Week 42 10 years ago
Week 42
End of Summer Time
I have to renew my driver's licence - this time with a medical certificate as a consequence of turning 75. I had to fill in a questionaire online and they will direct me to an authorised medical exam. Maybe it will be a Trump-like cognitive test that I too can "ace" :-)
The boat comes out of the water tomorrow - I put off the painting until next year - the "winterising" will be done in a couple of weeks.
We have a Local Government delegation of 6 people coming to look at our Day Activity operation - on the 11th of November - so Tjeerd and I are busy trying to tidy everything up - after so many years there will be many trips to the tip required!!!
...and the whole group (clients included) thought that it would be a good idea to have a "Christmas Market" / "Open Day" on the 6th of December...so they are all busy preparing for that...
We had an Open Day when we first started in 2008 - I'm not sure how many people we expected but we were blown away when there were more than 200! If it goes anything like that, we will busy again. Luckily we have the room...
Google Photos threw up a "10 Years Ago" set of photos...
This is Janny's Dad Hendrik digging out a gate post - the very first step towards us building their new apartment at the side of our house...
10 years later...
We also had to remove the fire escape stairs...I think we were a full year busy with doing preparation work and then in late 2016 we actually started the excavation and building.
10 years ago...
Today
(2016)
Some other Autumn photos made me realise that this year appears to be much later - to my mind, it begs the question about Global Warming but we always put it aside by thinking that it might just be this year that is different...
27 October 2015
The Russian invasion of Ukraine still beggars belief...I read a lot of "Letters from Ukraine" - one in particular says that she is about to have her "warcoffee" and then go about her daily life, often with pictures of museums and other public places. Now, I am definitely not a traveller - but I did think that it looks like a (surprising to me) good place to visit if it ever gets back to normal.
This is Janny's Dad Hendrik digging out a gate post - the very first step towards us building their new apartment at the side of our house...
10 years later...
Tjeerd and I used the gates in our new fence...
We also had to remove the fire escape stairs...I think we were a full year busy with doing preparation work and then in late 2016 we actually started the excavation and building.
10 years ago...
Today
(2016)
Some other Autumn photos made me realise that this year appears to be much later - to my mind, it begs the question about Global Warming but we always put it aside by thinking that it might just be this year that is different...
24 October 2015
26 October 2025
27 October 2015
Almost the same day, but 10 years later - it is not yet as cold as it was then - the carpet of leaves is only just beginning. We haven't had a frost yet - the leaves will fall quickly then
24 October 2025
The Russian invasion of Ukraine still beggars belief...I read a lot of "Letters from Ukraine" - one in particular says that she is about to have her "warcoffee" and then go about her daily life, often with pictures of museums and other public places. Now, I am definitely not a traveller - but I did think that it looks like a (surprising to me) good place to visit if it ever gets back to normal.
I wonder if it is proximity that makes it more important to me? - or is it just as worrying to people in Australia, for example?
( an article below does suggest that proximity matters)
Some local reporting...(again, I wonder if these make the news in Oz)
SATURDAY, 18 OCTOBER 2025 - 11:25
Dutch intelligence services cut back on sharing information with U.S
The Dutch intelligence services AIVD and MIVD have reduced the amount of information they share with their American counterparts, citing political developments in the United States under President Donald Trump and growing concerns over the politicization of intelligence and "respect for human rights."
Dutch intelligence suspends sharing arrangements with the US after concluding that high level intel was routinely being shared by the White House with their friends in the Kremlin. www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/n...
BRUSSELS — The closer a country lies to Russia, the greater the chance that its people see the Kremlin as a top threat facing Europe — but that doesn't mean the EU is viewed as a savior.
According to a new multi-country survey that YouGov conducted in seven EU countries, Russian aggression was seen as one of Europe's biggest threats by 51 percent in Poland, 57 percent in Lithuania and 62 percent in Denmark — a country that may lie further from Russia but which controls the entrance to the Baltic Sea frequently transited by Russian shadow fleet tankers and military vessels. Denmark is also the world's top donor of military aid to Ukraine as a percentage of gross domestic product.
In Germany, 36 percent saw Russian aggression as a top threat, followed by 31 percent in France, 22 percent in Spain and 20 percent in Italy. In France and Spain, immigration was seen as the biggest danger, while in Italy it was armed conflict.
Dutchnews.nl
Elections coming soon
Twelve of the 15 parties currently in parliament have plans in their election manifestos that conflict with the rule of law, according to the Dutch bar association, the Orde van Advocaten.
The NovA described the findings as worrying. In 2012, just two parties had plans in their manifestos that conflicted with the constitution. “This is not about incidents but about a clear trend that is moving hand in hand with the more polarised political debate,” the association said.
EUObserver 23/10
House prices have increased by 60 percent in the past decade, making purchasing a home difficult, especially for the young generation.
Renting it is also a problem, notably in many European capitals, such as Lisbon, Dublin, Madrid, Berlin, or Stockholm, where rents have climbed faster than the national average. New construction has not kept pace with demand, and much of the existing housing stock is old and energy-inefficient. Treating homes as 'investment assets' rather than a social good is also a problem, further pushing the market toward luxury apartments and Airbnb rentals — instead of affordable or social housing.
All of this, combined with regional disparities, high building costs, and red tape, has turned housing into a major social and economic challenge across Europe, the council concludes in a new analysis.
As council president and former Portuguese socialist PM António Costa put it, the crisis in housing has a “dangerous triple impact”: threatening people's fundamental rights, undermining competitiveness, and undermining trust in democracy.
And even though housing policy traditionally lies within a national, regional, or local competence, Thursday’s discussion is interesting as it opens the door to whether Europe truly has a role to play — and what that role should look like.
However, sympathetic words by tired EU leaders in Brussels alone won’t build homes, lower prices, or calm the anxieties of a generation that faced continuous crises.
And with a European housing commissioner now in place and the parliament’s dedicated committee focusing on the issue, it is obvious that Europeans expect more than yet another "affordable housing plan" — which the EU commission is expected to present by the end of 2025.
Officially, the EU’s contribution is meant to be “complementary.” In practice, that could mean aligning investment, regulation, and green goals to make housing more affordable and sustainable. But some want to go even further, with countries likes Spain calling for concrete EU funding to be dedicated to housing.
Populist and far-right parties are already exploiting public frustration, so it seems timely to turn words into action.
Some local reporting...(again, I wonder if these make the news in Oz)
SATURDAY, 18 OCTOBER 2025 - 11:25
Dutch intelligence services cut back on sharing information with U.S
The Dutch intelligence services AIVD and MIVD have reduced the amount of information they share with their American counterparts, citing political developments in the United States under President Donald Trump and growing concerns over the politicization of intelligence and "respect for human rights."
Dutch intelligence suspends sharing arrangements with the US after concluding that high level intel was routinely being shared by the White House with their friends in the Kremlin. www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/n...
BRUSSELS — The closer a country lies to Russia, the greater the chance that its people see the Kremlin as a top threat facing Europe — but that doesn't mean the EU is viewed as a savior.
According to a new multi-country survey that YouGov conducted in seven EU countries, Russian aggression was seen as one of Europe's biggest threats by 51 percent in Poland, 57 percent in Lithuania and 62 percent in Denmark — a country that may lie further from Russia but which controls the entrance to the Baltic Sea frequently transited by Russian shadow fleet tankers and military vessels. Denmark is also the world's top donor of military aid to Ukraine as a percentage of gross domestic product.
In Germany, 36 percent saw Russian aggression as a top threat, followed by 31 percent in France, 22 percent in Spain and 20 percent in Italy. In France and Spain, immigration was seen as the biggest danger, while in Italy it was armed conflict.
Dutchnews.nl
Elections coming soon
Twelve of the 15 parties currently in parliament have plans in their election manifestos that conflict with the rule of law, according to the Dutch bar association, the Orde van Advocaten.
The NovA described the findings as worrying. In 2012, just two parties had plans in their manifestos that conflicted with the constitution. “This is not about incidents but about a clear trend that is moving hand in hand with the more polarised political debate,” the association said.
EUObserver 23/10
House prices have increased by 60 percent in the past decade, making purchasing a home difficult, especially for the young generation.
Renting it is also a problem, notably in many European capitals, such as Lisbon, Dublin, Madrid, Berlin, or Stockholm, where rents have climbed faster than the national average. New construction has not kept pace with demand, and much of the existing housing stock is old and energy-inefficient. Treating homes as 'investment assets' rather than a social good is also a problem, further pushing the market toward luxury apartments and Airbnb rentals — instead of affordable or social housing.
All of this, combined with regional disparities, high building costs, and red tape, has turned housing into a major social and economic challenge across Europe, the council concludes in a new analysis.
As council president and former Portuguese socialist PM António Costa put it, the crisis in housing has a “dangerous triple impact”: threatening people's fundamental rights, undermining competitiveness, and undermining trust in democracy.
And even though housing policy traditionally lies within a national, regional, or local competence, Thursday’s discussion is interesting as it opens the door to whether Europe truly has a role to play — and what that role should look like.
However, sympathetic words by tired EU leaders in Brussels alone won’t build homes, lower prices, or calm the anxieties of a generation that faced continuous crises.
And with a European housing commissioner now in place and the parliament’s dedicated committee focusing on the issue, it is obvious that Europeans expect more than yet another "affordable housing plan" — which the EU commission is expected to present by the end of 2025.
Officially, the EU’s contribution is meant to be “complementary.” In practice, that could mean aligning investment, regulation, and green goals to make housing more affordable and sustainable. But some want to go even further, with countries likes Spain calling for concrete EU funding to be dedicated to housing.
Populist and far-right parties are already exploiting public frustration, so it seems timely to turn words into action.
The Delta Works
After floods in 1953, the Delta Works program began (only finished in the 1990's) -
Located mostly in Zeeland - Janny's brother took me there in 1990 and it made such an impression on me that I can still remember a lot of the details... this new story therefore got my attention...
openrijk.nl
The climate is changing, the sea level is rising. The urgency of climate change calls for robust and future-proof choices. We want to ensure the long-term water safety of Zeeland. We focus on a resilient delta where economy, agriculture, water safety and nature go hand in hand. For Zeeland 2050, but especially for the period after.
The current methods of coastal defense are sufficient until 2050-2070, but after that it is uncertain how feasible, affordable or integrable they will be. For this reason, new forms of coastal defense are needed. Developing new forms of coastal defense takes time. Time to think, experiment and make choices, so that by around 2070 we are ready with proven alternatives.
In the summer of 2026, a first proposal will be delivered for the Zeeland strategy on water safety and sea level rise. The Executive Board considers it important to continue building on this within the new Delta Programme, which will be established by the cabinet in 2027. The starting point is to make Zeeland resilient to sea level rise while simultaneously working on a growing delta by reclaiming land from the sea.
The current methods of coastal defense are sufficient until 2050-2070, but after that it is uncertain how feasible, affordable or integrable they will be. For this reason, new forms of coastal defense are needed. Developing new forms of coastal defense takes time. Time to think, experiment and make choices, so that by around 2070 we are ready with proven alternatives.
In the summer of 2026, a first proposal will be delivered for the Zeeland strategy on water safety and sea level rise. The Executive Board considers it important to continue building on this within the new Delta Programme, which will be established by the cabinet in 2027. The starting point is to make Zeeland resilient to sea level rise while simultaneously working on a growing delta by reclaiming land from the sea.
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