Monday May 13, 2013
A sight to behold
Accents
By MELINDA ROOS
If there is one thing the Dutch are known for besides working hard is that they know how to have a good party when the occasion calls for it. This picture shows Dutch children cheering as King Willem Alexander of the Netherlands and his consort, Queen Maxima, take part in a water pageant on the river IJ in Amsterdam on the day of the King’s investiture. — AFPpic The Dutch offer a merry mix of celebration and learning.
APRIL 30 was a historical day for the Netherlands and a great cause of celebration with the abdication of Queen Beatrix and the investiture of her son King Willem Alexander to the throne.
It is worthy to note that he is the first male monarch after 120 years of queens succeeding the throne. And as things would go for him and his consort, Queen Maxima, they have three young daughters with the eldest one as the next in line to the throne now.
Majority of the Dutch love their royal family, and as we were watching all over cable news television that day, the entire country was covered in a sea of orange, the country’s national colour.
If there is one thing the Dutch are known for besides working hard is that they also know how to have a good party when the occasion calls for it.
Every year, during Queen’s Day in the Netherlands, a public holiday is declared and one of the highlights is the setting up of flea markets all over the country.
People sell wares and get rid of stuff they no longer need, and shop for second-hand items they might have use for.
It is quite a sight to behold mainly because it is always interesting to have a peek at what people are selling or trying to get rid of. It is one of the best recycling exercises I have ever seen.
Not to be left out of the festivities, Dutch expats and nationals living abroad held celebrations of their own.
In Kuala Lumpur, the festivities kicked off with the annual Vrijmarkt or flea market event at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian and Country Club on the morning of April 27, mainly for children selling their used DVDs, toys and books for a fraction of their original costs, while enjoying poffertjes, a traditional Dutch treat much like small, bite-size and oh-so-heavenly fluffy pancakes served with butter and powdered sugar.
It was followed in the evening with the Queen Beatrix Gala Event, a black-tie affair at Carcosa Seri Negara.
The women came all glammed up, in gowns made of tulle, jersey and lace while the men looked dapper in their suits and bow ties.
On April 30, the coronation day itself, ambassador Paul Bekkers held cocktails at his residence to mark the occasion.
The investiture celebration continued until May 10 with an invitation from the ambassador and his wife Agneta Bekkers-Linsen to a special evening performance by Introdans, a contemporary dance company from the Netherlands, at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas at Suria KLCC.
On another note, British author, writer’s mentor and publisher Jo Parfitt flew into town recently to run a condensed version of The Naked Writer workshop with a limited number of participants. It is originally an eight-day course she facilitated at The Watermill in Posara, Tuscany sometime in autumn of last year.
According to Parfitt, “The Naked Writer is someone who writes in an authentic, open and honest way about life.
“The workshop provides a safe haven where students can unlock their creativity, write from their hearts and hone their writing craft.
“The session is meant to empower and inspire participants to write in a meaningful way whether for publication or personal reasons. It will allow writers to search emotions and truth inside themselves.
“The writers are invited, but not obliged to share their work during class and feedback sessions.”
Held at the meeting room of the Desa Parkcity Clubhouse, the class targeted at those who wanted to learn how to write openly and authentically about things that matter and create stories that resonate with others.
As one of the participants, it was an exhilarating experience to be a part of a group of talented women who didn’t even realise just how good they were.
I wrote about Parfitt in this column a few months back when she released her first novel Sunshine Soup for the Soul, a tale that navigates the highs and lows expat wives go through, the loss of identity, the culture shock, depressions and as Amazon describes it, “the search for meaning in a life judged by many to be charmed and superficial”.
The story centres on its main character Maya, a newcomer expat wife in Dubai. Before I give the entire plot away, suffice it to say that I highly recommend this book as there are many experiences here that resonate with women who have chosen to leave the comfort and familiarity of their own surroundings and everything they have known to follow their husbands on overseas postings.
It explores the blessed and harsh realities of expat living and gives you a peek into that kind of life that will change your views and make you realise that nothing is what it seems on the surface.
I have attended all of Parfitt’s writing classes back when I was living in the Hague, and where she currently resides. Since February this year, she has been running courses in Brunei, Miri and Singapore. Kuala Lumpur was her last leg before heading back to Holland. Her series on Writing Your Life Stories, which has been converted into a book, is another helpful course that we hope she’ll be able to run here in the future.
It was indeed a great opportunity that doesn’t happen here often and the participants all went home with something of great learning from The Naked Writer class.
Whether you’re here as an expat, a tourist or just passing through, there is always something of interest for you in the vibrant city of Kuala Lumpur.
Born and raised in the Philippines, Melinda is a marketing executive, entrepreneur and writer who moved from the Netherlands to KL. She loves scuba diving, good food and wine, and is happy to be back in the tropics.
Source:
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