The street is a place for meeting

Watch out Groningen, I've gone mobile. Not a bad way to see the canals of the city, perhaps I should take tickets... the beauty of a photograph is that you can't tell I'm crawling at about 2 kph on the only vaguely tilted piece of roading in the city.





It was a great day for shoes. The pink ones were bought in Stockholm I am told. There were delightful faces at the other end of them also as it turned out. And what's more, Gabby and her daughter gave me some of the most beautiful (and weird) chocolate I have ever tasted.



This is Youge (I think it is Dutch for George). He'd spent a few months travelling around New Zealand in a camper van and we had an interesting conversation about Able Tasman, who was an 18th century Dutch explorer who was the first European to chart the waters of New Zealand. There is a museum near here in a town called Lutjefast (not sure of my spelling) about him. In fact, the story I heard was that Able Tasman arrived in his boat and on seeing the Native Maori coming towards them in their canoes, he had a Barroque trumpeter reply to their conch shell calls. It appears there was some musical differences or aural confusion because when Tasman's men met them mid-seas in their row boat, the natives attached them with paddles, killing five of his crew members. Able Tasman took this as a sign that the Dutch were happy to leave New Zealand to the current owners, and it took the English another 60years to come back with rifles and trading goods to convince their way on shore and ultimately colonise the place.

What I would like to know, is if that trumpeter had played a different tune, would it perhaps be thatched-roof Dutch house I would now be sitting in?

And this is Pierre, the frenchman with a lens wider than his smile. He took some beautiful photos this day, I'll try and get a link for you if you are interested....

She was curious about what I was doing here on the street. I could have asked the same thing.

In case you are wondering, she got the club-tropicana nails done here, though she actually lives in the Carribean.

Above is a demonstration of some of the diffcult preparation exercises I must do in the evenings to prepare mentally and physically for my time in the house, and to the right receiving a little tuition from Femke. Sometimes this preparation can be very demanding.

Park Life

The trees, the sun, I can't take full credit for the beauty but it was certainly a good place to be.

Ok, I know this may seem a bit gratuitous but there are so many great pictures of curious faces, I'm just going to put a few of them in here. Each one of them represents a conversation of some kind (a few of them non-verbal). It's amazing how you really do remember everyone you meet, though I'm not sure it would be the same if we met standing up.







Luckily on a blog you don't have editors.

It wasn't the day to be in the city... Too much Beadaboomin going on... Park life was more my style for the day and a day of photographing beautiful Groningen folk, I think there is something about the setting that makes everyone glow. I have been in the park each night this week and I have never seen a comfortable party atmosphere.

Took time to make some interesting improvisations this week, I've been discovering what you can do with a cheap transistor radio and a loop pedal. I'm not really sure if anyone else finds it interesting but I figure when you in your own house you can do whatever you like, right? I also discovered that by holding my ukelele on top of the battery powered speaker you can make some fantastic feedback sounds. So to anyone who thought there was a terrible sound coming from my house, don't worry it may be terrible but it is intentional.



Lucky to meet some great festival workers in Groningen, this is Yoost (don't ask what his brothers are called, it will send you into a confused panic) - the next picture is of Ghert-Jam and Dagma, they look like they might be framed pictures on the wall, but no I don't draw quite that well. They took me out on the town last night and introduced me to the top sporting pursuit for young people in Groningen... drinking. They seem to be very good at it, I may need some more practice.



Is that all? Would I get a great bicycle for that much?








You might be able to read this if you click on it, I think the title reads 'there's someone in there?! Waaaahhh!'
In fact we had a nice chat, so thanks for the article. Several people came by the house who had read it so I was feeling world-famous-in-Groningen.


I like the fact they took the effort to write this. Do you think it has something to do with my red roof?

Here is Herestraat

So what is it about Groningen folk? I can't count how many people I have met that have recently been in New Zealand, it's like being last year's most popular ice-cream. I'm sure it has something to do with that bloody Peter Jackson. I think next on the popularity list will be Friesland... someone just needs to make a Blockbuster about ice-skating, or an action drama about a sausage-maker who meets an attractive young cabbage farmer and they make Sauerkraut together.



A marriage swung by my house, leaving their colourful trail behind. The Priest and the other guy stood for some time as if their might be another couple looking to be married come by soon. Then it suddenly struck me that they might like to marry each other, after all they look a fine pair. The black and blue dress is a little unconventional but clearly they have a great connection between them. May they live happily ever after....

This is Sophie, she lives in Sydney now but just back for a wedding (a different one than yesterday I presume). I asked her to hold the flag of loyalty make up for her desertion for the golden coast of Kangaroos.

Did I mention that I got the flag in a little pancake? I'm not sure what it was called but there were a plate of them covered in icing sugar and the magnificent trophy of the Dutch flag standing tall on top. Another great specimen of holds the flag proudly aloft, I'm sure the recent Olympics has touched these people more than they let on, the fake nonchelance is not lost on me.

The angle might change but it's still me in here. The picture of the bicycle is mildly misleading... in fact this is the only bicycle in Groningen I have seen away from it's flock. Normally they live in vast packs of 300 or more, this poor lost one must have been having an identity crisis.