I'm Going Up the Country, that's where I want to be.

Affected by the tragic news and the heart-stopping images of Malaysian flight 17 which have flooded The Wetlands for the last couple of days, I have this overwhelming urge to get better acquainted with my own country.
Somehow far-flung places have lost their appeal.

This will probably be a temporary thing, my adventurous spirit will regain its balance I'm certain. But for now, I am planning a bicycle trip up-country. What can be more Dutch? We are a nation of cyclists.

I remember our new immigrant workers in the early seventies learning to ride a bike...Wobbling Turkish men on our cycle paths through the meadows near my home, and we Dutch brats falling about laughing when they lost their balance and ended up in the hedgerows or draped across the wooden fence which separated the cows from the road.

The world seemed a better place then. (Nonsense! The Vietnamese War was being fought out in those days and the Russians were the hulking threat behind the horizon. Ha! At least that hasn't changed)

The world seemed a better place then because I was young and naive.

Anyway. My wounded spirit needs healing and I have an instinctive drive to visit and get to know my own provinces instead of a hot country elsewhere.

Here is the plan:

*I will cycle North, along the North Sea coast of Zuid-Holland and Noord-Holland, until I am past Amsterdam. And then I will veer towards the East, roughly towards the IJsselmeer coast. And will visit family in Hoog-Karspel (roughly 170 km).

*Then I will brave the Afsluitdijk to Friesland and turn East again, where I will visit family in Drachten and an old friend in Kollummerzwaag (roughly 195 km).

*Then I will go even more East towards Winsum (roughly 50 km) in Groningen, to visit some more family.

*If all is well and I am still alive, and my bum is holding up, I will then cycle down to the South again, once more skirting the IJsselmeer, to Harderwijk to visit some more old friends (roughly 200 km).

*And then South-West back to Hellevoetsluis (roughly another 200 km).

Is that a cool plan or what?

At the moment I'm trying to get people to come along for a stretch (no luck so far. For some reason people think I am absolutely mad. Weird eh?) But if all that fails, I am going on my own.

Yes, yes, I'll be careful. I will not cycle after dark and I will not accept anything from strangers. Except kindness.

Moreover, I am going to make it a cycle trip for Peace. (In for a penny, in for a Pound) And I am going to keep you informed.

Do join me on my weird trip. You are very welcome.

I'm Going Up the Country.

All Out Of Sorts Today...The aftermath of that plane crash.

Good morning, Dreamers and Other Peaceful Folk!
Today I am torn between grief and happiness. Grief for the victims of that Malaysian plane with innocent tourists and happiness because of the glorious sun and balmy temperatures.

"You may call me a dreamer, but I'm not the only one..."

Words of the late great John Lennon. I wonder what he would have said about the world of today...

How will I get this message out into the world? I'm not a well-known person, so who will listen?

The only thing I can think of is to send my thoughts of peace into space. Which is what I will do tonight. Again.

Perhaps you will join me?

Peace, Peace, Peace! All it takes is You...

Good evening from the sweltering Wetlands. We are experiencing an official heatwave, and that is SO rare in my country that everyone is out of sorts.
You simply cannot win, can you? Our normal wet & windy weather makes us complain, and this hot & sunny weather ditto...
Personally I love it! After 3 days of non-stop painting our living room is pristine white and very peaceful, and as from noon today I have been lounging under my garden umbrella-ella-ella.

Artwork by Taylor McCormick

But what I want to talk to you about, is not the glorious sun, but the news today. I only read the headlines on the internet just now, and they almost made me weep.

Israël and Palestine are killing each other's citizens. A never-ending story of hate.

Ukraïne seperatists shoot an airliner out of the sky (which left from Schiphol= Amsterdam Airport) with my fellow countrymen on board. What on earth? What wrong have these tourists done to you?

Some guy beats up an old couple after he (!) has first caused an accident and they have the temerity to complain about this.

Some other guy abducts an 15 year old retarded girl in the Rotterdam tube and takes her to a house where he and 3 friends abuse her.

I stopped reading then.

There's nothing I can do about all of this. So I could shrug and put it out of my mind. And concentrate on my lovely garden.

Instead, I am going to do something and then I will take a walk through my garden and let all negativity flow from my thoughts.

I am going to send thoughts of Peace to all of you.

PEACE!

Use them wisely!!!