week 24 The Village Fair

Week 24 

Where has everyone gone?

Just an observation on my part...so many trucks and vans have notices that they need colleagues - ie drivers or other workers. The same with heaps of shops and the hospitality industry - we too, for that matter.

There's even a shortage of lockkeepers in some areas:

In Zeeland there were times that they could only keep the main waterway open.

Rijkswaterstaat is holding open days at a number of important locks this month. The waterway manager is doing this as part of the campaign to recruit more lockkeepers.

\boeke haircut

village fair/playback show

new mower

new record for number of consecutive days without rain

updated website

Ben has been slowly updating our website since it was hacked last year...

Not yet finished but looking pretty good...we have to supply some information and photos...

https://www.detwabuken.nl/

European weather/Environment

European Environment Agency

Location Information

Address	De Twa Bûken
City	Wijnjewoude
Country	Nederland (NLD)

Environmental Quality
		Average concentration of PM2.5 in air		9.1	µg/m3
		Average concentration of NO2 in air		7.9	µg/m3
		O3 concentrations in air (SOMO35)		3524.1	µg/m3·days
		Road traffic noise: night		No Data
		Road traffic noise: day-evening-night		No Data
		Bathing water quality within 10 km		Excellent
		Nearest green space or water body is within		No Data
Neighbourhood information
		Nearest public transport stop within		> 1.5	km
		Hospitals within 3 km		0	Hospital
		Sports and leisure facilities within 3 km		No Data

My notes:

Nearest green space 1 metre :)
Road traffic noise - night - not much
During the day it is quite noticeable because of the brick surface of the road. Interestingly, they are slowly changing the bricks to a herring-bone pattern which is much quieter.

Public transport: at the front gate if they are told we need it, otherwise 2kms

Hospital: 13 kms

Sport and leisure: some 2 kms, or major 13 kms

For Ben's place in Amsterdam

Location Information

Address	Heerengracht
Country	Nederland ()

Environmental Quality
		Average concentration of PM2.5 in air		11.1	µg/m3
		Average concentration of NO2 in air		25.7	µg/m3
		O3 concentrations in air (SOMO35)		2719.1	µg/m3·days
		Road traffic noise: night		No Data
		Road traffic noise: day-evening-night		No Data
		Bathing water quality within 10 km		Excellent
		Nearest green space or water body is within		0.2	km
Neighbourhood information
		Nearest public transport stop within		0.2	km
		Hospitals within 3 km		2	Hospitals
		Sports and leisure facilities within 3 km		18	Facilities

https://www.eea.europa.eu/en

“Under our changing climate, the weather in Europe is getting more extreme... the overall outlook is pessimistic as we have already seen this past winter and spring,” the EEA said.

The agency said that heatwaves that are dangerous to human health – like the heatwaves of the summer of 2022 – are getting more frequent, longer and more intense and will continue to do so under all climate scenarios.

In southern Europe especially, there may be more than 60 summer days during which conditions are dangerous to human health – meaning higher number of additional deaths and hospital admissions, especially among the elderly and the sick, unless adaptation measures are taken. “Heatwaves are the deadliest extreme weather events in Europe and the increasing vulnerability of the European population due to ageing and urbanisation requires urgent implementation of measures to prevent loss of life,” the EEA said.

Since 2018, more than half of Europe has been affected by extreme drought conditions in both winter and summer. The 2022 droughts substantially reduced yields of crops like maize, corn, soybeans or olive oil.

New Mower

(Still have to convince the penningmeester)

or...

The old one is struggling a bit. I've become fairly adept at changing broken drive belts over the years - but it seems to me that it is happening too frequently now. 

Probably won't get much as a trade in, so I'll get it working properly again and save it for the easy stuff. I've been good with the maintenance - every year! but even that seems to be costing more each time.

I managed to fix it for the time being... 

I'll have to keep complaining in order to get my new mower :)

On Monday, I did nearly 5 hours mowing - which is probably why I noticed it's weakened state...

I knew I was going to do it, so I set my tracking app on...even then, I didn't do all of it...

Boeke's haircut...his hairdresser says that he is just perfect! Sits there while she does it - with no problems at all.

His haircut was on Wednesday, he went to the vet on Thursday - for his 4th Birthday injection- gee 4 already!

Without the tractor, I wasn't able to use the rotary hoe to prepare the vegie patch this year. I did find an old packet of pumpkin seeds, so I prepared a small patch by hand...I'm probably way too late - but maybe the season will last long enough....

All this digging!

The sandpit of 20-30 years is no more... (the small concrete shed used to be for pigs - before we moved here).

It's Doorpsfeest time again - The Village Fair

On Friday morning we took the Day Activity clients to Bingo... no prizes this year...

Janny and family normally do the Playback Show (as I did last year and got Covid!!). This year, it was only a last minute decision to do it again...

One of the few rehearsals...

They had decided to enter this year with only one week to prepare - hire the suits, prepare a few props, buy a few extras - and yet they won the all important Jury Prize. ( We don't think it was anywhere near as good as previous years but there must have been something about it that the jury liked - it is a fairly new dumb ad for Schultenbrau beer)

Off to Amsterdam this morning - to take some of Ben's stuff back to his apartment - and to have lunch for Father's Day

We're up to about 37 days without rain (at the official measuring point) - a new record since 1906.

Ron and Nettie are almost at Paris....

Very easy cruising NO boats- about 1% of that in NL and those few we have met all internationals except one French            On canals thus travelled NO commercial barges few live aboards Just taking it slowly for the next week not to arrive too earlt in Paris only 130km to go 🥂🍾