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| Landed Munster-Osnabruck, Germany and then drove with Jeroen's parents to Holland |
Another nice time in Holland with family and boating. August-September.
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These hay bale wedding couples are quirky Germany - The Bride is called Birgit
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Holland water birds
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We took off for a week again on a boat through the waterways of Friesland.
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| Scenic |
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| A couple of knitted toys and jams for Mam |
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| First Captain at the helm |
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So Dutch - bikes and cheese
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| Getting a tow |
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| Sunset at our night spot |
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| One night we moored near a boatie who treated us to 45 minutes traditional Dutch accordion music |
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| Land ahoy |
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| An evening of Jokeren! |
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| Dutch inventions |
A visit to a village museum and shops
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| Literally, a house boat |
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| This was such a treat on a Sunday afternoon- icecream! |
This young couple boated around visiting those moored on a lazy summer day and offered for sale icecream, salted herring and beers.
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| Beautiful stately homes along the way |
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| Aye aye Cap'ain |
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| Boat café ala Sharona |
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| Cumin-seed typical sweet biscuits of Friesland - Dumkes |
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| A bit more posh café - I loved this Bakerij |
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| Bridge opening for us |
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| Motoring under some low fixed bridges |
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| Boating through the bridge and there's art underneath! |
Back in Hengelo with the family. A small trip to nearby village of Delden.
Walking in the neighbourhood of Anouk and Engelbert.
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| Our Tinka and Rakker |
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| Sis Anouk giving the history on the sculpture |
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| Stork! |
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| Recovering at home |
A wonderful must-do visit no matter what time of year we visit Hengelo is to go for coffee at t' Hoogspel. Lekker!
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| Restaurant near Hengelo |
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| The 100 farm houses of Twickel |
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| t' Hoogspel |
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| family Brinkman met Jeroen |
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| Grapes were delicious, picked straight from the garden |
We had a lovely bit of time with our friends from Angola, Joanne and Minne. Loved their traditional thatched cottage home.
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| Having a chat over coffee |
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Delish! Zuurkool schotel - love this dish and happily can make it at home
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| Back in Kuwait and it's out for dinner with John at the famous Al Boom Steak and Seafood boat restaurant |
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| Built in India the boat and sailed once only to Kuwait |
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| Superb handcrafted detailing |
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| The best food! |
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| Lucky bin kitties who choose their home outside a butchery |
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| A visit again to the Souq, always fun |
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| Curious curiosities in the shop windows |
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| Back at the Iranian restaurant at the Souq |
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Gangsta Kuwait
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| You can take the kitty out of the bins but ..... |
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| We came back from Holland and Charlie weighed ONE kilo heavier! |
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| Charlie and The Drawer |
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| Enjoying a French 'cuppa' courtesy Robert and Jess..cheers chaps! |
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| These items belong to Jeroen's mistress...so he was told when he asked the car crew why they had been left in the glovebox while we were in Holland!! |
A bit of a ding. After a very lovely farewell to Robert and Jess from Kuwait we got shunted by a bus into the car in front of us. And then followed a nightmare few hours on a busy motorway, trying to drive through unrelenting traffic to find a police station we had been all ordered to attend. Back door hanging off, windows smashed and passenger side caved in, we were lucky the indicators still worked and above all that we are still alive! Jeroen needed to attended 4 different police stations 5 times over the next days before insurance could be initiated. I doubt we will get the car back for a looong time.
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| A Bit of A Ding |
And then it's time to say goodbye to my dear friends, Jo and Lottie (family of John) who needed to make a quick decision to return to live in the UK.
So a visit to the Kuwait Towers for breakfast then an evening snack and exciting hour trying to escape from an Escape Room.
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| John and Jo with the Lovely Lottie and Laura |
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| Kuwait Towers |
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| Kuwait City Towers |
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| Escapeland With The Crowther's |
We've had super crazy weather over the last few months...not as hot as last summer however still pretty warm.
Flooding in Kuwait this month led to several home days for the country as the Government issued a State of Emergency.
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| Annual rainfall over one night in Kuwait |
And I read in the news today that there have been 48 war mines unearthed following the flooding. The roads are in a serious state of repair with water clearly undermining the infrastructure. Doesn't make me feel that secure while venturing out after our ding a couple of weeks ago.
December - Back to Holland for a week and a bit before Christmas. We enjoyed an outing to visit a Dickens outdoor tribute in a historic part of Hengelo, Tuindorp.
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| A Girl and Gaggle of Geese |
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| This chap was taller than Jeroen |
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| Having a natter |
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| Washday |
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| Creative teapots |
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| 50 eurocents for a ride |
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| Een man en een Tukkertje! |
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| All things Dutch |
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| Hear-ye! |
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| Mini roundabout |
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| Dire Dentistry |
We also had the pleasure of attending a ballet practice for Tinka where I expertly selected our niece as best in class. I described her dance as fluid and effortless, even making me think I could pirouette.
Another bonus was enjoying Anouk and Jelle, with friend Marcel at Muziek bij de Buren. Anouk on vocals and keyboard (and whistle!), Jelle on guitar and special effects and Marcel with guitar. They showcased a variety of songs along with many other artists throughout Holland and the unique feature is the mini-concerts were performed in people's homes. So, Muziek bij de Buren meaning literally, Music with Friends. How nice.
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| Sissy Anouk, nephew Jelle and Marcel |
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| Home-made erwten soep from Mam |
We took a visit to a large garden centre where Christmas was in full swing complete with resident livestock.
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| Warm and cosy inside |
Out and about in Hengelo, we spotted Santa peering into a window.
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| New pedestrian tiles in the city of Hengelo |
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| Yes, would I know. I just find it normal. Hmmm. |
After numerous discussions over the years, we finally made a trip across the border to Germany to experience the Christmas markets in Munster.
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| A blue sky but biting chilly day |
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| Plenty of yum German breads |
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| Old-timer |
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| One of the many churches in Munster |
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| So typical Dutch architecture |
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| Pap and Mam checking out the stalls |
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| Centre Munster |
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| Always good to share coffee and a chat |
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| Farewell again at the train station |
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| On the tracks |
Back to Kuwait and its cooling off. Time to visit our local (in our neighbourhood of Bayan) Botanical Gardens.
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| Outside the gardesn |
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| The glass house is filled with a small variety of well tended greenery |
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| Time for a sit down |
This area is called a Diwaniya which are where people gather to take coffee and chat.
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| At the entrance- a calm and tranquil oasis in Kuwait |
Nice to have continued friendships around the world. Here are Rukaya and Huub who currently live in Lagos, Nigeria.
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| A Kuwait friend, Alice AKA Witchypoo |
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| Waiting for their dinner |
Along the foreshore in Kuwait and it's getting cold.
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| With winter here, the Kuwaitis' enjoy getting outside and playing |
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| Notice the big paws |
The new area of the Grand Avenues shopping Mall is open. This area is stunning.
With cooler weather, I have enjoyed getting out walking around Kuwait.
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| Ornate detailing on this home |
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| Even the footpath is posh in this area |
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| Q8 |
Lera, one of the BP spouses arranged a 'build-a-quilt-block' coffee morning earlier in the year. This is what we made.
And, let's end the year by seeing what Charlie's up to.
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| Ok. Not up to much, I see |
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| I did move! |
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| Charlie in the cabinet Jeroen is trying to assemble |
January 2019, Happy New Year all. We had a very quiet Christmas day and in the evening a lovely evening in our Angola friend's home.
We've been lucky to join two Scottish events in the last couple of months. The St Andrews ball and last night, a Burns Supper, both held at the British Embassy.
As we're not allowed to take phones into the Embassy, there are no pics but here's one of us pouffed up for a do.
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| Off to Burns Supper |
Aside from learning about Scotlands most famous poet, Robbie Burns we sampled Haggis (piped in by bagpipes), neeps and tatties, and danced The Gay Gordons.
Dinner was served following a brief and succinct grace:
'Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some would eat that want it,
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit'.
Looking forward to this exhibition by fellow BP spouse Venetia and fellow artists.
Recently I took a small group of BP spouses back to the Botanical Gardens. An hour before I was to meet them at the gardens, I opened the curtains to note there was a dust storm in full swing! But a hardy small group met and enjoyed the day there and back at mine for coffee.
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| Inside the glass house |
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| There's a dust storm! |
