It's Sunday

Did you know? Nadir and zenith are Arabic words. Without the geniuses of Arab culture, the concept of the zero would never have been invented. Most of our named stars bear Arabic names. Yet is the Muslim religion, born in the Arabic peninsula, that is being used as a pretext for atrocities around the world.

Similarly. Some of the greatest composers of classical music were German. Some of the greatest writers and scientists were German. Did you know that it is thanks to Werner von Braun that rockets have flown to the Moon, the planets and beyond? Yet it was the same man who invented the V2 rockets that were fired at England at the end of the Second World War. It was the Germans who killed 6 million Jews on the pretext of religious discrimination.

I attended a church service today. I found the sermon uplifting and edifying, potentially of help to me and many others in the congregation. Religion is a force for good. It is also a force for great evil. We are all only human. There was only one true Christian in history. He was born a little over 2,000 years ago on what's now the West Bank, still a site of religious strife. He was killed by crucifixion a few decades later. Religion says it was to absolve us from our sins. That's fine. To me, he tried to set an example. You try following it. I'll never succeed. Doesn't make me a bad person. I'm just human and fallible. So is everybody else.

Saturday 19 December

Grey, overcast and mild today. An occasional spell of drizzle doesn't really bother anybody. Went into Velp, the next town, for a bit of shopping in the morning. It was quite busy there; shops are closed here on Sunday. After lunch, we went for a brief stroll around town (1.7 miles).

Friday 18 December

Flight delays meant that I didn't reach my father's place until this morning, rather than yesterday evening. I won't bore you with the details, I reached my destination, which is all that matters.

yes, that's a piano in the station hall at Arnhem!

Return

On Friday 18 December, I shall resume posting on the Shell Gallery following my return to Holland the previous day. I shall be joining family for Christmas and New Year celebrations into 2016, which I hope to record on this blog. In the New Year, I am considering merging this blog with Atlantic Lines into a new blog, but will confirm that nearer the time.

Friday 16 January

Today, I am embarking on the first stage of my journey back to Stornoway. The Shell Gallery is going under wraps once more, until my next visit to the Netherlands. I have immensely enjoyed the past five weeks, gathered up many memories to take back with me. I am looking forward to returning later in the year.

Thursday 15 January

A dank and dreich day, with some light rain about. Since it's my last full day in Holland for this visit, I had to start making preparations for my journey to Scotland, tomorrow. As in previous visits, I went to the cemetery and placed some flowers by my mother's grave. She would have enjoyed our little ceilidh at Warnsborn yesterday. The graveyard is slowly filling up, but I'm just bemused at all the little adornments that are placed by the new graves. They won't last very long. Even new gravestones tend to become overgrown by mosses large and small.

I shall miss the familiarity of the village, woods and heathlands. The Shell Gallery is going under wraps as of tomorrow, and I shall update here again upon my return later in the year.

Wednesday 14 January

Although it started off pretty wet, it did dry up after lunchtime, and the sun even put in an appearance just before sunset, now at 4.45pm. We went to a restaurant at the Hotel Groot Warnsborn, on the northern outskirts of Arnhem, about 5 miles to the west. My father, two sisters and I had booked a high tea for ourselves, which was very nicely done. Staff were most attentive, and the food excellent.