Week 17

 

Week 17 in Wijnjewoude

Kids Weekend - good to be outside again

A couple of news items caught my attention this week.

Europe is expecting extreme weather again this year. Spain is expecting 29 C temperatures this week and some places have announced that the swimming pools will be opened a month earlier than usual.

Some French canals are in danger of closing.

The LVBHB was recently informed via the EBA (European Boating Association) about the possible closure of one or more canals in France. The reason for this is, among other things, the limited use by shipping (commercial and recreational shipping) and the high management costs. The Burgundy Canal is one of the first canals threatened with closure.

A number of French sister organizations, including the “Association Nationale des Plaisanciers en Eaux Intérieures” (ANPEI), have joined forces and are trying to change the mind of the French government. They would like to see more vessels navigating the canal and those on board enjoying the beautiful surroundings and thus demonstrating the importance for recreational boating.

Ben home again

All her own work...Janny made one "good" bike out of three. These are Ben's bikes for Amsterdam - not as likely to be stolen!

Complete with new bell, so that Ben can find it more easily amongst all the other bikes.

We went to Amsterdam for a couple of days to welcome Ben back home and wish him well for his Birthday! (Which is the same day as the King - so it is amazing how many parties there are and even a Public Holiday - just for Ben..).

Ben works for a hotel chain formerly known as The Student Hotel. He helped them with their transition to The Social Hub - ie mostly with ideas and write-ups. Some of his work could be seen around the hotel - in the form of posters and notices - a lot in English to cater for the students.

So, he was able to arrange accommodation for us at €20,00 a night! It was located in the "West" with a €2,03 tram trip into Central Station. 

We had dinner (Thai) on Tuesday night and lunch at Soho House on Wednesday. 

Ben has a membership at Soho House. He uses it as his "office" during the day. It also has a gym which he uses regularly. It costs him €90 a month until he turns 30. Then it doubles in price.

Soho House Amsterdam is located in The Bungehuis, which was originally built in the 1930s as a trading office, before serving as the humanities building for the University of Amsterdam in the 1970s. (Soho House is the name of the Club - Ben says there are 5 of them in London and one was about to open in Mexico City just after he left).

https://www.sohohouse.com/houses/soho-house-amsterdam?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=googlemybusiness

Soho House is also a hotel with 79 rooms - @ €745,00 per night!! A far cry from our modest lodgings out in the West.

Boat back in the water...and I definitely need a new phone!

We did a big cleanup, ready for getting away next weekend (barring a looming personnel problem) 😡

Rope/electrical locker cleaned out. Salon cupboards cleaned. Lists made :)

Robin and Joy have just about finished painting Johanna, prior to returning to Darwin.

Robin had his 70th Birthday, so we had a tiny celebration on board Jacoba - Greek food delivered to the boat haven!

We're expecting Ron and Annette this week - not much work to do on Houtrib. I also spoke to the owners of Kabouter - an English couple. We "might" all be heading down to Utrecht together, with Robin and Joy going as far as Blokzijl.

BUT... we have a potential personnel problem - one of our workers has found another employer and says she can't work this coming weekend!. The "right" thing to do would have been to tell her new employer that she has prior commitments and obligations - a new employer would surely respect that? - or don't people think like that these days??

Janny has let her feelings be known... we shall see...