What about the 11 city tour on ice?

Dear Bloggers,

The title of this blog is one of the most appreciated, but rare slogans in the Netherlands. When it is used, usually by radio or television, it means that it has frozen in the Netherlands; not just a little for a short time, but really hard and for a long time. The slogan announces the Eleven City Tour, one of the most heroic skating events. The winner receives a medal of 8 grams of alloy and eternal fame.

route of the 11 city tour of 1997

Professional skaters and amateurs skate for 200 kilometres on natural  ice through the provence of  Fryslân and have to collect stamps on the road to their much-sought-after medal. The Eleven City Tour is a nostalgic event. The last one was held in the last century, in 1997; as a compensation a similar tour is being organised abroad in Finland or Austria.

Despite the global warming the Eleven City Tour is on again, but now in cross media. The social media already starts about this heroic tour and soon it will be subject on radio, television and internet. The launch of the tour itself needs more nights of  low temperatures for at least a week If you got curious now about this special event in the North of the Netherlands. The movie theatre reports and television broadcasts since 1929 have been brought online.

Post to get stamps

The project is a cultural heritage project of the Eleven City Tour association, the Skating museum, the skating sports association, , the institute of Image and Sound, produced by the national broadcast companies NPS and VPRO. The project intends to show what has been preserved, but it also aims at user generated content such as photographs and movies.

Memories from participants can be recorded in sound, image or text.

Only the ones that make will get a cross medal

Pinning a date for a coming tour is not that easy as we do not have any influence on the weather. But it just started freezing it will be on the earliest the second week of February I guess. To me it is almost tempting fate, as the Eleven City Tour needs harsh winter weather. The real thing is not like any other skating event it needs a hell lot of people to make sure no one gets hurt or whatever is needed many Frysians will volunteer to help out.

Happily enough, you can now stay inside (temperatures went down to minus 17 degrees celsius last night) with the cross media Eleven tour city and look at the most heroic tour won by Mr Reinier Paping on 18 January 1963. I was not even born yet but people talked about every winter again how harsh this tour has been. They also made a movie about it called the “de hel van ’63” translated as the hell of 63.Let us see if this marvelous event will come up this year as was not one for the last fifteen years. The kids will be off from school to watch it either live or in front of the television set as public transport will be disrupted due to the event. This year might be the chance and many colourful images will be broadcasted for the first time on media like twitter.

Getting the ice skates out again.

The Old Sailor,

And they call it a feast.

Dear Bloggers,

We just finish today with our annual village festivities on fridaynight I had my night out and I got pretty wasted. When I was in the tent I had a pretty good time as we were close to the bar and the band was not that bad so beer was flowing quick enough to get hammered. But the influence of alcohol can do funny things to people as they let themselves go. I have been observing a few odd couples as they are related to other men. That is the good part of bringing your kids to school for a longer period. (I know all these wannabe the most beautiful mums and they are definitely not my cup of tea.)

It has been puzzling me for years why people especially wait for these feasts to come out with this kind of playing open game. As the next day you are the talk of the day. Is it that they go back on memory lane as most of the youngsters get there first relation during these days. The alcohol lowers the line of being too shy to ask your favorite boy are girl. But why people of my age do these things I really cannot figure it out. They blame it on too much drink but I do not believe that. Ok you are getting a bit more loose but the brain is still functioning in a random mode. My brain has been rattling the last 48 hours why people do this as they have a family with kids and they know that this will have consequences in the long run.

I had a go on the internet and figured the following things out. Recent studies have shown that around 45% of married women and 60% of married men are unfaithful at some time or another during their relationship. Infidelity can range from a one night drunken mistake to a long term, planned and calculated affair. Adultery doesn't have to mean the end, but is likely to have a long term impact on your relationship.

Some people are unfaithful for the thrill and excitement. Some people have affairs because they want to get out of the relationship and can't communicate that fact. Some even have affairs as a cry for help, an indication that something is seriously wrong in the relationship. Admittedly, being unfaithful isn't the best way to tell your partner that you are unhappy but it can be the wake up call that some relationships need.

Sometimes the very fact that a partner is unfaithful allows a couple to take an honest look at their relationship and work through their problems together - creating a stronger and more open partnership.

Why are people unfaithful?

• Lack of fulfilment in the relationship
• Fear of commitment or long term issues such as having children
• Need for more sex or sexual variety
• Need for excitement
• To build up self-esteem and feel desirable
• Lack of stable role model relationships when growing up (or as an adult)
• Inability to resist the advances of others
• Sexual addiction
• To make a partner jealous
• Fallen out of love
• Escape to a no strings, less complicated relationship
• Revenge
• Wanting out of the relationship but unable to communicate that fact

Here are some common signs that a partner has started an affair or is thinking of infidelity.

1. Have you noticed a change in sexual desire or habits? One partner suddenly wants more or less sex or starts asking for something that has never been a part of your sex life.
2. Has your partner suddenly started taking a great deal of care over their appearance? Are they going to the gym, wearing new make up or aftershave?
3. Do they smell different? Does your partner smell of someone or somewhere else, either perfume, aftershave or the pub.
4. Have they become more secretive? Your partner has become more defensive when questioned, changing passwords, hiding mail, credit card bills, or their mobile phone.
5. Are you experiencing strange hang up calls at home?
6. Have they become more irritated by you? Picking fights over the smallest things, less patient and dismissive.
7. Has your partner's lifestyle changed? They may have suddenly found new interests or taken up new hobbies. They may be out 3 or 4 nights a week, or have to work late a lot.
8. Have they suddenly started showering you with gifts or affection? This can be a sign of guilt.
9. Do they mention someone more frequently? In cases where you might know the person your partner may mention that person frequently - as though they are on their mind a lot.
10. Do you just have a feeling.......?

One of these signs alone rarely means your partner is being unfaithful. Bear in mind there can be other reasons for these changes such as stress at work or a resolution by your partner to improve themselves or your relationship.

Infidelity affects relationships deeply. It takes time to rebuild trust and decide whether you have a basis on which you can both move forward. If you have decided you can never forgive your partner then you may have to take the decision to separate or divorce. However, infidelity does not have to mean the end of a relationship. There can be life after unfaithfulness.

I think that I am pretty happy with my relationship although there might be some small issues here and there. At least i think that adultery is not worth it, maybe I am to good in explaining my needs to my partner who is not always on the same line then me. But for crying out loud I will not go out and shag someone else his wife. Eeeew most of them are not that pretty and being pissed is also not an excuse for me. I will need a hell lot of liquor to get my lights totally out. I hope that you don’t think that I am strange if it comes to these kind of things. As I do not see any plusses for me are anyone else, in my opinion it is a lose/lose situation.



The Old Sailor,

It is time to party

Dear Bloggers,


It's finally the annual time of the year, time for the so called Liphuster Feest. On thursday it's decorating day, a day on which we decorate the houses and gardens for the coming days.
But today it is Friday and we kick off today with the kids from elementry school which is based in the village. They all walk from school to the tent and getting fries and ice cream as a treat. Every year the committee comes with a theme and this year it is fairytales. And of course at the beginning of the evening we have the parade. During the day we had some rainshowers but the sky cleared and the sun came out. Through the years the floats became bigger and more beautiful, which is giving some trouble to get everyone in start position. But after a bit of puzzling it is time to get rolling. Just after a 100 metres the parade comes to a hold as the bolts from one of the wheels of one the floats came loose. Luckely no accidents happened but this was close call. One of the neighbors is mechanic and he was able to fix it during the evening as the float stranded in our street, but they had to drop out of the parade for today.




























Children Love Parades
Children love parades for a number of reasons, one of which being that they are strange and wonderful things. Big city folks don't understand small town parades. They have expensive floats decorated entirely with flowers and grown up men are having toys that they're obviously too old for, but it's a little different at a small town parade.At a small town parade, you start off with the local police department, riding in cars to make sure that everything is safe trafficwise. The floats are being build by the local mums and dads and also the clothing is sometimes made by a few handy women. I think it is nice that this is still excisting as in these modern times it is not that common anymore to do things together.

Marching Bands
Marching bands, are probably the most professional entries in the parade. As they practise a lot and are showing up in all these parades, although of course one is better then the other.
Less charitable things can be said for the baton corps. These are little girls, most of them, who can barely manipulate a baton. More or less twirl one. The older ones will toss the baton in the air and actually catch it, but please don't think that I'm critical of the kids.
Building a float
Starts with spreading ideas at the neigborhood meeting, from that point a lay out is made and the building of the float begins. It is for a lot of us pretty hard to be a teamplayer as we all want to be captain. So there is a lot of discussion among the buildinggroup and the developpers. For me it is pretty hard to keep myself on the brakes, but I have to take it easy on my body otherwise I will be struck by it the next 24 hours. I am not always agreeing with the design but it is nice to see what they are coming up with, this years theme is fairytales and our float is called “ice queen.”
Most of the streets have units. , with actual floats built atop hay wagons, usually pulled or ushed by tractors. The building of them happens in barns of farmers in the neigborhood or under a construction of pipes and shielded of with a few hammer-cloths. As a mum or dad you have to help building the float and they make a shedule for that, but also the youngest kids are going on the wagon from the school. So you got a double job.

Dads don't get to be Dads any more. As before every single dad had a job but now in this time of recession a lot off them are laid off or it is getting closer to them. On some of them you can sense it as there drive to do something is not there and their conversation is a bit depressed. If he gets laid off and doesn't have money to pay the full amount of bills coming in every month, and with these days that you have to play cheerful and go with your kids to the fair eventhough you can not afford it. It's not much fun being a unemployed dad, nor do I imagine it's much fun for their kids.

I Love A Parade
I said earlier that little kids love parades, because they are strange and wonderful things, and older people have their own reasons for loving parades. I can't say that I find them overly thrilling, myself. I always liked to see fathers beaming to see their kids in the parade, and kids beaming to see their parents see them. No wonder parades have dropped off, as people have forgotten the warm feelings of their kids and the happiness on their little faces. Some of us are being to busy with themselves but this is a start of coming back together or....


The Old Sailor,