The Common Linnets - Holland's Hope

This evening is the first round of the Eurovision Song Contest in Denmark, and of course we'll be rooting for our country!

We don't have that good a track record... Last year Anouk did well with her heavy and melancholy Birds song, but she didn't win. In fact, it has been eons since we've won...

Or at least it feels like eons...

Calm after the Storm

You probably do not know this, but Ilse de Lange has been one of our best singers for the last twenty years. And Waylon is a great singer as well, and much under-rated. Now they have combined their talents in an effort to get our tiny country into the finals.

We will be keeping our fingers, thumbs and all 10 toes crossed for them!

Update on the update - hundreds of people filing an official complaint against Wilders

In the city of Nijmegen (in the East of The Netherlands) mayor Hubert Bruls wrote on the council website that he was going to file a discrimination complaint against Geert Wilders. "There are times that you cannot look away", he said. And suggested perhaps other people would follow suit.
Watch what happened:

The large man with the red tie is the mayor, followed by his councilmen and hundreds of citizens who came from all corners of the city. Lots or Moroccans, but also lots of others.

The Moroccan colleagues at my school were touched and proud. One of them, Nordin,  comes from the city of Nijmegen, where he arrived as a 10 year old boy. His Dad was in that line of people, waiting for hours, for filing a complaint takes time.

The immediate effect of all the hullabaloo so far, is that many people in my country feel the need to speak out. Either in support of Wilders and his views, or against his views, or against his manner of expressing his views and the discrimination of an ethnic group of people(like I do).

Some of his arguments do ring true. 

Yes, a large percentage of crimes are committed by Moroccan youths. Yes, the word 'whore' is the first thing that seems to come to mind of many young boys when you speak to them to point out some wrongdoing. But I live in a predominantly 'white' socially deprived neighbourhood, and I hear that word out of the mouths of the white street kids as well.

My point of view is that everyone should have the same civil rights and the same civil (in both meanings of the word) duties. Call me naïve, but is this so much to ask?

There is hope.

Hi there, reader.
(Or is it readerS by now? Hope so!)
This is an installment about hope.

Now what do hope and art/design have in common, you may ask? Good question!
There's the hope of the designer, obviously. He (I'll use he, but you can read she into all of this as well) hopes that his creation will inspire, or be of use, or be the answer to world famine (to give but one hopeful example).
And there's the hope of the designer's family. Will he bring in the bacon for this month?
You have the hope of the nation. Is our pride and joy going to win the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time since that too-dumb-for-words ding-a-dong-song in ....whenever that was. Eons ago.

One of the most touching things is the hope that parents nurture. Hope that their kids will be alright. That they will stay healthy. That they will find love. That they will succeed in life, and will be able to fulfill their dreams.

Today was quite an eventful day for me. It started well, then took a nose-dive into near-despair, and then - like a see-saw - up it went again towards a dizzy height (success at last!), only to plunge me down into the next abyss. So, as is my habit, during my 1 1/2 hour tube and bus trip home, I did some reflecting. What is keeping me going? What is important? What do I live for?

My son has some sound advice. Right. I'll live for that 45 minutes of result I had this afternoon.

And with hope in my heart. That somehow, someway, someday ...

(I'll leave you to fill in the dots)

Obviously I've got other things to live for! I live for my family (corny!!!!Sorry!!!). And I live for music. (Yesterday my voice coach gave me a Pete Townsend song to learn. Wonderful! Such fun!)

And last Monday I had a free song workshop at work which was hilarious. We did an Edith Piaf song in phonetic French with Dutch rap thrown in. That was giving me hope as well.

As I said, hope springs eternal. Doesn't it? I'll only have to look into my daughter's eyes.

(Photographs by Wibe Koopman)