Welcome to my Blog!
I hope to share here my irrepressible thoughts on news, music, books, arts, history, cultural events and such like.
In general these will be items, events and issues which I feel have no place on my website (which focusses on aviation history and my travel photography).

The item immediately below this would be the latest posting.

"Anybody, providing he knows how to be amusing, has the right to talk about himself. - Charles Baudelaire
Esse est percipi (To be is to be perceived)" ¬Bishop George Berkeley

"Not even I understand everything I am" ¬Aurelius Augustinus of Hippo

"I'm only myself in front of my typewriter" ¬Joan Didion (I'd replace 'typewriter' by 'desktop PC'..)

In 2013 I started a series of photo albums on Blurb.com, named '36Exp' (a subject adressed in 36 exposures, a reference to the exposures on most common rolls of 35 mm film: 12, 24 & 36.) back in the day.
The books can be ordered directly from the Blurb.com or Amazon.
www.blurb.com/user/ruudleeuw

CURRENT BLOG

Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to British Birds is all about comedian Bailey's love of birds.
Informative but a visual feast too, as it is packed with illustrations, sketches and notes by Bailey.
I know Bill Bailey from the panel shows on the BBC and he's visited Amsterdam for his comedy shows. He's hilarious and insightful, which make this guidebook quite unique.
With his keen observations, knowledge and wit he takes us on a journey around the British isles, zooming in on those birds that enthuse him the most, but includes pigeons here too!
Whether it's what they eat, where they fly to or how they communicate, these birds are always fascinating, and Bailey introduces us to their weird and wonderful ways in a manner that is always entertaining.

When herons are spooked they have a habit of vomiting as a defence. Half-digested pieces of eel and water vole skull on your head is not a good look. Just so you know. ☺

If you're a parent who'd like to appear a bit clever when your child asks you the name of a bird; if you want to find a new and healthy hobby that takes you outdoors; or whether, quite simply, you want to understand a bit more about our natural environment and have a laugh at the same time, this is the perfect companion book to have.
I bought it in the gift shop of the RSPB Bempton Cliffs earlier this month and above I have depicted the birds I noticed the most (well, razor backs and guillemots should have been included and I did not get to see many puffins, but I had to make choices). A wonderful book to browse and one I will take with me on future trips to the British Isles!

Mark Robert Bailey (b. 13Jan1965-), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian, actor and television presenter.
He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom Black Books and for his regular appearances on the panel shows Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI, as well as for his stand-up comedy work.
He plays a variety of musical instruments and incorporates music into his performances.
Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in 2003.
In 2007, and again in 2010, he was voted the 7th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups.
And I like to note: he's a keen birdwatcher!

www.goodreads.com/ - - /bill-bailey's-remarkable-guide
en.wikipedia.org:_Bill_Bailey

Andrew O'Hagan spent 8 years writing 'Caledonian Road', his magnum opus: a novel about the rich and the poor, the privileged and the disadvantaged, people with and without a moral sense. It is a novel of Victorian proportions and undeniably a monumental book for our time.

London, May 2021. Campbell Flynn, art historian and intellectual celebrity, enters the realm of middle age. Fueled by a need for admiration and the finer things in life, he doesn't take people half as seriously as they take themselves. Which will turn out to be the first of his many mistakes.
The second? Milo Manghasa, his brilliant and provocative student. Milo comes from an unknown and uncertain world, he has experiences and ideas that stimulate his teacher. But he also has a plan.

Two things: it took me a bit settling in the rather meandering style of the narrative but when I did I felt comfortable with the size of the book. Second thing: brilliant how the author has a list of all the main protagonists, family, friends foes at the front of the book - helped me a lot throughout the first 150 pages (of 641).

Andrew O'Hagan FRSL (b.1968, Glasgow City Centre) is a Scottish novelist and non-fiction author.
Three of his novels have been nominated for the Booker Prize and he has won several awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
In 1991, O'Hagan joined the staff of the London Review of Books, where he worked for four years.
His most recent novel as of 2024 is Caledonian Road (2024) published by Faber. His previous novel Mayflies (2020) won the Christopher Isherwood Prize, and was adapted into a two-part BBC television drama of the same name.

en.wikipedia.org:_Andrew_O'Hagan

The Photographs of Margaret Bourke-White is my 2nd photobook of her work in my collection. It dates from 1972, editted by Sean Callahan, introduction & biography by Theodore M. Brown (prof. of Art History @Cornell) and foreword by photographer Carl Mydans.
It contains over 200 black and white photographs.
Published by New York Graphic Society.

Margaret 'Maggie' Bourke-White (b.14Jun1904 – d.27Aug1971) rose to pre-eminence in that remarkable decade, 1925-1935. As a photographer for 'Fortune' and later as one of four of the original staaf photographer of 'Life', het photojournalism became known throughout America and the far reaches of the world.

She began as an industrial photographer and she was one of the first foreign travelers to document the workings of the Soviet 5-year plans; she made the picture for Life magazine and produced eleven books!
She was a war correspondent , a compassionate witness of famine in India, a dedicated seeker of the truth (a.o. among sharecroppers, South African goldminers, American GI's, Jesuits, et cetera).
She photographed heads of states (Ghandi, Roosevelt, a.o.) and she was a pioneer of the photo essay and a master of the form.

Sean Callahan, a 'Life' editor who was one of Miss Bourke-White's devoted friends during the last two years of her life (she succumbed to Parkinson's disease in 1971) has selected the material for this book.
Chapters include: 'A Legend That Was Largely True' + 'A Tireless Perfectionist' + 'The Fortune Years 1929-1936' + 'Soviet Russia 1931, 1931, 1932' + 'You've Seen Their Faces 1936' + 'LIFE' + 'The War in Europe 1941-1945' + 'The India Years 1946-1948' + 'The Later LIFE Years 1950-1956'.
The photobook concludes with a Acknowledgements and a Selected Biography (timeline).
Brilliant photojournalism!

en.wikipedia.org:_Margaret_Bourke-White
On MyBlog_2018Q2 I have a review of her Moments in History by Margaret Bourke-White

Bertien van Manen (b.15Feb1935 – d.26May2024) was a Dutch photographer.
She started her career as a fashion photographer, after having studied French and German languages
and literature.
Inspired by Robert Frank's 'The Americans' she travelled the world, photographing the daily scenes that captured her eye.
She had her first exhibition in The Photographers' Gallery in London in 1977 and since then her work
has been exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and the Fotomuseum Winterthur.
Van Manen's work is found in major public collections.

Bertien van Manen grew up in Heerlen, the centre of the eastern part of the former Dutch coal mining region. Where her father worked as engineer for the State Mines.
This publication 'Gluckauf' brings together photographs by Bertien which she made in different mining towns: Wakefield and New Sharlston (UK, 1970s), Most (Czech Republic 1980s), the Appalachian Mountains (US, 1980-1990s) and Apanas, Siberia (Russia, 1990s).
What stands out is that she gets close to the people: what's closer than be invited into their homes!

In the back of the book is and extensive biography by Fabian de Kloe & Patricia van den Ende.
She went to Leiden to study French, married lawyer Willem van Manen, and worked as a teacher and translator when their children were born.
Already at the age of 7 her father had given her a camera; she photographed her children often at the family estate Den Eikenhorst in Esch while playing, sleeping, unawares, et cetera. At a party at home she was approached by a professional photographer who noted her specific style and asked Bertien to became his assistant.
She soon had her work published in magazines but she had an epiphany when someone showed the book 'The Americans' by Robert Frank.

This book and parallel exhibition 'Gluckauf' at Schunck Glaspaleis in Heerlen is a fine contribution to van Manen's extensive oeuvre.
Bertien van Manen's photographs show people in everyday situations, they are not about historical events. She had an eye for intimate habits and shared traditions.
The selection for the exhibition and book are largely selected by curator Hans Gremmen and Bertien herself. The photography in this book in the Appalachian Mountains follow various women involved in mining, the typed letters and reports over various pages detail women's early days in mining in poor conditions (above and below ground).
The 1994 photos in Siberia had Bertien involved with filmmaker Michael Pilz for the filmed documentary Let's sit down before we leave (1995).

Bertien van Manen was born and raised inLimburg's mining community. The Dutch State Mines were closed in the 1960s which led to a devastating unemployment. This was what drove Bertien to go to places where the everyday lives of people and their communities are challenged by circumstances beyond their control.

At the age of 89 she peacefully passed away on may 26th in the presence of her family.

en.wikipedia.org:_Bertien_van_Manen
www.bertienvanmanen.nl

John Gay (b.Hans Ludwig Göhler: 02Sep1909 Karlsruhe, Germany – d. 24Jan1999 Highgate, London)

John Gay was one of the most respected photographers of the mid-20th century but, unlike that of some of his contemporaries, his work is now largely overlooked.
This book includes 300 fine photographs from the large collection of his work held by the National Monuments Record, and it marked the centenary of his birth in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 1909 and coincided with two major exhibitions of his work being held in London.
Gay's work is wide-ranging yet returns to a number of key themes - animals and children, informal shots of ordinary people, rural life, modern architecture, and London, especially his beloved Highgate and Hampstead, and characteristically uses light and shade to great effect.
The insignificant object held a strong fascination for him (I can relate to that!) and his gift for being unobtrusive (much like Henri Cartier-Bresson!) shows many of his images capturing a unique moment.

The United Kingdom is one of my favourite (if not the favourite) countries to travel through and this
book documents so many recognizable situations and life styles.
And I visited Highgate cementery, see my MAGNIFICENT SEVEN OF LONDON Report. Such a joy to read that John Gay was instrumental in preserving this cemetery and turning it into a 'wild' urban park.

Hans was an artistic child whose creativity was encouraged by his mother, a painter of flowers and animals, and his paternal uncle, Hermann Göhler, an artist and a professor of art at Karsruhe Art College which Hans also attended.
In 1935 he left Germany, to study in England (initially language and later painting).
The opportunity to emigrate came from family friends, Mr and Mrs Sally Stern, the parents of his boyhood friend Walter Stern. The Sterns decided to leave Germany in 1933 following Hitler's appointment as Chancellor. Hans thought of himself as the Stern's adopted son so great was their influence, Walter's mother Martha was a photographer.

He settled in London, where he changed his name, and launched a photographic career, finding work as a self-employed commercial photographer, before serving with the Pioneer Corps from 1939 until the end of the WW2.
After his marriage to Marie Arnheim in 1942, the couple settled in Highgate, London. He based his professional photographic practice here, which covered a varied range of subjects from animals for pet food companies, architecture and country scenes for Country Fair magazine, to the portraits of literary personalities including Terence Rattigan, Dylan Thomas and Vita Sackville-West for the Strand Magazine.
Marie Anita Arnheim was born into a Jewish family in Charlottenburg, Berlin and in 1936 she moved to Rome with her brother, but in 1939, following the anti-Jewish legislation of autumn 1938 (which included the expulsion of foreign Jews from Italy), she was granted a transit visa to travel to Britain. She lived in London on an exemption of internment and was introduced by Martha Stern to to Hans. After a whirlwind romance of only a fortnight they became engaged. After their marriage they changed their names to john & Marie Gay.
Marie had more difficulty in obtaining a work permit (as a photographer) and the 'John Gay photography' is probably best considered as a brand, with Marie (even then considered as artistically gifted and had worked in photography in Berlin) working as an active partner and most likely responsible of most of the children and many other photos (never seperately credited).

John Gay;s first book was 'London Observed' (!), published in 1964. 'Prospect of highgate and Hampstead' followed in 1967, working with the poet Leonard Clark, it showed John's growing love for his neighbourhood. His 3rd book was 'London's Historic Railway Stations', published in 1972. Text was by (now) Sir Benjamin Betjeman.
'Highgate Cemetery: Victorian Valhalla' appeared in 1984 and is probably his best-known book.
He also published 'Cast Iron: Architecture and Ornament, Function and Fantasy' (1985) and 'John Gay's Book of Cats' (1975).

'England Observed' (1909-1999) was published in 2009 by English Heritage, compiled from over 40.000 of Gay's photographs left to English Heritage and are held in its public archive, now the Historic England Archive. The National Portrait Gallery also holds a collection of his portraits of personalities.
Texts in this fine book are by Ralph Beyer, Gudrun Zufall (John's younger sister), and also includes an extensive biography (with 3 pages of footnotes).

There is what appears to be a headstone in the west of Highgate Cemetery suggesting that his ashes are buried there, however there is no record of their interment in the Cemetery's archives. The stone lies near a main path, opposite the grave of George Michael, but it is easily missed, being small and partly obscured by planting.

en.wikipedia.org:_John_Gay_(photographer)
www.goodreads.com/- -england-observed
www.npg.org.uk/collections/ - /Photographs+by+John+Gay

A few days ago we visited this exceptional garden in Gelderland's Klarenbeek, for its Cancer Foundation fundraiser but the garden for its colour are best visited in the autumn: all plants and trees are specially selected for the owners's idea of an array of colours and rarity.
Birds of Prey Garden 'De Havikshof' is a four-season garden, equipped with a water feature and various possibilities to enjoy a beautiful piece of nature undisturbed. It is also possible to visit a birds of prey show by appointment.

How this came about.
In De Havikshof, in Klarenbeek, Tjipke Zuidema does everything by himself. From the maintenance to the guided tours. About 20 years ago, he took part in a competition organised by the municipality. The assignment was: come up with a tourist attraction that attracts the public.
And Tjipke wanted to create a beautiful garden with a few birds of prey in it... He sent that idea in without much expectations. To his surprise, he was one of the three winners! The prize money was used to buy an extra bird.

More on the Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), formerly known as the bay-winged hawk, dusky hawk, and sometimes a wolf hawk: en.wikipedia.org:_Harris's_hawk

havikshof.nl

Recalling with ease my own memories of travel in India (2009), its sumptuous mix of people, traditions, spiritual beliefs, festivals, architecture and landscapes, India easily triggers a hunger in me to relive memories in a fantastic photobook such as this one. A coffeetable book of impressive size.

This impressive teNeues Verlag GmbH publication (2019) hits the spot, as they say, with 175 colour and black & white photographs and text in English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian.

Andreas H. Bitesnich takes the reader Come on a fascinating journey as he explores all aspects of Indian existence. He deftly probes both the subcontinent's ongoing changes and lingering hardships.
Bitesnich documents all facets of life, death, and the daily struggle.
His wide-ranging subjects and subtle colorization are reminiscent of a bygone travel album. This isn't merely a book of compelling photographs, but a tribute to a great nation that embraces modernity and tradition with equal fervor.
India left a lasting impression on me and Bitesnich's photographs brings it back to me in full size.

www.bitesnich.com/india-2019
josefchladek.com/book/andreas_h_bitesnich_-_india
My INDIA 2009 Report, a start over several ages
www.lonelyplanet.com/india

Vorden is best known for the 8 castles it has, making it one of the most castles-rich villages in the Netherlands. House Vorden is on the outskirts of the village, the other seven are in a circle around it.

House Vorden was first mentioned in 1315.
In 1580, during the Eighty Years' War, it was looted and restored 30 years later. In 1976 it was restored and functioned as a town hall.
In 2004, the municipality of Vorden sold the castle to a private individual. Since then the castle has been used as a wedding location.

en.wikipedia.org:_Vorden
More photos on Gelderland castles (Flickr.com)

Owain ap Gruffydd (c.1354 – c.1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander in the Late Middle Ages
He led a 15-year-long revolt with the aim of ending English rule in Wales.
Owain Glyndŵr was an educated lawyer, forming the first Welsh parliament under his rule, and was the last native-born Welshman to claim the title Prince of Wales.

R.R. Davies manages to capture the highlights of Owain Glyndŵr in a concise booklet of only 150 pages, complete with diagrams, a list of Welsh castles that played a role in the last Welsh War, as well a list of monuments to this remarkable Statesman in the 15th century. A few images of castles and locations are included too.

Author Sir Robert Rees Davies (CBE, FBA, FRHistS) was Chichele Professor of Medieval History at All Souls Collega, Oxford until his death in 2005. He was one of the most respected experts on medieval history and was the main authority on Glyn Dŵr's uprising.
I must keep my eye out for the writings of Mr R. R. Davies, he has a clear narrative while compiling
pages of history.

en.wikipedia.org:_Owain_Glyndŵr
en.wikipedia.org:_Rees_Davies

Garderen is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Barneveld, in the forests of the Veluwe. For me it is mostly known for the fantastic sculptures made of all sorts of materials: wood, sand, concrete and plastics.

More than 200 sculptures made of sand, wood and concrete depict a theme, this year it is BOOKS!
In a fairy-tale environment one walks past the sculptures, provided with music and special effects.
Circa mid-March they open the doors for a look behind the scenes and from April 1 the exhibition should be completely ready again!
The Sculpture Garden and lunchroom the Rose Garden will be open all winter, but check opening times during the holidays.

zandsculpturen.nl/en/
www.flickr.com/photos

The world of fashion through the lens of Anton Corbijn. From 22 December 2023 to 20 May 2024, over 200 fashion-related photographs by this leading photographer and filmmaker will be on display at the Cobra Museum of Modern Art in Amstelveen.
The MOØDe exhibition also features portraits Corbijn made of people like Kate Moss, Tom Waits, Alexander McQueen and Naomi Campbell.

“I predominantly photograph personalities, but fashion is increasingly part of it. We all decide every morning what we will wear that day, even if it is just a hat or a black T-shirt. Fashion is not always spelled with a capital F.” — Anton Corbijn

Corbijn’s photos, with their strong contrast and special light as trademark, always manage to command the viewer's attention. Also because of his extraordinary compositions and creative way of photographing.
He regards himself as a cross between a traditional portrait photographer and a documentary photographer, out to record people in their own physical surroundings and social circumstances.
Time and again, Corbijn manages to surprise and captivate the viewer with his unique perspective on people and musicians in particular.

cobra-museum.nl/ - /anton-corbijn-moode
en.wikipedia.org:_Anton_Corbijn
More photos on Flickr.com

Another worthy visit to the World Press Photo Exhibition @De Nieuwe Kerk Amsterdam.
Presenting the results of the 2024 World Press Photo Contest, the annual exhibition showcases the best and most important photojournalism and documentary photography of 2023, selected by an independent jury.
All photos can be viewed from April 19 through July 14, 2024 in the World Press Photo exhibition at the well known WPP location in De Nieuwe Kerk on Dam Square in the center of Amsterdam.

www.nieuwekerk.nl/en/exhibitions/world-press-photo/
More images on www.flickr.com/photos/

Fulvio Roiter (b.01Nov1926 - d.18Apr2016) was an Italian photographer. He was born in Meolo, Venice.
Roiter graduated as a chemist, but from 1947 he devoted himself to photography, being professionally active since 1953.
After several reportages for some magazines, in 1954 he published his first photographic book, Venise a fleur d'eau. In 1956 Roiter won the 2nd edition of the Prix Nadar with the book Ombrie. Terre de Saint-François.
'Photographs 1848-2007' has several introductions by various persons and the various chapters also has an introduction.
During his career, Roiter released about one hundred photographic books!

My first book of his work (see MyBlog-2020Q3) La Mia Venezia was published by Vianello Libri in 1989 whil this catalogue of the Tre Oci exhibition (16.303>26.08.2018) was published in 2018 in collaboration with various sponsors and concludes with a Bibliography over 2 pages. Edited by Denis Curti.

en.wikipedia.org:_Fulvio_Roiter
Libri fotografici (selezione) @Wikipedia (IT): it.wikipedia.org:_Fulvio_Roiter
Mor eon his work in a monograph: MyBlog_2024Q3

This weekend it's Molendag here in The Netherlands, many of the mills can be visited.
Here are 2 I photographed 3 days ago while visiting Woudrichem (N.Brabant).
The 2 are Korenmolen Nooit Gedagt (Woudrichem), the other one is Korenmolen De Hoop in nearby Zuilichem. Many are named De Hoop (The Hope).

Many more on Flickr.com

Having good memories of books by Kate Atkinson, albeit stemming from the Jackson Brodie novels and less from her later work, I bought this book when the need was high: I was forced on an extended stay abroad and had finished the books I had brought from home.
So I bought this compilation of short stories by Kate Atkinson.

'The Void' had me puzzled, esspecially by its abrupt ending. 'Dogs in Jeopardy' sees Franklin appearing, confused by a talking horse and with a happy ending. 'Blithe Spirit' has Mandy speaking from the grave, to her own surprise she was shot apparently, but in her new existence she is happy and content.
'Spellbound' is a fairytale about a quenn '..who ruled over a queendowm that was between sunrise and sunset'. But this queen ignores the instructions she seeks from a witch, and though she gains a child she forfeits her queendom. I never much liked fairytales and this one is no exception.
In 'The Indiscreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie' we see Franklin returning, but in a different role entirely, as a suitor to one Connie. This was somewher ein the middle of the book, page 89, and I was growing bored by the weird tales. Though the ending to this short story is surprising and unexpected.

Other stories follow ('Shine, Pamela, Shine', 'Existential Marginalization', 'Classic Quest 17 - Crime and Punishment', 'Puppies and Rainbows', 'Gene-sis', 'What if?' - but the crazyness of these stories I found increasingly tiring.
I definitely prefer her Jackson Brodie stories, perhaps her writing is too highbrow for me.

en.wikipedia.org:_Kate_Atkinson_(writer)

Woudrichem (Brabantian: Woerkum) is a city and former municipality in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands.
The city of Woudrichem was granted city rights in 1356.
Every year, on Ascension Day, there's this fish (a.o. cod, gurnard) baking competition. An excellent opportunity to take one of my cameras for a walk..

From a Dutch website (link below) I found an extensive history of Woudrichem, which I translated with help from Google (I copied only parts, the article is too long for my purpose here).
'In 1956 the 600th anniversary of the town of Woudrichem was celebrated!
It was commemorated that in 1356 William V, Lord of Altena, granted the town rights.
But some assume that Woudrichem existed before 1000... In Carolingian times, the Land of Altena belonged to the shire of Teisterbant. The name Woudrichem can be found in various places before 1356. E.g. in a list of goods by the St. Martin's Church in Utrecht, the name Walricheshem appears (date ca. 866).

Since the 11th century, the surrounding area belonged to the Bishop of Utrecht. It was given on loan by the German Emperors.
The Bishop of Utrecht issued it as a loan to the Count of Cleves. In the 2nd half of the 12th century, he in turn bequeathed the area to the Lord of Horne.
However, the influence of the Counts of Holland grew stronger and stronger).
Woudrichem became the market place of the region. Fishermen sold salmon and shad. Wine, wood and coal were supplied.

The Lord of Altena received income from, among other things, the market toll of the Emperor in Woudrichem. The border toll of Holland was moved from "No Man's Sorrow" (near Sliedrecht) to Woudrichem. This brought great prosperity (1354).
1356 : William V, Lord of Altena, grants Woudrichem city rights. Diederik Loef seizes power instead of the legitimate successor. He builds Loevestein for the toll.
1420 : End of the toll in Woudrichem, was moved to Gorinchem on th eother side of the river bank. The Lord of Arkel lost the dispute with the Count of Holland. The city of Gorinchem passed into Dutch hands and began to outflank Woudrichem.
After 1417 Woudrichem fell under Jacoba of Bavaria (NL: Jacoba van Beieren)

1590 : the widow of the last Horne sells her rights to the States of Holland. The last Count of Horne was beheaded in Brussels in 1568.
Traditionally, the main means of subsistence here in Woudrichem was fishing. A large part of the inhabitants earned their living from it and its importance can be seen in the local flag.
Now fishing is no longer of any significance.'

en.wikipedia.org:_Woudrichem
NL.wikipedia.org:_Woudrichem
jmethors.home.xs4all.nl/geschiedenis/woudrichem (NL)
More photos in Noord Brabant album Flickr.com

fotoclub-veluwezoom.nl

The Doornenburg Castle (NL: Kasteel Doornenburg) is a Dutch castle from the 13th century.

The castle is located in the eastern part of the province of Gelderland, near the village of Doornenburg. It is one of the biggest and most well-preserved castles in the Netherlands. It consists of the main castle and a front castle which are connected via a small wooden bridge.

The castle was originally a fortified manor built in the 9th century. At this stage, it was known as the Villa Dorenburc.
Even as early as 891 or 892 there was mention of Villa Dorenburc! 'Burc' means a place to live in ('villa') and 'doron' refers to thornbushes surrounding the dwelling.

It wasn't until the 13th century that it was converted into a proper castle. The groundfloor and the cellars are the oldest parts of the castle, dating back to the 14th- and 15th century..
Gradually, through the centuries, the castle was expanded further into its current form. The front castle was built in the 15th century. It contains sleeping quarters, a chapel and a farm, the latter being quite a unique feature for a Dutch castle.

Castle Doornenburg was occupied until the 18th century. After that it fell into disrepair and became a ruin. In 1943 the 'Stichting tot Behoud van den Doornenburg' (literally: Foundation for Preservation of the Doornenburg) was created and the castle was restored between 1937 and 1941.
Unfortunately, by the end of the Second World War it was almost completely destroyed!
The Germans were thought to have blown it up, but it had actually been hit by a British bombardment in March 1945. The Germans only blew up the gate house after the bombardment to prevent the Allied Forces using it as an observation post.
The castle was completely rebuilt between 1947 and 1968.

In 1968, this castle, amongst others, was used as a set for the tv series Floris, which I remember well. Dutch actor Rutger Hauer played the lead, the start of his road to fame!

en.wikipedia.org:_Doornenburg_Castle
www.kasteeldoornenburg.nl
Gelderland castles on Flickr.com

Yesterday we visited this vintage market (with quality goods!) at Kasteel (Castle) Doornenburg.
I value these outing as the best day trips for me: there's history (the castle), the market, photography of both the castle (above) and people browsing plus a restaurant where we enjoyed coffees & apple pie and
a lunch to finish it off.

Gelderland castles on Flickr.com

Gianni Berengo Gardin (b.10Oct1930-) is an Italian photographer who has concentrated on reportage and editorial work, but whose career as a photographer has encompassed book illustration and advertising.
Born in Santa Margherita Ligure, Berengo Gardin lived in Switzerland, Rome, Paris and Venice before starting as an amateur photographer in 1954. As a photographer, he was self-taught, learning photography from 2 years he spent in Paris working with other photographers.
He turned professional in 1962 and two years later moved to Milan, where he has lived since 1975.
Berengo Gardin would later have photo essays published in Domus, Epoca, l'Espresso, Stern, Time, Vogue Italia; Réalités; Le Figaro; and La Repubblica.
In the early 1990s, Berengo Gardin spent time living among the Romani people (Zingari) of Italy, hoping to show their lives from the inside. This resulted in two highly regarded books, La disperata allegria (Florence) and Zingari a Palermo (1994 and 1997).
Berengo Gardin has named as influences on him the French photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Willy Ronis, Édouard Boubat and Robert Doisneau.

en.wikipedia.org:_Gianni_Berengo_Gardin
nk

This is one of those rare '5-star books' in my opinion, a book that more or less is a definitive book on China's history for the period 1600-mid 1980s.
The Search for Modern China is a 1990 non-fiction book by Jonathan D. Spence, published by Century Hutchinson and W. W. Norton & Company. It covers the period 1600 to 1989.

According to Spence, the goal was to explain how Modern China was created rather than writing about Modern China directly.
Spence stated that he chose 1600 as the starting point so he could "get a full sense of how China's current problems have arisen, and of what resources [...] the Chinese can call upon to solve them."
It is not a page turner of a book, almost written in a scientific manner with so many names playing a role in this period: rulers, invading forces and revolts, the outside world (Japan, western countries) playing a role over centuries, the curse of opium, more and more names, the rise of the CCP versus the Guomindang, infighting in the CCP and major role players, the struggle for infrastructure during the 20th century (both in geography as well as in society), et cetera.

By the end of the 17th century, China was still a heterogeneous country whose vast expanses and endless variations in culture, economy, and religious practices have made the writing of any coherent history a daunting task.
As Yale professor Spence points out, scholars have begun to tackle it by defining 'macroregions', in which it is possible to describe and analyze these differences and to relate them to central political decisions.
But until now there has been no work as comprehensive and comprehensible as his own...

Moving from the Ming dynasty through the Manchus, the Revolution, the Kuomintang, and on through Tiananmen Square with an unparalleled combination of erudition, vision, sweep, and grace, Spence integrates a formidable amount of information about politics, culture, religion, land use, lineage patterns, poverty, wealth, and change.
And at the same time manages to flesh out the leading characters in the continuing drama.
Dominating the entire scene are the defiant problems of integrating the diverse elements of the country into an administrative whole and consolidating its borders.
Along the way, Spence offers invaluable insights into the long history of literature and the arts, attitudes towards intellectuals and women, efforts at population control, and the intensely moral and ethical ideals of the Confucian tradition, which, though rebelled against and defused through time and change, still permeate the society.

Somewhere I read that the The Gate of Heavenly Peace was described as lighter reading, but I am glad I managed to read this book to the end (took me over a year after purchase, over periods of time), lighter reading can always follow.
The index, glossary, 'further reading' and notes at the end of the book is impressive too, numbering over 120 pages!

Jonathan Dermot Spence CMG (b.11Aug1936 – d.25Dec2021) was an English-born American historian, sinologist, and writer who specialized in Chinese history.
He was Sterling Professor of History at Yale University from 1993 to 2008.
His most widely read book is The Search for Modern China, a survey of the last several hundred years of Chinese history based on his popular course at Yale. A prolific author, reviewer, and essayist, he published more than a dozen books on China!
Spence's major interest was modern China, especially the Qing dynasty, and relations between China and the West. Spence
He frequently used biographies to examine cultural and political history. Another common theme is the efforts of both Westerners and Chinese "to change China", and how such efforts were frustrated.

en.wikipedia.org:_The_Search_for_Modern_China
www.kirkusreviews.com/ - - - /the-search-for-modern-china
en.wikipedia.org:_Jonathan_D._Spence

I am a great admirer of Ragnar Axelsson's work and his commitment to a disappearing life style caused by climate change. Recently I saw his work displayed in Germany and was fortunate to pick up one of the remaining copies of 'Where the World is Melting' (my 3rd book of his photography, both other titles mentioned below, underlined).

For over 40 years, Ragnar Axelsson (b. 1958) has photographed people, animals, and landscapes in the most remote regions of Greenland, Iceland, and Siberia (!).
In simple black and white photos, he captures the elementary human experience in nature on the edge of the habitable world. Axelsson highlights the extraordinary relationships between people, animals, and places in the Arctic and their extreme environment – relationships that change in profound and complex ways due to unprecedented climate change.
Following 'Arctic Heroes' (2020), 'Where the World is Melting' is RAX’s 2nd publication with Kehrer Verlag and includes, among others, the well-known series 'Faces of the North', 'Glacier', and 'Last Days of the Arctic' as well as a previously unpublished series.

www.kehrerverlag.com/en/ragnar-axelsson-where-the-world-is-melting
en.wikipedia.org:_Ragnar_Axelsson

From France to Japan and India to the Middle East, kings and rulers wanted to show their influence and wealth by building magnificent castles, palaces and villas. Today, these structures still exert an irresistible attraction on tourists from all over the world, who climb the worn steps of the castle towers in large numbers, walk through the majestic apartments, stroll through the French gardens and admire the luxurious décor of these sumptuous residences. This book invites you to visit these jewels of our heritage through 1001 photographs.

Here one will find the largest, most beautiful and most famous castles and many other, less renowned, but equally admirable castles that were built between Antiquity and our time, all over the world.

Being a great fan for visiting castles (and having visited hundreds but certainly not a 1.001!) and the history they represent, I enjoy browsing this little book. No doubt I will find inspiration to see a few exotic I need to explore some day in the future!
The content is nicely grouped in periods (ancient time-Medieval times, Roman times, XV-XVI centuries, et cetera) and those chapters grouped in area in the world (Europe, Outside Europe and periods in history with a distint architecture or culture). So those who are interested in ruins dating back to Medieval times have their content and those who like the well decorated palaces have their chapters.

A fine book to browse with interesting history to read and learn.

Koningsdag, or King's Day, is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Celebrated on the 27th of April (26th if the 27th is a Sunday), the date marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander. When the Dutch monarch was/is female, the holiday is known as Koninginnedag or Queen's Day.

The holiday was initially observed on 31Aug 1885 as Prinsessedag or Princess's Day, the 5th birthday of Princess Wilhelmina, then heir presumptive to the Dutch throne.
On her accession in November 1890 the holiday acquired the name Koninginnedag, first celebrated on 31Aug1891.
In September 1948, Wilhelmina's daughter Juliana ascended to the throne and the holiday was moved to her birthday, 30 April. The holiday was celebrated on this date from 1949.

Juliana's daughter, Beatrix, retained the celebration on April 30th after she ascended the throne in 1980, though her birthday was on January 31st.
Beatrix altered her mother's custom of receiving a floral parade at Soestdijk Palace, instead choosing to visit different Dutch towns each year and join in the festivities with her children.

en.wikipedia.org:_Koningsdag
Also on my STREETPHOTOGRAPHY B&W + COLOUR

About Chris Hoefsmit: 'Chris Hoefsmit is a well-known photographer from Haarlem. It's in the genes of the family. His father was a photographer and his son Jurriaan also made it his profession.
"Photography is looking, light, paying attention."

https://ifthenisnow.eu/nl/ - /chris-hoefsmit-fotografie (NL)
Found no link to Sieto Flink, except that Hoefsmit and Flink collaborated on more tha one occasion

Daniel Koning started his journalistic career in 1967 at the daily newspaper 'De Tijd'.
From 1975 to 2004 he was a staff photographer at De Volkskrant.
Tijd van Leven (EN: Time of Life) contains a selection of his work that not only does justice to his photography, but which also gives a picture of a part of our recent history in 16 chapters. From the war of starvation in Biafra in 1968 to Ground Zero in New York in 2003.
The other chapters deal with the former GDR, Romania and the former Yugoslavia after the fall of The Berlin Wall, Israel and the Palestinians, South Africa after the release of Nelson Mandela, China after Mao, the Cambodia of the Khmer Rouge and our former clones Indonesia and Suriname.

In clearly composed images, Daniel Koning draws attention to events and situations immediately behind daily current events. In conflict areas and in countries where poverty and deprivation prevail, he also gives a picture of people's lives in their daily lives.

Upon a question put to Daniel Koning (1940) which photographer of a younger generation he would dare to entrust his camera to. So it was that An-Sofie Kesteleyn (1988) followed in his footsteps and went to Soweto (Johannesburg, South Africa) with his camera; the place where Koning made his famous portrait of Nelson Mandela in 1990. An inspiration to younger generations!

I enjoy the 'streetphotography meets documentary photography' by Daniel Koning. Clearly what we now call humanistic photography.
To my surprise there wasn't an obvious biography online to be found, not even on (Dutch) Wikipedia!

McDermid's Inspector Karen Pirie novel #2.
It's 1984, Fife. Heiress Catriona Maclennan Grant & her baby son are kidnapped. The ransom payoff goes horribly wrong. She is killed while her son disappears without trace.
A miner disappears during this time and is suspected to have joined a group of 'scabbers', abandoning his wife and child.
The second timeline is around 2008, both in the UK with DI Pirie's investigation and in Tuscany where a jogger stumbles upon dramatic new evidence that re-opens the cold case.
For Detective Sergeant Karen Pirie, it's an opportunity to make her mark though her superior, 'the Macaroon', doesn't want her investigating something that happened in Tuscany.

A complicated thriller with 2 investigations along 2 time lines, until they meet in the present with some surprising twists and turns and has in in DI Karen Pirie a captivating character mixed in the narrative.

www.valmcdermid.com/a-darker-domain
en.wikipedia.org:_Val_McDermid

Keukenhof (lit.'Kitchen garden'), also known as the Garden of Europe, is one of the world's largest flower gardens, situated in the municipality of Lisse, in the Netherlands.
According to the official website, Keukenhof Park covers an area of 32 hectares (79 acres) and approximately 7 million flower bulbs are planted in the gardens annually.
While it is widely known for its tulips, Keukenhof also features numerous other flowers, including hyacinths, daffodils, lilies, roses, carnations and irises.

'De Keukenhof' is located in the province of South Holland, south of Haarlem and southwest of Amsterdam in the area called the 'Dune and Bulb Region' (Duin- en Bollenstreek).

en.wikipedia.org:_Keukenhof
More photos (40+) on Flickr.com

Samuel (Sem) Presser (b.Amsterdam 21Nov1917 – d.Amsterdam 29Oct1986) was a Dutch press photographer.
Presser is one of the Netherlands' best-known and most prolific post-war press photographers.
He took more than 300.000 photographs over a period of 50 years. His work is characterized by a great social involvement and the recording of ordinary people in their daily lives.
But he also captured celebrities such as Pablo Picasso, Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Loren and other big names in the film world.

As a Jewish photojournalist, Presser was in hiding in Arnhem during the German occupation. At the risk of his own life, he took photographs of the British paratroopers who fought in the city centre of Arnhem after the landings of Market Garden on 18 September 1944.

From 1948 to 1951 and from 1968 to 1981 he was chairman of the Dutch Association of Photojournalists (NVF). He was also a member of the jury of the Zilveren Camera, and he was active as a board member of the Burafo Foundation, the Photographers' Federation, World Press Photo, Europhot and the Authors' Council. He was also a member of the Amsterdam Arts Council.

NL.wikipedia.org:_Sem_Presser

A week ago I received shocking news that our dear friend Stuart John Brighton had passed on unexpectedly at Birmingham railway yard of a heart failure while working on his great passion, trains.

While on the train (!) from Barcelona to Paris last week, I got a message thru Messenger(FB) from Stuart's youngest, Alex, about Stuart's unexpected passing (9 or 19th of March).
We met in the late-1970s when I was in the approach of Greenham Common AFB for the Air Tattoo participants to arrive.
We got to talking and afterwards he showed me a few pubs for a B&B I was looking for to spend the night. But they were all full so he invited me to stay with him and his wife Jill in Abingdon. The next day we went to the air show together and again I stayed with them.
Long story short: for many years I often revisited, soon with Ada and we both had our first born a month apart, in December and January.
We often stayed with them when we were vacationing in the UK, at the start or at the end of the trip.
Stuart and I had much in common including rather egocentric characters and an obsessive focus on hobby's.
The past 10 years or so we lost contact, mainly because I felt it always depended on me making contact and so I waited (I was struggling with mental issues and trying to cut down on 'the load').
Until this message, he died of a heart failure at a railway yard in Birmingham a month ago, he had a love for steam trains (even more than planes). He was older than me but only by 4.5 years.
Most of his career he worked at West Drayton (London ATCC), doing shifts like I did.
He was whirlwind of a man, he managed to cram an impossible amount of things and interests in a day, so many hobby's, impulsive to go left or right, a sharp mind racing (sometimes with strong ideas I did not follow).

The news came as quite a shock to me because even while we lost contact he wasn’t far from my mind (if only he had made contact, an e-mail or a phonecall), even considered dropping by at his new home in Winchester last year during our eventful camper trip (which we cut short and returned home in haste).
I will forever treasure our meetings over past decades..

The last time we met was in 2011 when he took us out on the Watercress Railroad (a.o.); here are a few photographs I managed to dig up (was it that long ago we saw each other in person..?!)

Before boarding the Watercress Railway

Enjoying the ride!

Argumentative, brought forward with strong convictions

"What makes it tick or can I make it tick again..?' he was that kind of person, tirelessly inquisitive.

Walking a nearby trail on what once was the watercress industry. He never took to digital photography
to a degree he once enjoyed his analogue photography (Nikon user, if I am not mistaken; he's forgiven ☺)

Walkabout in Winchester with a promise of rain

Trains, large and small. This was in his garage at his house on Harestock Road, Winchester.
Never enough hours in the day...

A few photos from longer ago:

1997

This was at their new adress, The Farthings, in Marcham.
Clockwise: Stuart, Ada, Alex, Jill, James and Alexander.

(1997) With our sons James (Jan.1985), Alex & Alexander (Dec.1984) enjoying refreshments

Stuart managed to get a tour at Coventry for us, him working at London ATCC opened doors!
I think we had a tour on the Shackleton there.

1994

Playing badminton. This was at their new adress (I think), The Farthings, in Marcham.

1991

Every caption to my photos mentions 'chaos' visiting Stuart.. All of a sudden we needed to fly kites

As I said: chaos. Stuart came ill prepared (rushed) and was unable to fly his kite due to the tangled rope..

1988. Exploring some tourist sites in Holland. There was a cold wind blowing but Stuart did not mind.

1986. Visiting us in Hoofddorp, went to a nearby park with a beach.

1986, Park Groenendaal (for pancakes). Stuart took many photos of Jamie, most quite unflattering...

1980

1984, Stuart preparing a canoo for sale. He had no time for us that day, we kept ourselves busy.
I think this could be at his old adress, the 82 (84?) Howard Cornish Road in Marcham.

Stuart among the onlookers in the approach of Greenham Common, 1983. This was at the same
spot where we met a few years before. I managed to shoot some 150 planes that day!

Stuart and his wife Jill came over for our wedding (10Sep82) and we ventured into Amsterdam

Jill & Stuart at the wedding reception.

(1979) "We know that look, a touch of madness which can only be cured by a good pint of bitter.." Cheers Stuart!!

The Limerick-born author’s 5th novel imagines the Republic of Ireland slipping into totalitarianism after the rise of the rightwing National Alliance party which seizes total control in response to trade unionists lobbying for increased teachers’ wages.
Civil liberties erode and civil war breaks out. This book has a dystopian narrative that never lets up, not great for bedtime reading!
Like a lobster in a boiling pot, people don’t realise their freedoms have been obliterated until it’s too late. Gripping from start to finish.

Lynch’s critically acclaimed 3rd novel, Grace, was likened to Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and this could also be said of the Man Booker-longlisted Prophet Song, a dystopian nightmare in which the Stack family endure the horrors of the "great waking".

Paul Lynch (b.09May1977 -) is an Irish novelist known for his poetic, lyrical style and exploration of complex themes.
He has published 5novels and has won several awards, including the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award. He received the 2023 Booker Prize for his 5th novel, Prophet Song.
Lynch has not lived in County Donegal since 1995. He read English and Philosophy at University College, Dublin (UCD), but did not graduate.
He is a longtime resident of Dublin, where he was formerly both deputy chief sub-editor and chief film critic for The Sunday Tribune, before he turned to writing fiction.
Lynch has two children and is separated from his wife.

www.theguardian.com/books/2023/ - /prophet-song-by-paul-lynch
en.wikipedia.org:_Paul_Lynch_(writer)

The Book Market runs through the centre of Wageningen.
The route runs from the square in front of Theater Junushoff into the Junusstraat. Then a side arm goes into the Poststraat. At the end of the Junusstraat, the market turns left into the Hoogstraat and then right again into the Nieuwstraat.
The Salverdaplein is also full of stalls and here the Book Market turns into the goods market where one might be able to enjoy something tasty.

What can you find at the Wageningen book market? Dutch, foreign-language and translated novels, novellas, thrillers and poetry. Also non-fiction of all kinds of subjects: science, environment, society, history, philosophy, pedagogy, psychology, theology, esotericism and more.
A search for that one book along more than 100 (doubt that so many were pesent today) stalls with second-hand and antiquarian books.

My street photography BLACK & WHITE | COLOUR

Koert Lindijer (b.23May1953 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch journalist. Since 1983 he has been Africa correspondent for Dutch television (NOS Nieuws) and the Dutch daily newspaper NRC Handelsblad.

Lindijer studied at the School of Journalism in Utrecht from 1976 to 1979.
From 1979 to 1983 he was editor Africa at the office of NRC Handelsblad in Rotterdam. And from 1973
to 1976 he traveled the African continent to get to know it better.
In 1983 he established himself in the Kenyan capital Nairobi as a correspondent. He has also written a number of books on Africa.

Few correspondents can draw on such a wealth of experience, few journalists will have reported on so much bloodshed and violence...
Koert Lindijer has written about Africa in book form before. His 40th anniversary is the occasion to summarize his experiences as a correspondent in a grand and impressive new book: A skyscraper on the savannah, 40 years of correspondence in Africa.

Lindijer (1953) is a child of the 1960s with a penchant for adventure and long journeys.
He studied journalism, worked for some time as an editor in the foreign affairs department of NRC and left in 1983 as a correspondent for this newspaper and several radio stations. When he started there, the first generation of post-decolonization leaders were still in power, such as Joseph Mobutu in Congo, Daniel arap Moi in Kenya and Milton Obote in Uganda.
They were at the head of post-colonial regimes that were not so different from their colonial predecessors at their core. "Almost immediately after independence in the 1960s, African states had adopted the forms of government of the white rulers, including symbols such as British wigs and gowns and French cavalry uniforms."
Moreover, they were heavily dependent on the West and had to dance to the tune of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which, in exchange for loans, forced them to consolidate public finances and asked for free rein for the private sector.
These corrupt, Western-leaning regimes were opposed in the early 1990s. After the end of the Cold War, a new future seemed to be on the horizon for Africa as well, a 'second liberation' as it was pathetically called. A group of new leaders was inspired by the ideas of Julius Nyerere, long president of Tanzania and propagator of Pan-Africanism.
They fought as guerrillas from the jungle against the old rulers. Well-known names include Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who came to power in Uganda, and Paul Kagane, president of Rwanda since 2000. But these men also turned out to be new dictators. "The instinct of liberation movements that gain government power is never to relinquish that power." They not only ruled their own country but dominated the entire region.
Congo was the main victim of this. This resource-rich country, 'the only state in the world founded to be plundered', was a plaything of armies from neighbouring countries and a hodgepodge of rebel groups and militias, led by Museveni and Kagane, who took care of Congo's raw materials like vultures.

Koert Lindijer was almost always there and reported. He followed the rebels through the jungle, interviewed their leaders in their hideouts, walked among rioters in the cities and was on the front line during war.
The book fills me with dread for this continent, even confirmed my dark thoughts and indeed back in 2000, The Economist described Africa as the 'hopeless continent'. Current affairs confirm it (even with spells of 'afro-optimism') with the the war & hunger in Sudan (always those displaced people), fighting in the Tigray region (Ethiopia versus Eritrea) and I fear for the hopes considering the Senegalese 2024 election results, they're bound to be disappointed I think...
Superb book, even if the message is (in my view, though the author continues to be 'in love') dark and foreboding.

NL.wikipedia.org:_Koert_Lindijer
www.tzum.info/2023/03/recensie-koert-lindijer-een-wolkenkrabber-op-de-savanne (Dutch)
https://koertlindijer.nl