Happy Memories of Old-Time Holland

Northland Age, Volume IX, Issue 63, 17 May 1940, Page 1

Happy Memories of Old-Time Holland

English Girl, Now Resident in Kaitaia, Recalls Most Beautiful City of the Continent "I always thought Amsterdam the most beautiful of European cities, and it is heartbreaking to think of those old castles, red-roofed stone houses and clean streets being the scene of a terrible war,” remarked Mrs. H. Head, who, though born in a North of England county and now a resident of Kaitaia, visited Holland many times before the first Great European War. Mrs. Head, who, with other members of her family, was engaged in the theatrical profession, travelled much in Europe and when her two sisters married Dutchmen and settled in Holland, her visits to them were frequent for a time. The City Beautiful The Amsterdam she pictured to an “Age” representative recently was very far away from the armed camp which most of Europe’s capitals have become in these parlous days of lightning wars” and international distrust.

Houses, streets, parks and canals all combined to make Amsterdam the cleanest and best planned city in Europe. There was, to be sure, a first wave of disappointment when she discovered that the women of Amsterdam no longer wore their full

skiits and famous wooden shoes hu 1 dressed very much like we did ! How ever one got over that and simplj made the most of the pieturesqut costume when one saw it in the coun try villages.

“The Dutch are lovely people,” Mrs Head reiterated. “They are so jolly and hospitable and everyth nj about them and their towns is so clean. And it seemed that all the best operas came to Amsterdam !” Tradesmen Come by Gondola In Amsterdam the trades people came and went by gondola, for all the houses were built upon the canals. Modern streets with trams lay in front of the houses but in every case the back door opened upon picturesque little concrete jetties upon which one stood to give orders or receive goods from butchers, bakers, grocers and milkmen. “One could easily imagine the food tasted more romantic because it was delivered by gondola !” said Mrs. Head with a smile “Dutch Courage” Mrs. Head was never in Amsterdam during the winter but hazarded a guess that it was the severity of the winters that had given Dutch people such a reputation for Schnapps drinking. The vapour in the air from the many canals must have made falls and winters bitterly cold. H..wover people always spoke enthusiastically of sports on the ice when th 2 canals became frozen. Besides Schnapps the Dutch made really good lager beer . . . Opera in Amsterdam The Amsterdam Opera House was a magnificent affair and during her visits Mrs. Head was able to see many of the famous Italian operas. Her lather catholic taste embraced not only the “highbrow” but also the music-hall artists and she has memories of artists and singers from D’Olny Certe and Carl Rosa to the Jougham sisters and the Alexendria Troop. Music hall life was very full in Amsterdam in those days. Tulip Time The grandest memory of all, however, was of tulip time in Holland. The railway ran for miles between tulip beds covering acres of land. On the one side they ranged from the palest mauve and Javender to deep blues, on the other they began with

bright pink and graded down to primrose, orange and finally white. There were miles of them and it was a sight that could be seen only in Holland. Mrs. Head never saw a black tulip but she understood that they could be grown in Holland.

“It is scenes like that that I love to remember,” said Mrs. Head. “There was no talk then of flooding that beautiful landscape to prevent an enemy invasion for no one dreamed

that such a think covld possibly happen. The Dutch as I remember them were a happy, carefree people who were friendly with everybody.” Of Amersham’s (Eng.) population of over 10,000 people, only one was fined for drunkenness last year. ft ft ft The Ministry of Agriculture is urging people to grow in their gardens: potatoes, for their energy value; peas anr beans, for their building power; and green vegetables, especially lettuce, spinach and greens, for their protective qualities.

FAIRBURN WOMEN’S INSTITUTE The May meeting of the Fairburn Women’s Institute was held at the home of Mrs. Foster. Mrs. Lupton presided and welcomed a good attendance of members. The Aspirations were read by Mrs. Stevens. M:s. Lupton gave an account of the bi-annual Federation meeting held in Kaitaia recently. A demonstration of a pretty smocked apron was shown. Something for nothing was won by Mrs. G. Thomas. The roll call was Useful Hints, and the competitions were bed socks or toilet bag and face cloth for the Red Cross. Luncheon was provided by Fairburn members. Washington State (U.S.A.) is suffering from a glut of apples, and an advertising campaign by the State Apple Commission has already resulted in trebling the public demand. * * * The U.S. Board of Geographical Names has approved a hill 3,025 ft. high in Brewster County being called Cow Heaven Mountain “because cows used to like it.” * * ft In the British Government’s “Dig for Victory” scheme to produce more food 1,800,000 families are now taking part. Over two million families are now producing food in some form who did not do so before the war. ft ft ft The South African Government spent £99,295 on subsidies to farmers for the purchase of bulls in cattle improvement areas during 1938-39, bringing the total amount expended for the purpose to £263,817. * ft ft An annual grant of £ISOO, conditional on similar grants by the various States, was announced recently by the Commonwealth Government towards research into contagious abortion and mastitis, at the Glenfield (N.S.W.) and Berwick (Vic.) research stations. ft ft ft The wool growers of the United States are imposing a voluntary levy of £20,000 sterling a year on themselves to promote the use of wool in America. ft ft ft Because there is no real scarcity of bacon in Britain and mutton has to be rationed, “macon” (smoked mutton) has been withdrawn from the market. ft ft * A milling machine has been placed on the market in Great Britain which, it is claimed, makes possible for the first time the production of meal from the whole wheat berry. The cell of the berry is exploded by intense pressure without losing any of its protein or starch content. The process is completely dry, and it is stated that meal produced contains 8.2 per cent of natural ordinary flour. The new meal is said to liberate 14 per cent of gluten compared with 9 per cent by ordinary flour and bran is reduced to a fine grist, liberating mineral salts, malt, sugar and oil. ft ft ft In South Australia the 13i-year-old Jersey cow, Hampden Maybe, produced under Government test last season 11,143 lbs of milk and 648.66 lbs fat. ft ft ft A suggested new crop for Australia is esparto grass, of which 200,000 tons are imported into Great Britain every year for the manufacture of paper—and very good paper it makes. ft ft ft Gas masks for horses and ponies have been put on the market by a London firm. Approved gas-proof fabric is used in the horse model, which fits right over the head, having an elastic neckband and non-ip-flamable eye pieces. It is priced at 40/-. ft ft ft At Sydney Easter Show the pig entries were the highest for 26 years, 537 against 412 in 1939.