Freezing cold springtime

Dear Bloggers,


It has been more than 50 years since temperatures were this cold this late in the winterseason in The Netherlands, but here we go again. Temperatures near zero for what many with me are hoping will be the last time this spring.

“I’m definitely tired of it,” I hear one of my passengers say when he hops on the bus, and I see a woman looking cold and beaten by the weather as she went jogging in the pooring rain and hailstone showers, and she didn’t expect this severe weather untill the end of the year, when temperatures start to edge a bit closer to normal.

The normal high temperature for late April is around 15 to 18 degrees, and the normal low is 7 to 10 degrees Celcius which most of Holland likely won’t even see as a high until early next week. The average temperature this time of year is 10 to 17 degrees.

However, temperatures won’t get anywhere near the 10 this week. The highest temperature in the forecast is Sunday’s high of 16 degrees. The closest we’ll get to 20 is Monday’s forecast high of 17.

Temperatures overnight dipped as low as -1 degree at the local weatherstation here early last Wednesday morning. That’s just shy of the coldest April. 20 on record, when it was 1 below zero in 1963.

Although temperatures did not get below zero as expected, subzero temperatures remained a possibility. No one held out much hope that springlike weather will arrive “on schedule” with the arrival of spring in less than a month.

On route I see a man walking his chocolate Labrador retriever, who makes the walks necessary, although the man is wearing a winterjacket and hat and scarf he looks pretty cold he probably will make his daily walk a bit shorter, and will walk more briskly.

In the case of a 48 year old professional bus driver which would be me.in this case. I see a lot of people being sick or having the sniffles, although it is not abnormal but you feel that they are all waiting for the beautiful Sunny springweather, normally they would go by bike enjoying the Sun. The bus has to do it's route. no matter what the weather. Opening the front door in bitter cold is not the most fun thing to do.

Yet another man on the bus, said the weather has been so cold so many times, “I”m getting used to it. … I actually enjoy the cold weather now.”
Snow is not that bad, although the rain is crap but the cold is fine. You just put your winter hat on and your gloves. And just when I thought everyone was sick of winter.

The extreme cold this year has been taking a toll on homeowners’ wallets, too. As the heating has to stay on longer

“No question this has been a very tough winter for many gas and oil consumers.”

I hope that we are getting nice and sunny weather soon. People will cheer up again and my life on the commuter bus a little easier. I will have time to look around me and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Let the Sun shine.........Let the Sun shine.......

The Old Sailor,

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,

Everything to avoid a winter depression

Dear Bloggers,

When we opened the curtains this morning, the world around us was covered in snow.
My kids were excited, but I start too hate the down parts of this beautiful scenery, instead of enjoying it, but somehow I can’t anymore.
As my wife has to go by car to work, she had to leave early as the forecast was not to good this morning.
There were a lot of accidents reported due to slippery roads and places where they had to deal with glazed frost, they even have closed certain highways because of these so called glaze on the roads.
Gritting was impossible for a few hours.



Tomorrow my kids go ice skating on natural ice, even though the temperatures are rising a bit above zero.
It has been freezing pretty hard for a few nights, strange enough they are having lower temperatures in the south of my country.
I think that I will see my daughter for the first time on ice skates.
As the winters were not that good the last few years.
I am looking forward to see her hassling with her skates, I have explained her that ice skating is about enjoying yourself and not about how great you are.



We've officially entered the hard months, although the days are getting slightly longer, the "dark ages" as the midshipmen at the Naval Academy say: the time of the year when the sun disappears and the pale complexions of your friends remind you that you better take your vitamins or else you'll have a cold to go with your pasty look.
I fear winter each year because many of my depression busters require sunny skies and temperatures in the 20°C.
What does a guy who walks, swims and bikes do for sanity in the winter?
Lots of things.
Here are a few of them:

Careful with sugar.
I think our body gets the cue just before Saint Nicholas that it will be hibernating for a few months, so it needs to ingest everything edible in sight.
And I'm convinced the snow somehow communicates to the human brain the need to consume every kind of chocolate available in the house.
We are mammals, yes, so do we think we need an extra layer of fat in the winter to keep us warm?
I'm starting to think so.
Depressives and addicts need to be especially careful with sweets because the addiction to sugar and white-flour products is very real and physiological, affecting the same biochemical systems in your body as other drugs like heroin.
Your relationship to sweet things is operating on a cellular level.
It is more powerful than you have realized....What you eat can have a huge effect on how you feel."

Give something back.
Ghandi once wrote that "the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."
I believe that a sense of purpose--committing oneself to a noble mission--and acts of altruism are strong antidotes to depression.
The winter months are a good time to do this because the need is greater, the holiday spirit ideally lasts until February, and you don't have the excuse of attending family picnics, unless you live in a sunny southbound country.

Go to sports rehab
Don't let the cold weather be an excuse not to sweat.
We have centers today called "gyms" where people exercise inside!
Granted, it's not the same--watching the news or listening to the soundtrack from "Rocky" as you run in place as opposed to jogging along wooded paths with a view of the bay.
But you accomplish the goal: a heart rate over 140 beats a minute.
The gym is also a kind of support group for me.
These people, I'm guessing, are going after the endorphin buzz just like me because alcohol and recreational drugs don't do the trick anymore.
And, like moi, I suspect that they also have great difficulty meditating.
Every time they close their eyes, they have visions of screaming kids, which are running around the house, bored by playing inside.



Wear bright colours.
I have no research supporting this theory, but I'm quite convinced there is a link between feeling optimistic and sporting bright colours.
It's in line with "faking it 'til you make it," desperate attempts to trick your brain into thinking that it's sunny and beautiful outside--time to celebrate Spring!--even though it's a blizzard with sleet causing some major traffic jams.
Personally, I tend to wear dark colours everyday in the winter.
It's supposed to make you look thinner.
But the result is that I appear as if and feel like I'm going to a funeral every afternoon between the months of November and March.
This isn't good.
Not for a person hardwired to stress and worry and get depressed when it's cold.
So I make a conscious effort to wear bright red, purple, blue, and yellow, and sometimes--if I'm in a rush--all of them together!



Force yourself to go outside.
I realize that the last thing you want to do when it's below zero degrees outside and the roads are slushy is to head outside for a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood.
It's much more fun to cuddle up with a good novel or make chocolate chip cookies and enjoy them with a hot cup of Chocolate.
On many winter days--especially in late January and early February when my brain is done with the darkness--I have to literally force myself outside, however brief. Because even on cloudy and overcast days, your mood can benefit from exposure to sunlight.
Midday light, especially, provides Vitamin D to help boost your limbic system, the emotional center of the brain.
And there is something so healing about connecting with nature, even if it's covered in snow.

Head South
Granted, this solution isn't free, especially if you live in Friesland.
But you do not need to travel the most expensive way, to transplant your body and mind to a sunny spot for a few days.
Just try to schedule your yearly vacation the last week of January or the first week of February so that it breaks up the winter and so that I have something to look forward to in those depressing weeks following the holidays.



Take up a project.
There's no time like winter to start a home project, like clearing out the mess or purging all the old clothes in your kids' closets.
When a friend of mine was going through a tough time, she painted her entire house--every room downstairs with two different colours.
And it looked professional!
Not only did it help distract her from her problems, but it provided her with a sense of accomplishment that she desperately needed those months, something to feel good about as she saw other things crumble around her.
Projects like organizing bookshelves, shredding old tax returns, and cleaning out the garage are perfect activities for the dreary months of the year.
And hey, most of them are free!



Challenge yourself.
My mood can often be lifted by meeting a new challenge--an activity that is formidable enough to keep my attention, but easy enough to do when my brain is moody.
Learning how to record and edit video blogs, for this guy who is not that good, with this kind of technology, turned out to be great fun.
I try to stretch myself in a small way every winter--whether it is taking a drawing course, researching the genetics of mood disorders, or trying to build myself a website.
It keeps my brain from freezing, like the rest of my body.

Light a candle.
If I counted up all the minutes I've spent staring into a flame, I wonder how many years of my life that would be.
Certainly more than the hours I've spent brushing my teeth or combing my hair.
It would probably even surpass the combination of bath and shower time.
For some reason I assume “That my brain spinning’s” are coming out better if I stick my face in a hot glowing body of flame.
The scarlet blaze generates a feeling of hope, of a fragile but fierce voice, that whispers: "you're not off the hook yet...hang in there."

The Old Sailor,

A christmas story

Dear Bloggers,

As I am not much of a Christmas fan, but I will tell you a little Christmas story.
After this, I will put the keyboard in the corner for the coming days.
I shall try to write one more just before the end of the year.
Well here the story comes, have some happy holidays and celebrate Christmas how you think it is right.

On a dark, cold and storm full night, that is how it starts.
It was Christmas Eve.
It was snowing, and I was all alone outside, and I have no family.

So, I'm just sitting there, minding my own business, when out of nowhere, someone sits down next to me.
It's a man, I can tell, because he's wearing shorts and his legs are not shaved.
I ignore him.

Then, he decides to speak.
"You shouldn't be out here alone," he said in a soft voice.
His voice was deep, and he had an accent, I guessed north of England somewhere.
I continued to ignore the mystery-man.
"Don't you have somewhere to go?
It's not safe out here.
"I have nowhere to go."
I responded finally.



"Don't you have family?" he asked, turning towards me slightly.
I still did not look up at him.
"Not anymore.
They kicked me out."
"On Christmas Eve?!" the man exclaimed, sounding shocked.
"They kicked you out on Christmas eve, when it's snowing and like, five below zero?! Jeez!"

"Well, it was their choice."
"Do you have a place to stay at least?
A friend's house maybe?"
"No."
"Alright".
Come and go with me to my place.
You can stay there.

" Alarmed, I looked up at the man".
"Umm..." was all I could say.
"Please?
I'll give you some dry, warm clothes.

" His blue eyes were wide, and i was shocked by how beautiful they were.
(was this the so called Messiah?)
"Why are you being nice to me?" I asked quietly.
"Because no one deserves to be alone on Christmas.
Now, come on, before you freeze out here."



"What's your name?" he asked, suddenly realising he didn't know it.
I did not answer but there was hot chocolate on the stove, and I got a very cozy place to sleep.

I thought by myself:
"Like, a half an hour ago".
I was outside all alone, and he brought me back here.
"I seriously thought you were going to die, because it's so bloody cold out there."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The next morning, I woke up, comfortable and warm.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS, MATE!!!!!!!!!!!" satisfied, he skipped out of the room towards the Christmas tree.
Suddenly, i felt sad.

Everyone else was going to have a great, present-filled Christmas.
Except for me.
"Everybody needs a present on Christmas," he told me.
A lump came to my throat.

I'd never had a Christmas present before.
"Open it!" With shaking fingers, i took off the wrapper.
"thank you." I whispered, tears forming in my eyes.



This kind of thing was new to me.
I'd never had someone be so kind.

Even though it was something simple it was given from the heart.
"Personally, a smile is all I want."
I smiled at him.

He took me to my house to pick up some of my clothes.
They answered the door.
"What are you doing here?" my wife snarled.
"We just need to pick up some of his things, ma'am," He said, squeezing my hand for support.

"And to wish you a Merry Christmas, of course."
My wife stepped aside.
In almost no time, I had packed everything I needed for a new life.
A better life.

I had to make a new start again, it was all a bad dream, but it might happen for real.



"Because... not everything in live is as nice as we had hoped for".
It is just a story that might be possibly happening in anyone's live, even though it is Christmas.

If you can't get along with each other this could be your future, but in every sad story there is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

There are some good people out there, so give the beggar some coins.
He might become your friend one day.

And get everything out of life before it is too late.
"Merry Christmas, to everyone that needs it."

The Old Sailor,