And now; for something completely different..

Been kind of busy lately. No, not with chopper and Rock 'n Roll but with a typical Dutch holiday : Sinterklaas. Kids are told that at the end of november Bishop Sint Nicholas, or Sinterklaas, is coming on a boat from Spain in the company of hunderds of Zwarte Pieten ( Black Jacks) to celebrate his birthday on the 5th of December. Childer may put their shoe under the mantelpiece in the evening, sing a song for the saint and then next morning there will be a present in their shoe.

The arrival in the harbor of my home town.

The Black Jacks are throwing candy to the kids Sinterklaas himself

The story is that St. Nicholas is riding his white horse over the rooftops followed by his black jacks. The Saint is old, but the young athletic Black Jack will climb down the chimney to put presents in the shoes. Children will often put big carrots, appels or hay in their shoes for St. Nicholas his horse. At the 5th of December families will gather and give presents, mostly to the children. St. Nicholas is a real ancient party dude here in the Netherlands, and his story go's back more than 400 years! The rotten thing is that this Nicholas bloke is everywhere!!! At school, at moms work, at Dads work, in the shopping mall...... everywhere. So we are taking my 3 year old son all over the place the last few weeks. Well, the weather is all fucked up anyway!!

Them old days

Up to Christmus.....man, I wish it was summer again!