Monthly Archives: February 2014

When I moved to the Netherlands in 1979, I shared a rented apartment on the Sweelinckplein with my girlfriend. She had rented it from a prominent Dutch feminist who would later want to move back in with her two daughters; … Continue reading →

When we moved to Norfolk in 1960, we stayed at the George hotel in Swaffham for the night. This was for me the first hotel I had slept in, quite an event for a young boy. I have been back … Continue reading →

In my garden there is a tall conifer tree. My neighbor wants it removed and that’s fine by me (provided he arranges and pays for this). The needles that it sheds provide a thick carpet on my terrace which I … Continue reading →

Today the Winter Olympics end in Sochi; after the closing ceremony, everyone can go home. For the first time ever, I have watched the Dutch ice skaters, men and women, more or less clean up every medal and I actually … Continue reading →

As I have written many times, I used to visit Russia and the Ukraine quite often in the 90’s. The tragic events in Kiev this week reminded me of what I felt in my first visit to Kiev; how resigned … Continue reading →

All my life, I have enjoyed humour of all sorts; but what is it really that makes you laugh? For a start, there are several media to choose from – visual, written and spoken. Then there is the basic mechanism, … Continue reading →

Strange how the brain works. There I was watching the Dutch 1-2-3 in the 10,000 meters skating triumph in Sochi when this crept into my head: is there a good hair day? The phrase bad hair day has been around … Continue reading →

Last year, I wrote a blog about the Promenade Concerts and how I invited my parents there one evening in 1974. Well, some time back I was sifting through some old papers and came across … the tickets! Never throw … Continue reading →

Yes, the hard disk chaos contained more pictures I had more or less forgotten. These are from when I was around 30 and the before and after moving to the Netherlands (1979). The squash photo (note I was wearing protective … Continue reading →

While cleaning up my hard disk (see previous blog) I came across a PowerPoint Presentation I made in 2000. It illustrated the growth of my company (SPECS) from 1988 through to 2000, and its turbulent events. One graphic I used, … Continue reading →