Just when you think you know where you are...

Just when you think you know what something is, you find out you don't.

A day of altered perspectives.

Stay Okay is a hotel near West Terschelling where people congregate and where the live tv station transmits it's signal. Yesterday it was also the sunniest, most peaceful spot on the planet as my house was snuggled into practically the only hill in Terschelling. Take a good look at it because everywhere else is flat flat flat.

Where I lived in Wellington (NZ) the town is surrounded by hills on three sides, the sea on the other. On days when I wanted to get some kind of perspective on things (either inside or outside my own head) I'd climb a hill and it always put me into another head space.

So naturally, sitting on the only hill in an island has a similar effect, not just for me but for the handful of people who came and lay in the sun to hang out at my house.

We lay around here for some time getting a fresh perspective on a number of things, houses, working, living, playing, people (does that about cover it?). Interesting that no-one asked me all day 'what was the point', perhaps the point didn't seem important any more. When you are in a peaceful place with the smell of the sea in your mouth 'the point' doesn't feature.

Thanks for coming over, it was a memorable afternoon.

Meanwhile, some people have their perspectives altered for them, like this woman from Utrecht who yesterday had an accident on her bike and smacked her head on the ground. Her friend was also taking it easy today having damaged her leg (you may be able to just see her in the background). Makes you realise how fragile the big lump you carry on top of your shoulders really is the day you hurt it.

But she was not alone. This guy had a similar experience on Sunday when he crashed into a group of bikes at night when the lights from the bikes got confused when the on-coming group had someone overtaking. The next thing he knew it he was on the ground unable to get up, but somehow aware that he should be trying to. When he finally did recover he realised that he didn't know where he was, what he was doing, or going or ANYTHING except the fact that he had just had a crash.

So he rode his bike up the road a few metres and then turned and headed back, keeping on passing through the crash site in the hope that his memory would come back. It took half an hour, he thinks, before he could remember who he was and what he was doing. It was an altered perspective that left him feeling pretty freaked out.

Luckily he had friends looking after him and he's taking a couple of days out since then. He was also a great story teller so he got the scenario across like a magician.

And here is Kris, in my hands I have a sketch of his house, that he bought about 6 years ago. It's a big step buying a house and not everyone speaks about it with the pride that he does. Kris also had a copy of Prince's new album on his telephone, we plugged it in to my sound system and let the Artist Formerly Known as Prince, currently known as Prince again (maybe he had a bike crash too), lead us through a journey of discovery.

And thanks to the German girl with perfect teeth for her biscuits.

This is one of the wind instruments on Le Lieux Public site, the installation is incredible, the sounds are out of this world.

Wee ones at Westerkeyn

Westerkeyn was awash children yesterday, from every corner of the island. They came in waves. Amongst the bubbling surf were a few familiar faces from the past few days, a few new ones and more still that I am yet to meet properly.

This guy - he must have been only 3 or 4 was a natural on the piano, honestly. He must have listened to a lot of Ray Charles in the womb or something because he definitely had a feel for it.

This is him in concert.

Say hello to Shanti and Jade. Shanti (on the right) spent 7 months in New Zealand a few years ago so felt right at home next to the wooden house. Jade, from what I understand, is the result of that NZ adventure so I felt we had something in common.

These are the politicians of the future, getting down with their people, listening to their concerns even when they may not understand the language, and making sure they are involved.

And this is tomorrow's Jim Morrison, he's got it going on with the ladies, he's got it going on with the beads. Yeah just hanging.

These guys played me at a card game (last card) complicated by the fact that my cards were a bit irregular and I didn't seem to know all the rules, I think that may have given them an advantage cos they managed to beat me pretty convincingly.

And finally, this is view of Westerkeyn where people do as they want on a warm June morning, sitting back listening to music, browsing through articles about last night's performance that they did or didn't see and sipping on a cool drink. Proost!

And there's you...

Monday was the kind of day that lingers in your memory, like the memory of a long summer's evening as a child, it imprints itself into your mind as colours and smells and a feeling that living in the world is simple and easy.

On Monday the big crowds went back to the mainland and the island throbbed with a slightly more serene beat. Perhaps that is why people were more interested in sitting and chatting and letting the bustle of the last few days wash past.

Things got off to a good start when these guys showed up with a bottle of that beautiful Terschelling Cranberry liquor. This is potentially the reason why most of the islanders walk around with a smile on their faces... liquid gold and perhaps Holland's best kept secret. These guys also have officially the best jobs in the world as defined by UNESCO 1993, they get to visit parties and warn people about the negative effects of drugs (Hmmn, I hope I understood that correctly - I think if you were trying to sell drugs this could be an interesting disguise). NO, put that thought out of your mind! But you don't get to meet such warm and open-minded people every day, so we had a nice hang out together.

This is Nadja and her friend. They are in fact helpers for the festival (I think it may be their first Oerol), they offically have the second best jobs in the world as definded by WHO, UNESCO, EU, VERENIGDE NATIES and Britney Spears Society. They have to make friends with people (Hmmn, I hope I got that right - it would be the perfect disguise for Human Trafficers). NO, these guys were genuinely gold!

Meet Pipa, he's the black and white one at the bottom, Pipa seemed to enjoy the air inside while his owner was happy to sit outside and watch.

Meet Ulissa from Groningen. She is a nurse there and had all sorts of insights into the way people live the way they do and presumably why it's a good idea to look after them when they're not so well. I always find it strange to meet medical people or officials outside their official lives because when we meet them in a hospital (or somewhere in their official capacity) their profession and their uniform commands such a respect that we don't see them simply as a person with needs and wants and dreams like everyone else. I think Ulissa sees the shape of the world pretty similar to the way I see it.

Dunja & Yvette are from Utrecht, this is a picture of the Katoen store that (either Dunja & Yvette) owns with her boyfriend. I've been hearing good things about Utrecht so will make sure I put this shop on my list of places to visit.

Meet Marry, the first person I've met with a name that looks like Marriage. Marry (apparently it is an East-Holland spelling of the name) has young eyes for a reason, she is often looking at the world from a low-down perspective working with the complex minds of children. I was secretly hoping she might have some guidance for me too, I'm often wondering why the sky looks so blue, why trees are so silent and why some faces always under the shadow of a black cloud*. If I was the richest man alive I would hire someone to go and find these things out for me.

* See below for an insight into this question

Some more visitors.

And this is someone who loved Terschelling so much she and her boyfriend came here last year for a secret marriage. Well, not so much secret as just a personal one without friends and family, something that was just for the two of them in a place they really loved. When they returned home they had a big party for their friends to celebrate too. Terschelling has just earned itself the label of Las Vegas of the North Sea!

'And there's you, a little black cloud in a dress', one of my favorite lines from a Billy Bragg song and this was a wonderful sight to find in the middle of a forest.

Lucky day

Today was a lucky day in Oerol. The sun was out in full force even while we were setting the house up there was a crowd of people standing by. A weird feeling, a bit like washing out your undies in front an audience, but I coped. I just hope everyone else coped with seeing my dirty washing.

Today was also a lucky day because someone bought me an icecream - perhaps that seems trivial but when you are sitting inside a little house with 30 degree heat it's the little things that count.

These guys were from Zwolle and as it turns out the woman on the right grew up in Dalfsen, one of the few places in Holland I have actually been to. Isn't weird how you meet up with people like this? The picture on the left side of the wall of a girl playing the cello is Fran, a friend of mine from wellington who played a concert in my garden once, to the right of her is an old clock that she used as a metronome. To the right of that is a picture of a projected BBQ with a bunch of my friends projected onto the back of this house. It seems like a weird clashing of realities to be here and there simultaneously, one reality is physical, the other is an image or a remnant that lingers in your mind like a smell or a feeling.

And here is someone I met with her two children, she sat asking someone "what is this supposed to be?" I couldn't really help her answer the question. It's not that I'm being obtuse, it's more that every day feels like an improvisation and you never really know what it is. This house seems to have blurred the boundaries for me between performing, behaving and being. Is sitting around and talking to people a performance or an idea? Does it have a point? Does anything you do have a point?

Regardless we spent some time together, she translating to her children and they looking for questions more than answers I think.

And here a visit from Marjolein (oh I'm sorry I may have spelt that wrong). She is working on the ticketing for the festival and was enjoying a morning off.

I didn't know if she was enjoying the tea...

And this is Rink, he likes trucks and takes these with him everywhere he goes. He doesn't sleep with them though - what would be the point? He was full of questions, none of which I could answer, let alone understand. Things like trucks and houses just are.

More fine visits

And lastly this is Meral and Noa, they live here on the island with their mum and so were full of stories about the place. They are my new favorite people here. They even gave me a gymnastics demonstration... I always think the back lawn is the best place for hanging out and doing gymnastics on a sunny day, so I was glad to meet other people who think that too.

The Face of Oerol

What is Oerol? Well it's hard to explain, at least it's hard to explain in a way that would make sense to New Zealanders. The island of 4,500 inhabitants swells to over 50,000 bicycle riding theatre-goers. The theatre is in the forests, on the beach, in tents, in the town square. A giant field is transformed into a festival hub has bands playing, restuarants, bars and a ticket booth with almost no tickets left for anything. Meanwhile the 'passport' events are a one-ticket-fits-all bunch of events that take the idea of theatr in the environment to a new level altogether.

Honestly, if I told my friends in New Zealand about this, they would assume I was hallucenating and that no such island exists in the world.

So - this is Oreol and below is the new face of Oerol, the local kids met me in the town centre with gifts of dutch biscuits and more questions than you could fire a pellet gun at.


Lots of people were returning to Oerol from previous years, in fact some people I spoke with have been coming here for the past 18 years. So it wasn't always easy to tell who was a local and who was a 'frequent flyer'. This guy works on the boats (which are the weirdest boats I've seen because they all have flat bottoms for the shallow water), the reason he has so much energy is because he just went for a swim in the 13˚C water. I should add though that the temperature at my house was 32˚C for most of the day (on the inside that is), tomorrow I'm looking for shade.


And this is Joe from the local hotel bar, he's seen a few festivals come and go I reckon.




Sometimes it's best to look at things from an alternative angle.


And the prize for the best dressed sun glasses goes to...

Ok - so I can't leave out mention of this place, it's the festival hub and the fountain you see is actually a bar, the water collects in the middle part and runs down the centre of the bar. Beautiful.