynoo gives all her energy in the show

 I wonder how many days she needs afterwards to recover

Without her energy the show would have been half as interesting

Guitarist Danny Mommens is of the great long-haired rock type, and so the band finished off with a couple of rock numbers, while Els retreated to recover

 Roel van Espen plays keyboards, Gino Geudens the drums and

Ben Brunin Bass

A really great show... recommend it!